Activate Your Life E-Book

A 90 Day Program that will transform your life
By Andrew McCombe
Copyright
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
Disclaimer
This publication is distributed with the express and implied understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering legal, psychological, health, medical or other professional advice. If legal, psychological, health, medical or other professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a qualified professional should be sought. Neither the author nor publisher make any representation or warranty of any kind with regard to the information contained in the book. No liability shall be accepted for any actions caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly from using the information contained in this book.
www.activateyourlife.com.au
About the Author
Andrew McCombe is the Owner and Managing Director of Activate Your Life, an Australian based preventative health and lifestyle management company. Activate Your Life operates private health clubs, corporate wellness programs, including the Activate Your Life 90 Day Program and has an interactive website, www.activateyourlife.com.au. Andrew has over 15 years experience in the Health and Fitness Industry with the Activate Your Life vehicle providing a blend of complementary and traditional health and well-being services. Andrew has represented New Zealand and Australia at indoor and beach volleyball and has played at representative level in a number of other sports. It is from this active background that Andrew McCombe and Activate Your Life have developed a vision to inspire individuals to be the best they can be. Andrew McCombe is an author, a coach, a presenter and a trainer and is available to assist you and your organisation with your health, fitness, well being, lifestyle and motivational needs. Activate Your Life PO Box 1229 Manly NSW 1655 Phone: 61 (02) 9977 3362 Email: info@activateyourlife.com.au Website: www.activateyourlife.com.au
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this book to three people: To my brother Mark, whose ultimate sacrifice has been an endless source of inspiration to me. To my parents, Karen and Brian, for giving me the gift of life so I can pass my brothers inspiration on to others.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my most sincere appreciation and gratitude to the following people, who have inspired and supported me and the Activate Your Life message: To my parents, Karen and Brian, for their unconditional love and support and the freedom that you gave me to be who I wanted to be. Each of you, together with my brothers Tony and Brendan, are just as much a part of this journey as I am. To Dan Maitland and Steve Procter for their constant belief and investment in the Activate Your Life vision. To the Activate Your Life clients for the lessons they teach my team and I every day and for their commitment to living a life of EASE. To all past, present and future Activate Your Life 90-Day Program participants for committing 100% to a process that changes lives. To Phillip Mann and Jennifer Moalem, for without your wisdom I would not be where I am today. To my many mentors and colleagues who have provided me with inspiration and wisdom on my journey and to all the other people in the world who are 100% committed to living the life of their dreams. To Kalina Skrill for your unwavering support, friendship and unconditional love. To the Activate Your Life team who have all journeyed through the Activate message at some stage during the last ten years, thank you for your input. To Simone Tregeagle for your support and expertise in bringing this book together. To myself for taking this often confronting journey and becoming more aware every day of the amazing lessons that are provided by the universe. And most importantly, to my brother, Mark. For without you Mark, Activate Your Life would never have come to fruition.
The Inspiration for Activate Your Life

The inspiration for Activate Your Life and all that it stands for comes from my brother, Mark, who was mentally and physically handicapped. Mark was unable to walk, talk or basically do anything for himself. However, despite these fundamental necessities that most of us take for granted being unavailable to him, Mark was one of the most loving and caring people that I have ever had the privilege to meet. Although Mark was unable to communicate in a verbal sense, he touched hundreds of people who knew him through the radiance in his eyes, his massive smile and the abundance of love and happiness that he projected every day of his life. Growing up in a family with a brother who is incapacitated, through no choice of his own, brings up many issues for a family. My mother and father very rarely had any time for themselves, as all of their attention was focused on the welfare of my brother. They also have three other sons whose boyish mischievousness often made their lives even more stressful. For my parents, their family became an all-consuming, full time job. But despite the pressures, both my mother and father operate very successful businesses, take part in regular community events and manage to find time most days to look after their health and fitness, and they have never once complained that life is not fair or that it is all too hard. It saddens me to know that there are so many people in the world that have been given the gift of life, and an amazing body through which to transmit this gift to the world, who have the ability to create whatever existence they choose, but for some reason or another, they do nothing with it. What a waste. So if there is one thing I would like you to take out of this book it is the inspiration that I received from my brother Mark, which is this: You have been given a gift. It is called life. And with this gift you have been given all of the talents, all of the knowledge and all of the power to create whatever it is you want to create on this Earth. Regardless of what shape or form this gift comes in for you, you owe it to yourself to go out there and become the best person you can possibly be, doing whatever it is that you want to do and use your gift to see what an amazing life you can create for yourself. You serve no one, especially not yourself, by choosing to be average!
Contents
Part One
Introduction Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Part Two Chapter Four Establish a system for EASE in your life Step One Step Two Step Three Step Four Step Five Step Six Step Seven Step Eight Step Nine Step Ten Chapter Five Part Three Final Thoughts Success Stories Establish a System for Empowerment Establish a System for Efficiency Establish a System for Elimination Establish a System for Exercise Establish a System for Eating Establish a System for Education Establish a System for Expression Establish a System for Effortlessness Establish a System for Encouragement Establish a System for Evaluation Activate Your Life Dis-EASE: Getting to the heart of the matter Your external world is a reflection of your internal world Creating a life of EASE
Inner world peace
Activate Your Life
Introduction
For many years as a sport scientist, personal trainer and performance coach, I have been working with clients who come to me for advice about how they can improve the performance and quality of their bodies; some want help to lose weight and tone up, others need to reduce their blood pressure and the effects of stress, some want to put on muscle and everyone wants to look and feel better. But, invariably I have found that it is never my clients physical bodies that require improvement in the first instance. In every client with whom I have ever worked I have found that there has been some underlying issue (that they were not consciously aware of) that was being reflected in the current state of his or her body and health. It became evident to me that when a person is dissatisfied or experiencing dis-EASE, in some aspect of their life, this dissatisfaction manifests itself through their body. Effectively, the body is a barometer for life; if something isnt going well in a certain area of life, it manifests through the body. Deepak Chopra, the world-renowned natural health guru, explains that most diseases dont begin in the body, but in the mind and the spirit. Usually, by the time a disease process manifests as a physical ailment, the person has actually been suffering mentally, emotionally or spiritually for quite a long time; therefore, the best time to cure a disease is before it has a chance to manifest as a sickness of the body. Many of the ancient healing practices have similar belief systems from the Ayurvedic principles of ancient India, to the Shamanistic practices of the Native American Indians all believe that physical health is a direct reflection of mental, emotional and spiritual health. The reason that most traditional health and well-being programs fail is because they only address the physical aspect of the human being. Most practitioners, therapists and trainers focus almost all of their attention on perfecting the physical aspect of their clients by masking or treating symptoms, developing physical fitness and strength or removing or implanting parts of the human body through surgery. In their efforts to provide a quick fix for their clients they ignore the fact that human beings are more than just a physical body; we are also profoundly influenced by our thoughts, feelings and emotions, to the extent that when our mental, emotional and spiritual elements are working in harmony, the physical aspect of our selves will perform more efficiently and effectively and provide us with greater results than if we had concentrated on our physical aspect alone. The evidence that this is true was only too apparent to me when working with my clients. I found that when they did address the underlying cause of their dissatisfaction (that is, their dis-EASE), their physical bodies responded with a lot less effort and they began to see amazing results in all areas of their lives. So it got me to thinking, if the body is a barometer for our mental, emotional and spiritual health, then surely most of the diseases we experience are our bodys way of telling us that something is wrong in some area of our lives. And if this were the case, then it would be fair to say that the effects of most diseases could be avoided, reduced or removed by dealing with the underlying issues (the dis-EASE) that cause the disease to manifest in the first place. 8
I believe that there are two distinct types of health intervention. The first is for those people who are in need of surgery, who have a bacterial infection or who have an injury caused by an accident; the second is for those people heading toward, or suffering from, some form of lifestyle-related dis-EASE. That is, some form of injury, illness or ailment that affects their ability to perform effectively on a day-to-day basis, caused by the way they are currently choosing to live their lives. In this book I will be addressing lifestyle-related dis-EASE and how, with the right lifestyle management program, you can re-create and enjoy a life of EASE. As you work your way through the information and exercises in this book you will: get a clearer understanding of why you are the way you are and why you have created your current life address and remove the dis-EASE that causes mental, emotional and physical stress in all areas of your life get clarity on what a life of EASE would be like for you understand why some people can never follow through to a life of EASE create your life of EASE with ten EASY steps which form the basis of the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program. This program has been developed as a result of countless hours working with clients, other practitioners and through my own personal experiences. It represents the culmination of the most successful strategies used throughout that time. It is more than an exercise and diet plan; it is a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual overhaul a program that will transform every aspect of your life. The tools, ideas and solutions you will learn are just as useful and important whether your goal is to fit into a size 8 dress, climb Mount Everest or start your own business.
I welcome your feedback on this book and in particular the results you achieve from the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program. I encourage you to focus on making small and manageable steps toward your life of EASE; it is better that you make a one per cent improvement every day, than a 100 per cent improvement every day for a week and then have the next six months off! The steps you take toward your life of EASE on the program should be EASY for you and suit your lifestyle. If the path you choose to follow does not lead you comfortably to developing a truly fulfilling life then you must make changes and continue searching until you find the right path for you. I would love to hear about how the Activate Your Life Book and the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program changes your life, please share your story with me at successstories@activateyourlife.com.au. If you are ready to transform your life and take your results to a whole new level, let us begin! Heres to being the best you can be.
Andrew McCombe Sydney, Australia December 2004 9
Chapter One Dis-EASE: Getting to the Heart of the Matter

Dis-EASE: Dis = to move away from EASE = comfort or a feeling of effortlessness If you are not living with complete EASE in all aspects of your life it means that you are experiencing some form of dis-EASE. Creating a life of EASE is simply a matter of removing dis-EASE from your life. To achieve this, you must first identify what is causing your dis-EASE and holding you back. It might be an old belief system, a bad habit or stress around a certain situation or person. Dis-EASE is about holding on to old energy that has been tied up with a past (or anticipated future) event, situation or trauma. Holding on in this way keeps an element of our energy and focus (whether consciously or subconsciously) tied up in the past (or future), which means that we do not have 100 per cent of our energy available to use in the present moment. In this chapter I will show you how you can greatly improve your overall health, well-being and life, simply by learning how to identify and remove the underlying mental, emotional or spiritual issues that manifest as dis-EASE in your body. But first, what is dis-EASE and where does it come from?
The EASE/Dis-EASE Model
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EASE (or Balance) The body is constantly working to maintain order in all of its systems. Scientists refer to this as homeostasis; I am going to refer to it as EASE. EASE is the ideal situation when all of your systems are in balance. Issue When an Issue presents itself to you, you can choose to think, feel or believe it to be positive or negative. If your thoughts, feelings or beliefs are negative then you create the Primary Cause of DisEASE. If your thoughts, feelings and beliefs about the Issue are positive then you will remain at EASE. Decision Point The Decision Point is effectively your choice of what behaviour you will use to deal with the Issue. Primary Symptom of Dis-EASE If your decision is to behave negatively then you will have created the Primary Symptom of DisEASE. A negative behaviour is one that either suppresses the Issue, so that you do not have to deal with it at that time, or one that causes you to overreact to the Issue, causing stress on the body. Examples of negative behaviour include denial, fear, avoidance and anger. These behaviours will create negative symptoms, such as anxiety, tension and nausea. If your decision is to behave positively then you will remain at EASE. A positive behaviour is one that expresses the Issue and deals with it at that time. Examples of positive behaviours include awareness and acknowledgement. These behaviours will create positive symptoms, such as laughter, excitement and crying. By expressing a thought or emotion positively we allow the natural energy of the body to flow. By suppressing a thought or emotion we block the flow of energy, and if we overreact, we cause too much energy to be exerted by a specific area of the body. For example, if we get angry when someone cuts us off in traffic and react by beeping the horn, cursing and waving our fists, the build-up of extra energy can negatively affect our heart and circulatory system, which may ultimately lead to stress, high blood pressure or a heart attack. An emotion is simply energy in motion. The blocking or oversupply of energy in the body is what causes a physical symptom to arise. Secondary Symptom of Dis-EASE The decision you make about how to deal with your Primary Symptom of Dis-EASE is called a Coping Strategy. Choosing to deal positively with the Issue is the best possible Coping Strategy. If you choose to deal negatively then your Coping Strategy will be negative and the result will manifest your Secondary Symptom of Dis-EASE. 11
Negative Coping Strategies can be: Energetic, either physical, for example exercise addiction or excessive dieting, or biochemical, for example overeating high fat or processed foods, abusing prescription or recreational drugs, alcohol, sugar, caffeine or tobacco Analytical (or mental), for example work or television addiction Spiritual, for example ignoring your instinct or intuition Emotional, for example sex addiction or gambling
If you are utilising one or more of these Coping Strategies, you are presenting a Secondary Symptom of Dis-EASE. Tertiary Symptom of Dis-EASE At this stage the symptoms may have been manifesting for years. The Tertiary Symptom of DisEASE is the level at which traditional medicine will start to diagnose the symptoms as the disease and will provide a treatment that usually deals directly with the symptoms, while ignoring the underlying Issue. At best the disease will be managed, but the original cause of dis-EASE will not be removed. If your symptoms get to the Tertiary Symptom phase you must act immediately to address and remove the underlying Issue that has caused the symptoms in the first place. As you can see from the EASE/Dis-EASE model your choice of thought, feeling and belief about an issue is paramount in determining whether or not you will experience Dis-EASE. Your thoughts, feelings and beliefs influence your choice of behaviour and coping strategy, which in turn dictate the type, length and severity of the symptoms you experience. If your behaviours and coping strategies are positive you will remain at EASE. If your behaviours and coping strategies are negative you will enhance the dis-EASE. The longer you wait to address the underlying issue, the more severe the dis-EASE will become. Two Common Examples of Dis-EASE: 1) Obesity = Hiding or protecting yourself from a mental, emotional or spiritual blow. This is a common form of dis-EASE experienced by many, many people. So often I find my clients are carrying excess body fat because they are hiding or protecting themselves from dealing with an issue that has caused them great pain. I once had a client who had cheated on her husband because she wasnt feeling fulfilled in their relationship. Her husband, who ultimately became aware that she had cheated, now becomes suspicious whenever she tries to improve her health and physical body; he is worried that she is trying to look good for someone else, so he responds to her efforts by ridiculing her. This woman is now in a pattern of hiding behind her body fat because she cannot deal with the judgment and persecution as well as her guilt for cheating. The dis-EASE (dissatisfaction within the relationship) is what led to the behaviour, which ultimately resulted in the manifestation of the disease of obesity. While we might try to treat the disease of obesity, it is the dis-EASE that led to the behaviours that must be resolved before the obesity will be resolved.
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Original Issue Negative Thought Negative Feeling Negative Belief Negative Behaviour Negative Symptom
Relationship dissatisfaction I am a bad person for seeking what I want in life Guilt I dont deserve to look and feel physically healthy again Eating junk food and not exercising Obesity
2) Heart Disease = Not following your heart and passions. Much of my work is based in the corporate world and I see many clients with the symptoms of heart disease. So many of these people are also suffering with the emotional conflict of unrealised dreams. There are a lot of people out there who have devoted their lives to wellpaying jobs that allow them to afford a certain lifestyle, but otherwise leave them feeling completely unfulfilled. I have one client who always wanted to be a painter but became a lawyer because it was expected that he would follow in his fathers footsteps and someday run the family practice. Original Issue Negative Thought Negative Feeling Negative Belief Negative Behaviour Negative Symptom Feeling overwhelmed by the expectation of someday running the family law practice I have to forget my passion for painting and become a lawyer to meet my familys expectations, and besides, painters dont make any money Anger and loss for selling out to others expectations My family will disown me if I dont take care of the law practice Suppressing my passions through alcohol, junk food and gambling Heart disease
Notice that these diseases are originally set in motion by the persons thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours. This is very empowering because you have complete control over the quality of your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours. And by dealing with the negative thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours that created the disease and substituting them with positive thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours about the original issue, you can actually reduce or remove the symptoms of the disease. The key to reducing or removing dis-EASE in your life is to intervene immediately when an issue arises that removes you from a state of EASE. Your body will give you signposts (or symptoms) along the way in the form of thoughts, feelings, beliefs, behaviours and coping strategies; if you are experiencing any that are negative you must seek out and address the underlying issue.
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Quick Quiz
If the tap in your bathroom was left on and your sink was overflowing causing water to flood throughout your house, would you: A B C D Mop up the water immediately. Turn off the tap. Put a bucket under the tap to catch the water. None of the above.
If you answered A or C you have not been paying attention both of these strategies only deal with the symptoms not the cause of the issue. If you answered D you are like the ostrich burying its head in the sand, if the symptoms (flooding) were to continue much longer your house would float away! If you answered B, you are becoming an expert in dis-EASE removal you went straight to the source of the issue and dealt with it accordingly. Well done!
How do you know if you are experiencing dis-EASE?

In the same way that a luxury car has an on-board computer that detects and alerts the owner when something is not working optimally, the human body has its own special way of alerting you when something is going wrong. Its way of doing this is to present you with physical, mental or emotional symptoms. Symptoms of dis-EASE are signs that there is a block or excess buildup of energy in your body that must be freed by addressing the underlying issue. Symptoms are signs to prompt you to re-establish balance in your life, they can include: Aches and pains Muscle spasm (sore neck, lower back, knees, etc.) Injury Illness Discomfort (ulcers, headaches) Stress and anxiety Sleeping difficulties Upset stomach (diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome, etc.)
Visit www.activateyourlife.com.au now and complete the free EASE Questionnaire to find out how close you are to living your life of EASE. When you return, well look at strategies for removing dis-EASE from your life.
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How do we reduce or remove dis-EASE?

Having completed the EASE Questionnaire you will now be more aware of the areas of disEASE in your life, so how do you reduce or remove dis-EASE and return to a state of EASE?
Dissect any Issues that cause Structural Stress in the Energetic (physical), Analytical (mental), Spiritual or Emotional aspects of your life this will help you to identify the cause or causes of your dis-EASE and you can then begin to eliminate them.
Eliminating dis-EASE in five simple steps:

Step One Make a decision to do so You must want to eliminate dis-EASE; you must want to change. People are primarily motivated by two forces: pleasure and pain. We all seek to either attain pleasure or avoid pain. If you are not experiencing enough pain from your current life experience, then perhaps you will not be motivated enough to change. But if you have decided that enough is enough and you want to move away from the pain in your life then you must create a feeling of immense pleasure from what it is you wish to become, do and have in your life. When the pleasure stimulus is strong enough, you will initiate a strong enough momentum (or commitment) to bring about change in your life. Step Two Raise your awareness of your thoughts You must become a detective, tracking down any negative thoughts that may begin the disEASE process. You must be aware that negative thoughts do exist and when they arise you must be fully aware of their presence. More on managing your thoughts in the next chapter. Step Three Choose the appropriate response to your thoughts At this stage, you decide whether to respond positively to a thought or to simply dismiss it, rather than reacting to it without thinking when you master this, you master your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours again, more on this in the next chapter. 15
Step Four Identify and remove the issue that is causing the structural stress Imagine your life as a hot air balloon; complete physical, mental, emotional and spiritual freedom is when the balloon is flying, but before you can fly you must cut the ropes that are keeping you grounded. Think of these ropes as issues that must be identified and removed before you can experience complete freedom. Asking yourself quality questions is the key to cutting the ropes that ground you. A quality question is one that leads to the root cause of an issue, prompts new thinking and opens up a new level of awareness. For example, if someone is carrying too much body fat and has a concern for his health, he might ask himself: Why has this situation occurred? Because I dont have time to cook and therefore I eat too much take-away food. OK, why dont I have time to cook? Because I am too busy at work. Why am I too busy at work? Because I have a mortgage to pay and two kids to support. What would it mean to me if I couldnt pay the mortgage and look after my kids? It would mean that we are unable to live the lifestyle that I choose and that I would be seen as a failure in the eyes of my partner and children. How would that make me feel? would feel guilty. Can you see how quality questions soon get to the true cause of a persons issue? Note how the original symptom was this persons concern for his level of body fat and how this was affecting his health, however, when quality questions are asked it soon becomes evident that his real issue is one of not wanting to feel guilty for not providing for his family. When you discover the root cause of an issue, focus on finding an appropriate solution. Too often we focus on the problem rather than on the solution we treat the symptoms rather than 16
the underlying cause which only masks the dis-EASE and can introduce other negative side effects. Step Five Live in the present moment It is important to go through life being aware of how you feel. This means being present in the now, not living in the past or in the future. The present is the only thing you have absolute power over in your life. The exercises in Toolbox 1 (below) will help you to learn to start living in the present moment. The Unfinished Business worksheet in chapter four will to help you to close any old or incomplete cycles of energy in your life, which will free up any energy that is stuck in the past and give you more energy to deal with the important issues in the present.
TOOLBOX 1 Getting Present

Learning to live in the present moment and to remain conscious of your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, behaviours and even surroundings requires practice we spend so much of our lives reliving the past, planning for the future and operating on auto-pilot that being present is not something many people know how to do. Try these exercises to help you become more centred, focused and aware of the present moment. Present Tense Focus your awareness on each of the five senses in turn and describe to yourself exactly what you are experiencing in this moment: really taste your food, smell smells, see colours, hear sounds and feel objects. (This is a good way to sober up an intoxicated person. Because a drunken person is out of their mind (or reality) when they are drunk, this process brings them back into their body and back into the now. Try this next time you have a few too many!). CE 0 The following exercise is commonly used by clearing practitioners, it is an exercise in being. After you do this you will feel a lot more present, a lot calmer and more centred within yourself. Find a partner and sit facing each other, knee to knee. Look into each others eyes, dont say anything and dont move for the next ten minutes. If you feel like moving, itching or shuffling, try not to this is just your subconscious letting go of some dis-EASE. If you feel like laughing, go for it this is a great way to discharge any emotional dis-EASE.
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Chapter Two Your External World Is a Reflection of Your Internal World

Many of our current beliefs are simply automatic responses that result from our conditioning. Your family, the school you went to, the friends you choose to spend time with, the ads, programs and movies you watch on TV, the magazines and newspapers you read all conspire to help you to subconsciously create your belief system. But even though these external influences have helped to shape your beliefs, you have chosen and created the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that make up the life that you lead every day. You, and only you, can choose to recreate the reality that you want. If you want to change your life, its time to take personal responsibility for changing your limiting thoughts and beliefs. We must begin by believing that anything is possible. Most people dont dare to dream big because they are afraid of two things, either failure or success. There is no such thing as failure; every time you are unsuccessful at something there is a lesson for you to learn on your journey toward your goal. Failure is deciding to give up and to not learn the lesson. Imagine if as small children learning to walk we decided after falling over for the fifteenth time that we were no good at walking and gave up. Luckily, we didnt. Thomas Edison famously took more than one thousand attempts to invent the light bulb; each time he was unsuccessful he didnt consider it a failure, instead he considered himself to be one step closer to achieving his goal. And if its not failure that people are afraid of, it is success. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness which frightens us most. We ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to manifest the glory that is within us. It is not just within some of us, it is in everyone. And when we let the light shine, we subconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
Marianne Williamson
In order to remove ourselves from the influence of our fears we must change the way we think, feel, believe and behave. Are you ready to do this? Trust me, it is better than staying where you are or living a life full of regrets; a life full of could-have, would-have, should-have. Are you ready to become the best you can be?
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Your life is a reflection of your current thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours
Did you know that your thoughts and feelings create your current reality? Your beliefs define the way you choose to react to your thoughts and feelings, creating your behaviours, which manifest as your current experience of life. Lets look at this a little closer
Your thoughts and feelings create your current reality

Have you ever had the experience of feeling like you could achieve anything you desired? Have you ever performed well under pressure and felt like you had all the energy in the world? Have you ever experienced a time when your mind was completely still and you were at one with the task at hand? Have you ever experienced your entire being working in perfect harmony to allow you to perform at your peak? Think of one perfect moment that you have experienced and relive it in your minds eye. Replay the scene so that you can see exactly where you were when it happened. Remember who you were with, what the weather was like, what you could hear and smell, what feelings you were experiencing. If you were to measure your physiological responses as you vividly recall this perfect moment you would notice some interesting changes happening throughout your body. Your heart rate may have increased, your blood pressure may have risen, you may have started to perspire lightly and your muscles may have started to move slightly as they re-enact that moment. You may also notice that you become emotionally charged or perhaps very calm. By re-experiencing this event in your imagination you have uncovered two of the most important keys to developing a solid foundation for your life of EASE: 1. Your mind, body, emotions and spiritual-self are all connected; they work collectively to produce every experience you have. In other words, your thoughts and feelings create your physical reality. 2. Imagined experiences affect your physiological function in almost the same way as real experiences do; your subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between a real and an imagined event. Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
Napoleon Hill
If you look at most successful people, whether they are Olympic athletes, entrepreneurs or performers, what separates them from others is not their physical prowess but their mental strength and emotional attitude. In his best selling book, The Psychology of Winning, psychologist Dr Denis Waitley identifies ten qualities that define a winner, these are: 1. Positive Self-Awareness 3. Positive Self-Control 5. Positive Self-Expectancy 7. Positive Self-Direction 9. Positive Self-Dimension 2. Positive Self-Esteem 4. Positive Self-Motivation 6. Positive Self-Image 8. Positive Self-Discipline 10. Positive Self-Projection
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Notice that none of these qualities are of the physical variety, yet they all have an incredibly powerful effect on physical performance. Dr Waitley concludes that the single most important factor in determining success at any task, be it sport, business, family or social life is a persons attitude. I am sure that you know of people who have an abundance of talent people who are athletically gifted, artistic, creative and even good looking but despite all of this they have never lived up to their potential because they havent developed a winning attitude. Equally, I am sure that you are aware of those individuals who are not gifted with any special talent, physically, mentally or creatively, yet because of their attitude they have risen to great success in their chosen fields. The key to successful performance in life is to train your mind and emotions just as you would train your physical body. I guarantee that any failure you have ever experienced, be it in your career, study, sport, relationships and so on was due to the poor performance of your thoughts and feelings at that time. Take a jog down memory lane and remember an event that you would classify as a negative experience what were your thoughts and feelings like at that time? Thoughts are essentially the seeds from which your feelings, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours grow. Your thoughts are so powerful that they have the ability to affect you in either a positive or negative way, so it is very important that you learn to use your thoughts to your best advantage. Make the decision to no longer continue thinking the same thoughts, which produce the same feelings, beliefs and behaviours. Make the decision to become the guardian of your thoughts and feelings and in doing so, create a new reality and a new, more empowering life. To take control of your thoughts you must: 1. Make the decision to do so. 2. Become aware of your thoughts. You must be aware that they exist and be fully aware of their presence. This is easier said than done because we spend so much of our lives operating out of habit, without conscious awareness. We are very seldom actually present enough with ourselves to be fully aware of our thought processes. To raise your awareness you must learn to turn your attention inwards. Meditation is a great way to become more present, centred and inwardly focused. 3. Choose appropriate responses to your thoughts. This is where you consciously decide to either respond positively to a thought or to simply dismiss it. Allow a thought to be in your presence for at least a full second before you respond. Too often we react quickly based on an underlying emotion and we act out an unnecessary behaviour. Take your time and be selective, you do not have to react to every thought or impulse that comes into your mind. Being responsive rather than impulsive will enable you to win back control over your thoughts. It is only possible to think of one thing at a time. Test yourself; try to think of yourself as a success and a failure at the same time you will find it impossible to think both positively and negatively simultaneously, which is why it is so important to have control over your thoughts and to focus on the positive, while recognising and managing the negative. In the next section you will see that the role of your subconscious mind is to manifest your reality based on your most prominent thoughts and beliefs. In other words, you get what you focus on, so why not decide to focus on your most positive thoughts? 20
Your beliefs determine how you choose to react to your thoughts and feelings
The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as the deed; The deed develops into habit; And hardens into character; So watch the thought and its way with care; And let it spring from love; Born out of concern for all beings As the shadow follows the body, as we think we become.
From the Dhammapada (Sayings of the Buddha)
If I were to ask you, Who are you? the answer you give would be based on your self-image that is, the way you see yourself. This will not necessarily be true or false, but because of your beliefs, it is true for you. You are the sum total of all your thoughts, feelings and beliefs up until this point in time and these have combined to help you create your own identity or self-image. The self-image and its influence on human behaviour was one of the most significant psychological discoveries of the twentieth century. Scientists have confirmed that every human being holds in their mind a mental image of who they understand themselves to be; this is a comprehensive collection of beliefs that we each hold to be true about ourselves. These beliefs are built up over the years based on our personal experiences, our family conditioning and our socialisation with other human beings. Subconsciously we take into account all of our successes, failures, comments from teachers, parents, friends and enemies and from this we create a model of who we believe ourselves to be as a person. Most of our self-image is developed in our childhood and by our teenage years it is well entrenched in our brains. All of our thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours are consistent with our self-image; most psychologists agree that it is impossible for a person to act in a way that is contrary to their selfimage. Once a belief or behaviour is programmed into our minds it becomes true for us from that day onwards and we act out our lives in accordance with that belief or behaviour. Effectively, you are the type of person you are today because of the way you perceive yourself in your mind. Can you see what a powerful effect the self-image can have on your life? Can you begin to understand why it is that you have never found it easy to become fit, healthy, wealthy or to attract the ideal relationship? Because the role of your subconscious mind is to create your life in a way that is consistent with your self-image, is it really any wonder that you struggle despite all your conscious efforts to change your current reality? Research shows that when the self-image is changed an individuals behaviours and personality change easily, without the need for conscious effort or will power.
How was my self-image created and how do I change it?

Your self-image comes from the constant thoughts and conversations (or self-talk) that take place in your mind all day, every day. We are constantly describing our experiences in our minds, whether labelling, judging or forming opinions and ideas about people, events and situations, in fact almost everything that comes into our awareness helps to shape our selfimage. Ultimately, this self-talk sets limits on what we think, feel, believe and behave. The problem is that most people have very negative self-talk and because of this we develop a negative self-image and poor self-esteem which hold us back from achieving our full potential. 21
Matthew McKay and Martha Davis, in their book Thoughts & Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods and Your Life identified the following important characteristics of the messages we receive through our self-talk: They are discrete messages, often very brief with only a few essential words or key images, and are difficult to stop because of their reflexive nature. No matter how irrational or absurd, the self-talk is usually believed and rarely questioned or challenged. They often contain words or thoughts such as should, must, and have to. Ultimately leading to feelings of fear, guilt, inadequacy and loss of self-esteem. The self-talk often expects the worst outcome from any situation. Self-talk is learnt; we are socialised by family, friends, colleagues and the media to interpret events in certain ways.
Some examples of negative self-talk include: Oh, I could never do that, Ive always struggled with losing weight, My job is so stressful, I always get a cold in winter. You are the person you are today because you are a by-product of: all the thoughts you have been thinking, all the feelings you have been feeling, all the beliefs you have been believing, and all the behaviours you have been behaving up until this present moment. In order for you to change your self-image you must first change your self-talk. If you continue to use the same self-talk you will continue to get the same results. Do you know what the definition of insanity is? Doing the same thing every time and expecting to get a different result! Negative self-talk can become a habitual way of life, one that can significantly affect your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, behaviours and results, but one that can be changed with a little concentrated effort. Practicing positive affirmations is a very good way of overcoming the limitations caused by negative self-talk. Positive affirmations are brief yet powerful statements that, through constant repetition, are implanted into our minds and help to replace the negative affirmations that we fuel our minds with every day. Positive self-talk through the use of affirmations is one of the most effective means of improving and changing your behaviour. Because the affirmations help you to change the way you picture yourself in your mind, they provide your subconscious with the information it needs to create a new self-image. This is commonly referred to as imprinting we look at an easy three-step imprinting process in the next chapter.
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Karma
The idea that your internal world creates your external world is not a new one; it has been around for many thousands of years. Buddhists often refer to it as Karma. The following is an excerpt from Lama Surya Das in his book Awakening the Buddha Within. Karma means that you dont get away with anything; we all reap exactly what we sow. People sometimes think of karma as destiny, but in fact, the word actually translates as action and reactions. In the Buddhist view, there are no accidents. In very simple terms, the traditional Buddhist Law of Dependent Origination means that every cause has an effect, and every effect has a cause. Where does karma come from? Each of us is a composite of different experiences, a whirling, changing congeries of conflicting forces and habits. Some of these experiences are within our memory banks; some are in our body; some are like knots, kinks, blocks and twists in our energy. Some of these experiences happened last week; according to Buddhist belief, some may have happened a hundred or more years ago. Each of these experiences has impacted us and left a karmic imprint which conditions us with an equally conditioned reaction or response in kind. Something happens to you. You respond with an action, a word or a thought. This action leaves an imprint in your mind (or to be more technically precise, in your stream of being) that creates further karma. When you become accustomed to behaving a certain way, or being treated and reacting in a certain way, you become conditioned to it. This conditioning is part of your karma. It reminds me of the feeling we all know so well of being stuck in a rut that just keeps getting deeper from the spinning wheels. The more we deepen that rut through use, the harder it becomes to break free of it. New karma is being made all the time. When one acts with a positive motivation, goodness is furthered. When one acts out of negative motivation negativity is furthered. We can recondition ourselves to act with wisdom. The important thing to understand here is that you are not a victim. You are your own master. As you sow, so shall you reap. The law of karma spells out very meticulously that everything has its implications; every thought, word and deed has an effect. Everything, absolutely everything we think, say or do makes a difference. Wrap your mind around that thought. Karma implies conditioning and repetition. His is a joyous liberating message because every moment we are presented with the possibility of changing the future. We change and our future changes too. This is the truth. This is karma. We are responsible, the lever of our own destiny remains in our hands. I want you to find out exactly how you see yourself right now. Before you can unlock your true potential you must first raise your awareness and begin to understand how you have learnt to think and feel about yourself up until this point in your life. With an increased level of understanding will come the ability to start choosing new ways of thinking, feeling, believing and behaving, which will enhance your self-image. Take a pen and answer the following question in no more than ten lines. Just write whatever comes into your mind.
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Who are you? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Now, answer the following questions in no more than five lines each. Once again, just write whatever first comes into your mind. How much is your life worth in monetary terms and why? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ When do you think you will die and why? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Your answers will probably reflect a mix of different thoughts and conclusions that you have about yourself, some positive and some negative. What I want you to do is identify any of the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours that are holding you back in your life. Living with these is like being in that hot air balloon waiting for take off, but until all the ropes are cut the balloon cannot go anywhere. Your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours create your comfort zone and a comfort zone is the most uncomfortable place to be. This is where dis-EASE manifests. As Carolyn Myss puts it in her book, Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing, your biography is a reflection of your biology. Take the next ten minutes to identify any negative thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviour patterns you have in your life. They could be holding you back in your career, business, sport, health, relationships, social life and more. Some examples may include: Ive always struggled to lose weight, Children should be seen but not heard, Only losers fail and Successful people are lucky. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 24
Take a good look at the beliefs you listed above and challenge them by asking: Where did I get this belief? If it came from another person or group, are they in any position to give me such a belief? How much has this belief cost me up until this point? State undeniably why this belief is wrong and look for proof from other people who think the opposite of you.
Re-creating your self-image

Learning to change your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours is the key to changing your results. Any behavioural change, whether it is an individual wanting to improve their health or a companys mission to earn a billion dollars, must first happen in your thoughts. Often when we strive to make changes or improvements in our lives we place too much emphasis on our external environment on the new skills, procedures or techniques to be learnt, the new equipment or diet and fitness program we will need yet to be effective we must first direct change toward our mindset, to change the limiting thoughts, feelings and beliefs that support our existing behaviour. Beliefs are so powerful that they even have the ability to affect us physically. Professor Bernie Siegel from Yale University, when working with patients with multiple personality disorder, found that because the patients belief that they were in fact a different person was so powerful it resulted in measurable physiological changes. Professor Siegel noted that some patients eye colour would change as their personality changed; chronic illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes came and went; and physical markings on their bodies appeared and disappeared depending on who the patient believed he or she was at the time. In order for you to be able to change a negative belief, or to modify your behaviour, you must begin by believing that it is possible. Positive self-talk and affirmations will lay the ground work for this change, but to really cement the change, we must learn to embrace and implement the power of visualisation. Visualisation is about installing positive mental images into your mind that will achieve a desired result by giving you positive self-direction. The benefits of visualisation are immense and can be used in all aspects of your life to learn new skills, improve current skills, overcome sickness or injury, even to speed up the healing process, overcome anxiety or fears and to create a life of EASE. For many years, athletes have harnessed the power of visualisation to enhance their sporting performance. One very common study involving a group of basketball players performing free throws showed how their accuracy could be improved through mental, rather than physical practice. Over a period of one-month the control group was instructed to do no practice at all, another group was instructed to perform one-hour of free throw practice every day and a third group was instructed to practice free throws, not physically, but visually in their minds. At the end of the month the results for the group that did not practice at all fell from 39 per cent to 37 per cent accuracy, the second group improved their average from 39 per cent to 41 per cent and the third group, which only practiced in their minds, improved their average from 39 per cent to 42.5 per cent.
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Because the subconscious mind cannot distinguish between a real and an imagined event the process of visualisation activates the neural pathways in much the same way as actual physical practice. The greater the amount of practice (or repetition) through visualisation, the stronger the neural pathways become, which creates the desired behaviour and the desired result. To imagine visual images is very much a natural skill, which everyone performs consciously or subconsciously throughout the day. However, thinking visually and installing positive mental images is a very different process. Day-to-day visual imagery is performed randomly and when coupled with negative self-talk can be detrimental and lead to negative outcomes. Positive mental imaging however is performed very deliberately and requires as much attention to master as any other skill. This is not to say that visualisation is difficult, it just requires some practice. For a full description of how to visualise effectively see chapter three. By now you will understand the power of your mind and how it creates your external world. With a commitment to practicing positive self-talk, positive affirmations and creative visualisation on a daily basis, it will not be long before you are creating the life of your dreams, starting from the inside out.
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Stress and Dis-EASE

Studies from the 1950s, 60s and 70s predicted that with advances in technology we would have a lot more leisure time by the year 2000. How wrong they were! Today we are expected to produce a lot more, of a higher quality, as fast as possible and all with less support than we had 30 years ago. In this information age we spend more time living inside our heads than in our bodies; we move less and think more and it is taking a major toll on our health. The effects of pressure have become so prevalent in our lives that they have even been given it a name: stress. Stress is an internal phenomenon. You might say, My office is stressful or My shopping mall gives me stress or You try having four kids and not being stressed! But while these are contributors to the stress process they do not create stress. There is no such thing as external stress. Stress is in your thoughts, feelings and beliefs and how you choose to behave in response to an external pressure. If you feel that a situation is more demanding than you are capable of handling, then you will experience stress.
Stress Model
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The three major causes of stress

Acute Pressure Acute Pressure is pressure that only lasts for a short period of time. As an example, imagine you are a cat strolling through the backyard, minding your own business, when suddenly a rabid dog jumps over the fence and charges straight toward you. Your body would react immediately by activating a series of neurological, biochemical, hormonal and physiological actions, all designed to help you avoid the dog and survive. This automatic response is commonly referred to as the fight or flight response. The stress response in the case of our cat runs its course very quickly: the dog bolts over the fence and charges at the cat (the external pressure), which causes the cats brain and hormonal system to release a series of stress hormones (the stress response), which in turn puts the cat in a physiological state to either fight the dog or run away (the fight or flight response). After escaping the dog, the cats stress hormones return to normal and it is soon strolling through the backyard again. This is an example of acute pressure causing stress. The short-term effects of acute stress include an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, body temperature and adrenaline output as well as feelings of anxiety, nervousness and tension. Chronic Pressure Unfortunately in todays world, we humans are not as fortunate as the cat. Every day we deal with situations that cause continuous stress alarm clocks, unexpected bills, mortgage repayments, traffic jams, work, family and partner commitments all of which can be harder to escape than the rabid dog and unlike the rabid dog, they come back time and time again. This creates a situation where we are constantly stuck in the middle of the stress response, where our stress hormones are elevated for long periods of time. Although this is not immediately life-threatening (as is the acute pressure situation of the cat and the dog), over the long-term it can lead to obesity, reduced sex-drive, weakened immune system, loss of memory and poor feelings of well-being. If we cannot remove or escape from acute stress, it soon becomes chronic stress. Imagined Pressure Our subconscious minds cannot distinguish between a real and an imagined event. Therefore, even though some of our fears may be anticipated or imagined, rather than actual, they still activate the bodys stress responses. If these fears are not dealt with they will soon become a source of chronic stress. A large proportion of the stress we experience is caused by either a fear of failure or fear of success. Fear of failure can be traced back to a fear of loss in some form loss of control, reputation, money, livelihood and even life. Fear of success on the other hand can be traced to a fear of your own greatness, which may actually also lead back to a fear of loss loss of freedom, loss of privacy, loss of leisure time, loss of having a life. FEAR = False Expectations Appearing Real. It is thought that as much as 90 per cent of all fears never eventuate and that the other 10 per cent often dont turn out to be as bad as we expect. You need to be aware that fear is a negative thought and the more you focus on it, the more likely it will manifest itself in your life. 28
The best way to deal with your fears is to categorise them as things you can control and things you cannot control. For example:
It is pointless to worry about things that you cannot control they are what they are and whatever will be will be there is nothing you can do about them. Focus instead on the things you can control. Begin by putting them into perspective. Ask yourself, If this fear were to eventuate, how stressful would it be on a scale from 1-10? On a scale from 1-10 how bad can this situation possibly be?
As you can see only 1-2 per cent of all fears are really worth worrying about. The others, which are more likely to really be inconveniences, should be confronted and dealt with before they create further dis-EASE in your life. There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
Shakespeare
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Outcomes of stress
The effects of stress can be either positive or negative depending entirely on how you choose to view the external pressure. Positive Outcomes of Stress include: Increased physical, mental and emotional performance Growth Change Creativity Fun and enjoyment
The human body loves positive stress as it provides a stimulus for growth and improvement. Im sure you know of people who just seem to be cruising through life merely existing and not truly experiencing these people do not have enough positive stress in their lives. Unfortunately, if we are not growing, we are dying, and these people are simply waiting to die. The key to living an amazing life is to fill it with positive stress so that you are continually growing and developing. What is a source of positive stress for one person may be a source of negative stress for another. Your experience will depend on your stress threshold and the coping strategies you employ. To determine whether an event causes you positive or negative stress you need to be aware of its affect on your body. Negative Outcomes of Stress include: Heart disease Cancer Diabetes Obesity Illness and injury Burnout and breakdown
Exposure to too much stress for too long will reduce the ability of your immune system and enhance your susceptibility to dis-EASE. The first sign of any dis-EASE in your life is a good indicator that you have surpassed your stress threshold. As with all forms of dis-EASE, before you can address your stress you must first confront the underlying issue(s) causing it. If these issues, thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours are not dealt with they can end up ruling our lives and creating self-destructive patterns, which will eventually lead to burnout or even breakdown.
Identify your optimal level of stress

To achieve an optimal balance of stress in your life you should look to involve yourself in situations which are neither too relaxing nor too stressful, but somewhere in between. If something is too easy you will not become sufficiently stimulated to produce a quality performance or growth, and if it is too difficult you will become over-stimulated which will also 30
affect your ability to produce a quality performance and lead to dis-EASE. Becoming an expert in your own stress management is simply a matter of putting yourself into situations that provide you with enough stimulation to perform at your peak. For years sport psychologists have used the Inverted U principle to educate athletes about how to manage their optimal level of stress.
Coping Strategies
By listening to your body you will be able to implement positive solutions to reduce the effects of stress in your life. Positive Coping Strategies: Planning ahead Thinking positive and empowering thoughts Eliminating toxins Exercising Eating well Resting, relaxing and rejuvenating Evaluating
Negative Coping Strategies: Too often people will deal with the effects of stress by using either stimulants to kick-start the body or suppressants to slow it down. Unfortunately, most of these stimulants and suppressants are toxic. Continuously pumping your body with toxins is one of the fastest ways to inflict damage on yourself. Toxins can take the form of:
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Stimulants Caffeine Nicotine Recreational drugs Sugar
Suppressants Alcohol Prescription drugs High fat or processed foods
Behaviours Work addiction Sex addiction Exercise addiction Food addiction (overeating/under eating) Television addiction Gambling
The problem with these coping strategies is they do not address the root cause of the stress. They simply mask the symptoms and thus become detrimental to your health.
How Stress Manifests as Dis-EASE:
Are you suffering from stress?

Why not perform the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program to help your body recover from the toxins and stress you have been experiencing? Visit www.activateyourlife.com.au for details.
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Creating a Life of EASE
Chapter Three
In this chapter you will begin to begin to create and experience some incredible, life-changing results. Creating EASE is about using your imagination to redesign the vision you have for your life there are no limits this is your opportunity to expand your current reality, your comfort zone and your context. Have fun and dont hold anything back! As you are now aware, your current life experience is a manifestation of all the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours that you have ever had, or performed, up until this very moment. If you are experiencing dis-EASE in any aspect of your life, you (and only you) are 100% responsible for its creation (if you are struggling with this concept, thats okay; give your mind permission to be open and it will soon become clearer to you). The good news is this: if you have created your reality up until this moment, then you will continue to create it for the rest of your life. And if you are not completely satisfied with your life, you are in a position to re-create the life of your dreams, a life full of EASE, simply by choosing to think, feel, believe and behave differently to the way you have up until now. I am going to give you five simple steps that will help you to achieve your life of EASE. They are easy to implement, theyre fun and best of all they work. A life of EASE is a life full of energetic, analytical, spiritual and emotional freedom.
Andrew McCombe
Universal Laws
Did you know that there are laws that govern everything in our universe? These are not man-made laws, but natural laws of physics that support every minute of your existence, without you even being aware of them. These are principles of the science called quantum physics. Being aware of these principles will give you access to an abundant flow of power that will help you to create your life of EASE, whatever that may be for you. What on earth does quantum physics have to do with creating a life of EASE? Well, quantum physics is the study of everything that makes up the universe. To gain an understanding of quantum physics is to gain an understanding of what everything in the universe is made up of. Once you have this understanding, you will know why your thoughts are so powerful in creating your experiences. Human beings are composed of cells, which are composed of molecules, which are composed of atoms, which when broken down become sub-atomic particles, which are energy. Everything in the universe is made up of energy. Everything. Your car, your house, your television and even your thoughts are all components of energy. If you were to look through a very powerful microscope you would see that the entire universe is one massive flow of energy. This energy vibrates at different wavelengths, which our senses perceive as solid matter. But this is just an illusion, nothing is truly solid. It is only because our senses register this energy in a certain way that we perceive it the way we do. 33
The sub-atomic particles that are floating around out there as energy are completely within our control. It is because of our thoughts that they arrange themselves as houses, buildings, mountains and so on. Effectively, our mind is the link between the infinite universal energy and the physical reality through which we observe this energy. Albert Einstein and other scientists have proved that the energy packets (or quanta) that make up the infinite universal energy are not bound by time or space that is, they are not separate to each other but they are all one. As our thoughts are energy, they too are part of this one energy. To illustrate, imagine the universe as a massive tree that has billions of branches and leaves. You, as a human, are a branch in this tree and even though you are separate from all the other branches and leaves, you are still part of this one big tree. The reason that we, indeed anything, exists is so that the universe can experience itself. This massive flow of energy has individuated itself and we are all part of it. We are here to be the experience; we have an infinite array of experiences available to us all we have to do is choose to experience them. Your life of EASE already exists if you are not experiencing it that is because your conscious attention is focused on something else. To experience your life of EASE simply change what you are focusing on and it will begin to manifest. Your current belief system may be struggling with this idea right now, but if you remain open (and to do this you may want to do some further research into quantum physics), then you are more than 90% of the way toward creating your life of EASE. I recommend that you listen to the inspirational CD series, Beyond Positive Thinking, by Dr Robert Anthony.
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Five Steps to EASE Creation

Because your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours create your reality all you must do to recreate your life of EASE is: think only the thoughts, feel only the feelings, believe only the beliefs, and behave only the behaviours that will create the reality that you want. Its as simple as these five steps:
Step One Activate Your Being

Activating Your Being requires you to answer three very important questions before you can move on to the next step. Question one: Who do you want to be?
Activating Your Being is the process through which you get to re-design the person you want to be its about designing the Being you want to become and then being that person now. As with any design process, it is vitally important to be 100% clear on what outcome you want, before you begin. A concept that many people find challenging is that time is a man-made illusion. Time is simply our minds ability to sequence our experiences. There is no past or future, only the present this moment, now. Now is the only time that you can create your life of EASE. It is not created in the future. If you say, Someday I will be fit and healthy you are creating the reality that Someday you will be fit and healthy, thats great! Unfortunately, someday never comes, there is always only now. If you desire health and fitness now you must say, I AM fit and healthy, even if all evidence suggests otherwise. The evidence is just an illusion. What you are currently experiencing is what you have BEEN up until this very moment. Now is the time to change your BEING. It is through being that you begin to create your life of EASE. Answer the following question in no more than ten lines. Just write whatever comes into your mind, dont censor or edit yourself. Who do you want to be? Describe this person _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 35
Question two:
What is your purpose?
If you were a master painter and your life was a canvas, your purpose would be the combination of thoughts, feelings, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that create your very own masterpiece. Your purpose is who you are, what you do and why you do it. It is the essence of your existence; the reason why you are the way you are. Your purpose is incredibly important; it is the culmination of all the values and feelings that provide the inner fire that motivates you to achieve your vision. If you do not currently know what your purpose is, then your purpose is to discover you lifes purpose. The two best ways I know of finding your lifes purpose are to: 1. Ask yourself: What makes me happy? Remember when you were a kidwhat made you laugh? What made you excited? What made you stay up all night in anticipation of the next day? It might have been sport, reading, acting, building or something else altogether. Consider that it wasnt the activity itself, but the values or feelings that the activity gave you that you loved. What could give you those same feelings today? 2. Ask yourself: What would I do if I had all the time and money that I ever needed and could do something for others? Answer the following question just write whatever comes into your mind. What is your purpose? Describe it _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ When you have identified your purpose, put it into a purpose statement that you can pin on your wall or keep on the desk in your office. For example: My purpose is to become the best I can be at all that I do, so that I inspire and empower others to be the best they can be, in all that they do. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Its okay if you dont get 100 per cent clarity on this all at once. In fact, chances are if you have not considered what your lifes purpose is before, it will take a little time to create your purpose statement. Put aside some time every day to work on your statement until you feel it is a true representation of who you are and why you are on this planet. It is okay to have a work in progress. 36
Question three:
What is your vision?
Your vision is the result of achieving all the goals in your life that support your purpose. It is a visual reference of exactly what you will be, do and have when your purpose manifests in your reality. This is your chance to wipe the slate clean and change your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, behaviours, choices and results forever no more settling for second best. Be the enemy of average and create the results youve always dreamt of. Be very specific with the details of your vision, because you will get whatever you ask for. Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychiatrist, once said, Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. An excellent way of getting clear on your vision (albeit a little morbid) is to imagine that you have died and that there are 300 words written on your headstone. What do they say about you? What did you achieve in your life? What did your life look like?
Alternatively, try answering these questions: If you were living your ideal life of EASE What would you BE? What would you DO? What would you HAVE?
Answer the following question again, just write whatever first comes into your mind that supports the realisation of your purpose. What is your vision? Describe it __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ When you have identified your vision, put it into a vision statement that you can pin on your wall, keep in your goals book or on the desk in your office. For example: My vision is to have an organisation that provides everybody with the tools, education and empowerment to be the best they can be. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 37
Again, dont despair if you cannot find all the answers right now. It may take you time to get clarity on what your vision statement looks like. Just stay open to your intuition and let go of any limiting or negative beliefs. Spend some time on your vision statement every day until it feels right and you are happy with it.
Step Two Activate Your Thoughts

In step one you described who you are, what your purpose is and what it looks like when you are living your vision. From step two onward, you are going to create the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours that are aligned with the person you want to become. We carry within us the wonders we seek without us.
Thomas Browne
Your thoughts are the cause of your reality; you must master them in order to manifest your life of EASE. You already contain within you everything that you will ever require to achieve all of your goals and dreams simply by bringing focused attention to your thoughts, your underlying talents will step forth at exactly the right time. Therefore, we must know exactly what it is we want to achieve and begin to focus our thoughts upon it. Thoughts are the rocket fuel behind your purpose. The more you focus on your purpose, the faster it will become a reality. What positive thoughts do you need to think, visualise and feel on a daily basis in order to create your vision? Write them below as positive affirmations, visualise their successful outcome, practice feeling the feelings associated with achieving them and see how effectively they begin to manifest in your new life of EASE. (Refer to Toolbox 2 on page 42 for instructions on how to create affirmations and visualisations.)
Example: I choose to be a fit, strong and healthy person.
Health and Well-being
Finances
Example: I choose to live a financially abundant life.
Career
Example: I choose to work in the career of my dreams.
Family
Example: I choose to develop a strong, open bond with my family.
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Relationships
Example: I choose to invest my energy into forming high quality relationships.
Spirituality
Example: I choose to be the best person that I can be and fulfil my lifes purpose.
Hobbies/Interests
Example: I choose to make time for myself every day.
Significant Other
Example: I choose to spend quality time daily with my partner.
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Goal Setting
Your goals are essentially the road map to your vision. Goals break the long-term vision into stepping-stones and give your thoughts something to focus on every day. What are your goals? Use the space below to set eight goals (one for each aspect of your life) that will help you to begin living your life of EASE within the next 90 days. When you have created your goals, keep a copy of them with you and review them twice every day. Realise that simply by writing them down you will begin to attract these goals into your reality, so start getting excited! The more time you spend focusing on your goals, the faster they will manifest. (Refer to Toolbox 3 on page 44 for guidelines on SMARTER goal setting and Toolbox 4 on page 46 for more goal setting tips.) Health and Well-being
Finances
Career
Family
Relationships
Spirituality
Hobbies/Interests
Significant Other
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Step Three Activate Your Feelings

Now that you have finalised your thoughts and goals, what feelings will you need to feel in order to create your life of EASE? Perhaps the most important aspect of manifesting your vision is to focus your attention on the feelings that achieving your vision will give you it is these feelings that are the main reason for you wanting to achieve your goals and vision in the first place. There is no point creating a vision that does not make you feel compelled to achieve it. You will know if your vision is correct for you by instinct and by the feelings you get when setting your goals. What does your life of EASE (your vision) feel like to you? 1. ________________________________________________________________________ 2. ________________________________________________________________________ 3. ________________________________________________________________________ 4. ________________________________________________________________________ 5. ________________________________________________________________________ An excellent way to maintain these feelings is to find some pictures or images of your goals and/or of people experiencing the feelings your goals will give you and use them to create a collage that you can put on your wall where you will see it at least twice every day.
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TOOLBOX 2 There are two very effective ways of turbo-charging your new reality: positive affirmations and visualisation. The more regularly you affirm your goal, visualise yourself achieving the goal and feel the feelings associated with achieving the goal, the faster it will become a reality. Positive Affirmations One of the best ways to imprint positive mental pictures of your vision into your subconscious is to use positive affirmations. Imprinting occurs when your subconscious mind accepts the new image of the desired goal. Imprinting is a three-step process: Step One Affirm your desired goal Positive affirmations are simply statements of a new belief, outcome or result written in a personal, present tense and positive way, as though the goal were already a reality. For example: I (personal) am (present tense) a fit, strong and healthy person (positive). Step Two Visualise the successful achievement of your goal To do this, simply picture yourself achieving your desired goal. By doing this you are replacing your current self-image with your new, more desirable self-image. This is a very powerful technique because, as mentioned previously, your subconscious mind always seeks to manifest what you focus on the most. If you consistently focus on your positive goal, your subconscious mind will go to work to bring this goal into your current reality. Step Three Feel the feelings or emotions associated with achieving your goal Your subconscious mind is highly receptive to feelings. It responds to both positive and negative feelings, so be sure to focus only on the positive feelings associated with achieving your goal. The more often you practice feeling these strong positive feelings, the faster your goal will manifest in your reality. When you begin practicing your positive affirmations on a daily basis you may find that they dont work straight away. This is because you are re-setting your current thoughts, feelings and beliefs and in the changeover process your positive affirmations actually compete with your old, negative, limiting or conflicting thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Each time you state a positive affirmation, you may notice that your subconscious mind adds an additional negative affirmation to the end of the statement. For example, you might affirm, I am a fit, strong and healthy person, and if you are not at the present moment, your subconscious mind will add a negative affirmation such as, No, Im not, or If I am then I will attract a lot of attention and this will be uncomfortable. Does this sound familiar? Effectively, when you begin your new positive affirmations you are lying to your existing self-image and this creates a negative, limiting or conflicting response, which may actually keep you from achieving your goal. To avoid this add the words I choose to to your positive affirmation. For example, I choose to be a fit, strong and healthy person. By adding I choose to to the positive affirmation you are fully at choice with your desire to achieve your new goal and this will reduce any conflict with your current self. 42
Visualisation Because the subconscious mind cannot distinguish between a real and an imagined event, the process of visualisation activates the neural pathways in much the same way as actual experience does. The greater the amount of repetition through visualisation the stronger the neural pathways become, which creates the desired thoughts, feelings, beliefs, behaviours and results. Visualisation is the second step when imprinting positive images. At the beginning of any visualisation session you must first affirm your desired goal, then visualise the successful achievement of your goal and finally, feel the feelings or emotions associated with achieving your goal. Imprinting positive mental images using visualisation techniques is quite a different process to the visual thinking (imagining or daydreaming) that most people do consciously or subconsciously every day. These guidelines will help you to learn to visualise with a purpose and to use visualisations to help you create your life of EASE. Always begin a visualisation session with some form of relaxation exercise (a relaxation exercise example is provided in chapter four: Step Eight Establish a System for Effortlessness). This will allow you to become present and to focus your attention inward. When you relax, your brain waves go into an alpha and theta state, it is in this state that you access the creative right hemisphere of the brain, which makes visualisation a lot easier. Always sit upright and remain alert. If you lie down you run the risk of falling asleep. Limit your visualisation sessions to 10-15 minutes any longer and your concentration begins to wander. Be very specific on the detail of what you are visualising, as you will always get what you focus on. You may want to write out the details of your goal before you proceed. Recruit all of your senses when you visualise. Feel yourself shaking your new clients hand, see the new client in your office, hear the sound of them closing the door and sitting in the chair, taste the fresh orange juice your secretary has served for you and your client, smell the smells in the room and so on. By accessing all of your senses you will make the visualisation even more real and improve the overall effectiveness of the session. Perhaps the most important aspect of visualisation is to focus your attention on the feelings that achieving the goal will give you, because these are the main reason for you wanting to achieve the goal in the first place. Continue to visualise the desired goal until you have achieved it.
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TOOLBOX 3 SMARTER Goal Setting The SMARTER Goal Setting model outlines some important steps in setting goals. I will demonstrate how the model works with a health and well-being goal example. S =Specific and Measurable Write your goals in a clearly defined, precise, measurable and positive way as though youve already achieved them. For example, I bench-press a 100 kilogram barbell (without assistance) twice by December 31, 2004. M = Me Focused (controllable by me) Always focus on the process not the outcome. For example, I learn the necessary skills and technique to bench-press 100 kilograms. A = Attainable Make sure that your goals are realistic. They should challenge you but not be too difficult. If you cant see yourself achieving your goal, you probably wont. In his book The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desire, David Deida explains that when you operate at your edge, you get development. When you are too far over it, or too far away from it, you dont. Try to stay at your edge at all times; this is where you will get the fastest growth and development toward your goals. R = Review Regularly Review your goals twice every day to ensure that you stay on track to achieve them. Did you know that the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire is that a billionaire reads his or her goals twice per day and a millionaire only once? The more regularly you focus on your goals, the more likely you are to achieve them. T = Timed Goals without deadlines are just dreams. For example, I achieve my goal by December 31, 2004. E = Ecological Ensure that your goals dont conflict with other areas of your life. Your goals should be 100% compatible with your inner values and belief system. If not, you will find that your subconscious mind will sabotage your attempts to achieve them. Ask yourself whether your goals are congruent with all aspects of your life before you commit to them.
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R = Reasons and Rewards Why do you want to achieve this goal? What is the underlying feeling it will give you? What does this mean to you? You need a strong enough reason to want to achieve the goal to commit yourself to achieving it. Reward yourself for achieving your goals and to build motivation and confidence. Every time you achieve a goal CELEBRATE! You deserve it!
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TOOLBOX 4 More Tips for Goal Setting with EASE Write your goals down. Written goals have a higher success rate because you commit something from your subconscious to your conscious awareness where the specific actions and behaviours can be implemented to bring about the achievement of the goal. Immediately after setting goals perform the following exercises: Write down why it is that you no longer want to be in the state that you are currently in. For example, Im sick and tired of feeling tired and lethargic all the time, or Im so depressed at not being able to fit into my clothes anymore. Write down why you really want to achieve each goal and how you will feel when you do. For example, I will be able to go to the beach and wear a bikini without feeling embarrassed about my body, or I will feel so proud of myself because I know I have worked hard and deserve this goal. Only set a handful of goals at any one time and prioritise them. Put all your efforts into achieving your highest priority goals. If you are struggling to identify your highest priority goals, an Activate Your Life coach can assist you by utilising a unique and very powerful tool for goal prioritising. Ensure that you are constantly evaluating your goals. If you are not achieving them, you may need to adjust something within your plan, for example, making a change to your training program or decreasing your fat intake. If you are on the right track, reset your goal posts just prior to achieving each goal to ensure that you keep moving forward. Create a goals diary that you look at every day. Include your goals (in the order in which you want to achieve them) as well as pictures, articles, photographs, notes, positive affirmations and action plans relating to your goals. Make a goals collage with pictures and photos of your goals and put it somewhere you will see it every day. Place cards with your goals written on them around your house, office, in your car, wallet and so on so you will see them several times every day. If possible, keep your goals to yourself. The reason I recommend this is because your external world is a reflection of your internal world and therefore any subconscious resistance you may have about achieving your goals will be mirrored back to you in the early stages of your journey. For example, this could take the form of negative feedback from others that leaves you feeling like you are not making progress and could affect your ability to persist and follow through until you have achieved your goals. So, for the sake of your personal EASE, if you do choose to share your goals with anyone make sure they are supportive friends or family who you think will benefit you. When you have written down all of your goals, send a copy to three of your closest confidants. Let them know that you want them to help keep you accountable for achieving these goals and arrange a weekly meeting to discuss your progress and any issues that may arise in the process. Alternatively, you 46
may wish to work with a professional Activate Your Life coach to help guarantee the achievement of all your goals. Visit www.activateyourlife.com.au for details about how an Activate Your Life coach can benefit you.
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Step Four: Activate Your Beliefs

Anything new that comes into your life (people, possessions, places, ideas) has always been there; it is just that your attention wasnt focused on it, so it didnt appear in your conscious reality (or awareness). In fact, until it came into your reality you might not have even known that it existed. Have you ever had the experience when you hear a new word for the first time and then notice that you hear the same word several times over the next week or two? Or when you buy a new car and all of a sudden start seeing the same type of car everywhere? The reason this happens is because, by focusing on something new, you activate your Reticular Activating System. The Reticular Activating system is a very powerful part of our brains that helps to support our beliefs and current level of awareness. A belief is just your current reality supporting your thoughts and feelings. These thoughts and feelings appear in your Reticular Activating System and with all the supporting evidence the system provides you, they appear to be true to you and therefore they become a belief.
Has the world ever seemed boring and uninteresting to you? Do you know people who say, Is this all there is? What they are really saying is, From my current reality and all that I know, this is what I perceive to be all that is available to me at this time. Because they currently perceive life to be boring that is exactly what is reflected back to them; their Reticular Activating System provides them with the evidence to support their experience at that time. From this evidence their beliefs about life are formed. To experience a more fulfilling life you must fill your Reticular Activating System with a whole lot of new, exciting and fun experiences, information, people, thoughts, feelings, vocabulary and so on. When you do this you will have a whole new range of evidence from which to create a new belief system for any area of your life. When you view the world from your new reality you will begin to see many more opportunities available to you. For example, lets say you want to be a millionaire. Based on your current reality (which is made up of what you know and what your parents, friends, school teachers and the media have told you), you think the only way to make a million dollars is to go to work, earn money and save. This is your current belief system (or reality). However, if you were to educate yourself, read a few books, watch some investment videos and attend a few finance seminars, all of a sudden the evidence available to you becomes different. Based on all of the new options presented to you about how to make a million dollars, your belief system changes and you now know that you do not have to work for the rest of your life to save the million dollars.
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Can you see how simple it is for you to change your beliefs? You just have to build up enough evidence against your current belief system and then implement an action plan based around your new beliefs and you can achieve anything.
The diagram above illustrates how your beliefs (based on your current level of understanding and knowledge) create your reality. Based on your reality you create the thoughts and feelings that reinforce your beliefs. So you have a self-perpetuating cycle. To change your current context (commonly referred to as your comfort zone or self-image), you must expand your level of knowledge and understanding about the new reality that you want. Einstein said that you cannot solve a problem from the same level of understanding that created it. Robert Kiyosaki, best selling author of the Rich Dad series of books, says that in order to expand your context you need to expand your content. The best way to expand your reality is to associate with the people and things that you want to be like. Put simply, you must read books, attend seminars and associate with the people and places that you aspire to become like. A common term for this is Modelling. Modelling is a very fast and effective way to help you expand your context. Modelling provides you with a successful reference point from which to copy and insert beneficial characteristics into your own behaviour patterns. Rather than reinventing the wheel when it comes to achieving your goals, why not study someone who has already achieved what you want to achieve and model their performance? Then, add your own talents to make your performance even better. You could even ask someone to mentor you. Most successful people are more than happy to spare some time or advice to help someone else climb the ladder of success. Autobiographies, videos, DVDs, seminars, presentations and networking groups are other excellent tools to help create your new belief system. Activate Your Life also offers a range of resources including: Activate Your Life 90-Day Program Activate Your Life coaching and mentoring programs (nutritionists, personal trainers, life coaches, and mentors) Activate Your Life free monthly e-zine Activate Your Life Activator subscription newsletter Activate Your Life seminars and events 49
Activate Your Life educational resources, such as books, e-books, DVD, CD and tape programs
All of these resources are available online at www.activateyourlife.com.au Are you ready to open your mind to the infinite possibilities and ways of achieving your vision? If so, what beliefs would you need to have in order to create your vision? Or better still, what new information, people, experiences and vocabulary would you need to have in order to expand your current reality? List these below: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ These are the resources that will help you to form the new beliefs that will be the catalyst to ensure that you achieve your goals and life of EASE in the shortest possible timeframe.
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Step Five: Activate Your Behaviours

By now you should have complete clarity on exactly what it is you want in your world. You will be starting to think about how you are going to get there. This step is all about the how. This step is about developing an action plan to manifest your vision into your reality. It is the doing part of the vision process. The Merlin Factor The ideal approach to goal achievement is to find the most effective and hopefully the easiest possible route. To do this, you can make use of the Merlin Factor. Legend has it that Merlin was a very powerful and visionary wizard who could travel into the future. When he was sure of what the future held he would slowly travel back through time to the present, observing all of the steps that were performed in order for the future to be created. He would then have his people perform the steps he had observed and create the future. When you have identified your vision, work back through the steps that you believe will create that vision and begin to implement the necessary behaviours. If you are not exactly clear on the steps, dont worry, they will become clearer as you progress. Simply by taking action you will begin the manifestation process. In order to manifest your vision you must create a goal achievement strategy which will be your EASE action plan the daily behaviours, obstacles, solutions, support and rewards that are necessary to achieve your goals. A successful goal achievement strategy includes: Behaviours What specific behaviours are you going to need to perform in order to achieve your goals? Are these behaviours the most effective and efficient means by which to achieve your goals? What order are you going to need to perform them in?
Obstacles/Objections Are there any potential obstacles or objections that may slow your progress toward your goals? Are they real obstacles or are they just your current beliefs? Objections arise to test your level of commitment to your goal. When an objection arises, ask yourself, What is it within me that I am resisting at this stage of progress toward my goal? Is it fear of failure? Is it fear of success? Is it a conflicting belief? What would failure or success mean to me at this stage? Ask yourself quality questions to find the root of this obstacle and then clear it. You create your physical reality, so you can remove any objections/obstacles along the way. An objection or obstacle may also be there to provide an important lesson for you on your journey toward your goal. Dont get frustrated, just look to find the lesson, learn it and then move on. Focusing on your goal is the path of least resistance; when you begin to focus on the obstacle you lose sight of your goal. Always stay focused on what you want, not what you dont want, and you will achieve it a lot faster. 51
Solutions What solutions will help you to overcome these potential obstacles/objections? There may be times on your journey toward your goal when you become so focused that you get tunnel vision and there may appear to be only one solution to your problem. You have become too close to the tree to see the forest. Speaking to someone (who is detached from your situation) about your obstacle or objection can be an excellent way to get clarity on it. Support What support team do you have available to help you achieve your goals? (Close friends, family, your husband or wife, professionals such as an Activate Your Life coach or mentor.) What specific resources or skills do you have that will assist you to achieve your goals? What specific resources or skills can you source or develop that will assist you to achieve your goals?
Rewards What are some rewards you will give yourself when you achieve your goals? Rewards offer an excellent means by which to enhance your motivation toward your goal.
Designing a thorough plan for how you will achieve your goals is imperative before you undertake any action. When it comes to any goal achievement strategy, it is important to factor in unforeseen circumstances, before they arise, so that you have a contingency plan to deal with setbacks they may cause. It will also reduce the surprise factor when the unexpected does occur and help you not get knocked off your course toward your goal. There is nothing more corrupting to the achievement of goals than the lack of motivation or fear caused by unforeseen circumstances. EASE Action Plan Example: Goal: Behaviours: Obstacles/Objection: Solution: Support: Rewards: I will lose 5 kilograms, by December 31, 2004. Begin an exercise program. Reduce the intake of fat in my diet. My current love of fast food. My friends get jealous when I look better than they do. My shift-work makes organising a routine difficult. Only eat fast food once per week. Prepare my food before work. Plan my training schedule at the start of the week. My husband. Hire a personal trainer to enhance my results and commitment. Buy myself a new bikini.
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EASE Action Plan

You will need to photocopy this sheet for each of your goals. Complete one sheet for each of the eight goals that you have set. Take your time and be prepared to set yourself some tasks that are a little out of your comfort zone, but not too far. When you have completed an EASE Action Plan for each of your goals, you will have a list of actions points that you can begin immediately. To achieve my goal of: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ I will perform the following tasks: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Potential obstacles/objections: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What are the solutions? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What support do I need? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What is my reward for achieving my goal? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________
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Congratulations! You have now done everything you can to set the wheels in motion toward achieving your life of EASE. Well done on making it this far, enjoy the ride! It may appear to you that achieving a life of EASE requires a lot of planning, discipline and commitment. Let me assure you, the results you achieve will far outweigh any initial effort you may have to endure. By being diligent and making these steps part of your new way of life you will ensure that your life of EASE will be a lot better than the dis-EASE-infested one you may be living right now. The first three weeks of this process may prove to be the most difficult and it is during this time that you may face the greatest challenges with your current thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours. Remember, you are expanding your comfort zone and with that comes a remodelling of your current self-image, so be patient with yourself and you will be successful. My recommendation, especially during the initial phase, is to seek the assistance of an Activate Your Life coach or mentor and use him or her as a support for your progress throughout the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program. Having this support will prove invaluable and assist you through this early phase of discomfort. For more information on Activate Your Lifes coaching and mentoring services visit www.activateyourlife.com.au
Always Remain Equanimous

Equanimous = of an even, composed frame of mind; of a steady temper; not easily elated or depressed. It is very important that you remain equanimous to the internal and external worlds that you are experiencing. Remaining equanimous means that you will not react to your current reality but you will observe it with a detached and balanced view. If you have designed your ideal life and you are not living it yet, it is equally important that you do not become averse to your current reality and crave your future ideal reality. Aversion and craving will cause you to feel an unnecessary level of pain, so just observe whatever reality you are experiencing and be aware that it will change. One of the natural laws of the universe is that of constant change. There is no point in becoming attached to your current reality, as it will be ever changing. Remaining equanimous, regardless of your current situation, will allow you to detach from your current reality and go with the natural flow of the universe without any pain or suffering and manifest your ideal life a lot sooner.
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Chapter Four Establishing a System for EASE in Your Life

Too often we become caught up in the doing of every day life and we forget that it is meant to be EASY. Life is a game and its supposed to be fun. Establishing a system for EASE will help you to put the fun back into your life. By following even a few of the suggestions in this chapter you will be doing yourself a huge favour. Most of these suggestions are no more than simple common sense you may have even heard some of them before, but have you acted on them? Knowledge is not power unless you act upon it appropriately. If things are difficult in your life you will experience struggle which will drain your energy every day and make your journey toward EASE a very tiring and often frustrating one. If you want to be successful in any area of your life, you must establish a system for EASE using this simple ten-step system. Step One Step Two Step Three Step Four Step Five Step Six Step Seven Step Eight Step Nine Step Ten Establish a System for Empowerment Establish a System for Efficiency Establish a System for Elimination Establish a System for Exercise Establish a System for Eating Establish a System for Education Establish a System for Expression Establish a System for Effortlessness Establish a System for Encouragement Establish a System for Evaluation
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Step One Establish a System for Empowerment

The food you eat, the exercise you do, the rest you have, your level of motivation and the current life you are experiencing are all a direct reflection of the quality of your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours. Your physical body and your current life are nothing more than a reflection of the quality of purpose and vision you have chosen for yourself. If you are not happy with your physical body, or any aspect of your current life, you must begin by re-creating your lifes purpose. The key is to create a purpose for your life that is so inspiring, so compelling that you feel empowered to fulfil it. This is the process of activating your being discussed in chapter three. Too much dis-EASE in our society is caused by people not following their hearts and pursuing their passions. In order for you to enjoy the most fulfilling life possible it is essential that you create a purpose and vision that inspires you, that are fun, challenging and rewarding. And when you know what your purpose and vision are you must take action. You must begin to be, do and have your purpose and vision before they have manifested. Begin by associating with the people you want to become like and immerse yourself completely in becoming your purpose and vision, starting today. Dont be concerned about how they will manifest, simply trust that the right opportunities will come to you at the perfect time when you focus your energy on following your heart. You may not know or remember what your lifes purpose is, so discovering it requires some selfinvestigation. Begin by asking yourself quality questions: When you were a child, what dreams did you have for your future? What did you want to be, do and have when you grew up? What would you be, do and have if you had all the time and money you ever needed and you had to use your talents to give back to society? What have been the happiest, most fulfilling and satisfying times in your life? What were you being, doing and having during these times? If you could have your time again, what would you be, do and have differently? Would you change anything? If so, what is it that you really want to be, do and have for a more fulfilling life?
Re-read the Activate Your Being section in chapter three now and make today the day that you choose to rediscover your lifes purpose and set a course for your new, empowering and inspiring vision.
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Step Two Establish a System for Efficiency

There is nothing more important than your time. Time is the only thing in the world that all people have exactly the same amount of every day. How you choose to spend your time is entirely up to you. Wouldnt you prefer to spend it wisely? Wouldnt you prefer to spend it on things that are meaningful to you, things that fill you with satisfaction, that add value to your life, that make you feel fulfilled? If time were money, would you be spending it on some of the things that you currently do every day? Or would you invest it more wisely? The key to getting greater results from your time is effective planning. Do you ever feel like you spend your days working harder and harder, just to stay still not falling behind, but not exactly getting ahead either? You can only keep this up for so long before you create dis-EASE in your life, before you are overcome by stress, before you burn out, before you give yourself a heart attack. When faced with a set of tasks most people will dive straight in and start performing the most urgent tasks first, without any planning. Working like this continually results in you becoming very busy and working very hard at chasing your own tail! I want you to remove this behaviour from your repertoire and replace it with a new behaviour that is both less demanding and a lot more productive. I want you to learn how to work smarter, not harder. When it comes to planning your time, the most important skill is knowing how to prioritise. By identifying your real priorities you will achieve more with less, which means more time and energy for you to work on creating your vision and following your purpose. So, how do we identify priorities? A tool such as the Eisenhower Grid below is very useful in helping you to differentiate between important and urgent tasks. Important tasks are those that will move you toward your goals. List these in the Important section of the grid, in either quadrant one or two based on their level of urgency. Most people have a tendency to allocate tasks based on urgency rather than importance, which means that our non-urgent but important tasks are neglected. An example of a non-urgent but important task might be looking after our health. It is obviously very important but while we are enjoying good health it is not urgent. However, when non-urgent tasks are neglected for too long, they have a habit of becoming urgent often by then, the damage is done. Non-important tasks are those that will not move you toward your goals. These can be listed in the Non-Important section of the grid, in either quadrant three or four based on their level of urgency. Urgent Quadrant 1 projects that have deadlines, major problems Quadrant 3 phone calls, emails, meetings Not Urgent Quadrant 2 prevention, vision creation, recreation Quadrant 4 irrelevant meetings, timewasting, time-filling tasks 57
Important
Non-important
Time Allocation
Allocate 80% of your time to your most important tasks; the remaining 20% can be spent on your non-important tasks. By spending most of your time in quadrant two, followed by quadrant one you will soon find that you are working more efficiently and getting greater results from your time and effort. Pay yourself first is the first law of money it means that putting money aside for your own future should be a priority, rather than spending everything you earn and never getting ahead. The same is true with your time, rather than fulfilling all of your commitments and leaving nothing for yourself, when it comes to managing your time you must also pay yourself first when you are planning your week always allocate time for the most important things in your life first. There are 168 hours in a week, thats 336 half hours. If you use 112 of those half hours sleeping (eight hours per night), then you still have 224 available for other activities you should never need to use the I dont have enough time excuse again. Develop the habit of sitting down for 30 minutes each week (preferably on a Sunday night or early Monday morning) to plan the week ahead. Spend another five minutes at the end of each day (or early in the morning) to plan the day ahead. Use the EASY Living Weekly Planner over the page to plan out your week now. Remember to pay yourself first. Allocate time for your most important activities first and then add other activities around them. If you have to get up a little earlier to make additional time for your important tasks, then do so. The time you spend now on your most important tasks is an investment in your future.
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EASY Living Weekly Planner

Allocate time to your most important tasks first and fit in your non-important tasks around them. Time 6.00am 6.30 7.00 7.30 8.00 8.30 9.00 9.30 10.00 10.30 11.00 11.30 12.00 12.30 1.00 1.30 2.00 2.30 3.00 3.30 4.00 4.30 5.00 5.30 6.00pm 6.30 7.00 7.30 8.00 8.30 9.00 9.30 Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun
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EASY Living Weekly Planner

Goals for this week: 1. __________________________________________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________________________________________ 3. __________________________________________________________________________ 4. __________________________________________________________________________ 5. __________________________________________________________________________ I will reward myself for achieving these goals by: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Strategies for achieving my goals: Monday 1. __________________________________________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________________________________________ Tuesday 1. __________________________________________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________________________________________ Wednesday 1. __________________________________________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________________________________________ Thursday 1. __________________________________________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________________________________________ Friday 1. __________________________________________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________________________________________ Saturday and Sunday 1. __________________________________________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________________________________________ 60
Step Three Establish a System for Elimination

A system for elimination gives you the means to remove toxins and unnecessary clutter from your life. Toxins can be mental, emotional, spiritual or physical and often come in the form of addictions and unfinished business. Unfinished business can be anything that you have started but not finished; this traps energy in the past. If you do not have 100% of your energy available in the present you will not be as productive as you can possibly be. The first week of the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program is purely about detoxification (or elimination) and is designed to rid your mind and body of addictions and toxins. Our bodies become toxic when we consume more toxins than we can eliminate. While the body has an amazing ability to detoxify itself through breathing, sweating and going to the toilet, it can often use a helping hand. The Activate Your Life 7-Day Detox is designed to rid your mind, body and spirit of toxins and provide you with an excellent mental, emotional and spiritual kick start into your new life of EASE.
How to do the 7-Day Detox

1. Seek clearance from your qualified healthcare practitioner before undertaking the 7-Day Detox. 2. Complete the Unfinished Business Worksheet at the end of this step and close off all unfinished business that you may have (work, finances, family, partner, friends, health and well-being and so on). 3. Remove toxic thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours from your mind by focusing on what you do want in your life, not on what you dont want. 4. De-clutter and simplify your life, your house, car, garage, wardrobe, office and so on. Eliminate any old energy that no longer serves you. 5. Eliminate all toxins for one week. The following is a list of toxins and addictions that you should eliminate during the 7-Day Detox: No Meat (except fresh fish and seafood) Studies show that heart disease, breast, prostate and colon cancer rates are higher among people who consume meat and poultry. These diseases can be linked to the high levels of saturated fats found in these foods. Substitute your intake of meat with fresh fish and seafood and try tofu for something a little different. No Dairy Products Studies show that heart disease, breast, prostate and colon cancer rates are higher among people who consume dairy products. These diseases can be linked to the high levels of saturated fats found in these foods. Substitute your intake of milk with soy or rice milk and your cheese with low fat ricotta or cottage cheese. Eliminate butter and margarine completely. No Refined Sugar Consuming too much refined sugar can be very harmful to your body, some common 61
side effects include: diabetes, tooth decay, hyperactivity, obesity and heart disease. Sugar acts to give you short bursts of energy. The problem is, if you do not use this energy immediately it will store as fat, which if not metabolised, can lead to obesity and even heart disease. No Caffeine Caffeine is an artificial stimulant and can lead to nervousness, anxiety and heart palpitations. Caffeine is also a diuretic, which means it increases the amount of water eliminated from your body, causing dehydration. Exercise is a much healthier and more effective stimulant. An alternative to caffeine to help you wake up in the morning is to open the curtains and let in as much natural light in as you can, this resets your body clock and helps you to wake up naturally. No Alcohol Alcohol is a depressant and is often self-prescribed as a relaxant. If you need help to relax, try meditation or light exercise such as yoga or walking. When you do consume alcohol (after the 7-Day Detox) red wine is preferable because of its antioxidant properties. No Nicotine Smoking is the largest cause of lung cancer and heart disease in the western world. An alternative to smoking is taking oxygen breaks stop every fifteen minutes and take ten deep breaths of clean oxygen, or go for a ten-minute walk a few times per day your heart and lungs will thank you for it. No Recreational Drugs Recreational drugs are often used by people to induce an artificial high. The problem is, the side effects can be very harmful and sometimes even fatal. Safer and healthier ways of inducing a natural high include playing sport, doing exercise or getting involved in a project or activity that you feel passionate about. No High Fat, Processed or Junk Food Processed fats are those that are destroyed in the cooking process, the body cannot use them and they are therefore toxic. All junk and take-away foods, butter, margarine, whole milk as well as some types of meat contain these fats. Processed food that is high in saturated fat and salt can cause obesity, heart disease, diabetes, colon and bowel cancer as well as many other negative side effects No more than 60 minutes of television per day We watch an average of eight hours of television, per person, per day. Reducing the amount of television you watch will free up your time for things that are more naturally stimulating and more important to you youll have more time for relationships and activities that expand your mind. No Gambling Gambling is a form of stimulant that can lead to a destructive behavioural addiction. Gambling is also used as a form of escape from outside pressures and often becomes a substitute for emotional release. Moderate exercise and even sex are ways to achieve a less financially risky and healthier adrenaline rush. 62
7-Day Detox Guidelines

Try not to schedule any social events during your 7-Day Detox; normal social situations can put you in a position where the quality of your detox experience may be compromised. Combine your detox program with at least thirty minutes of moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise per day (activities such as cycling, walking, jogging, rowing or anything else that increases your heart rate to the point where you are sweating lightly). Make sure that you drink at lease three litres of water per day while you are on the detox program to help your body flush out toxins and remain hydrated. The basis of your detox eating plan should be foods that are high in complex carbohydrates and have a low Glycemic Index, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains and brown rice. Eliminate caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, refined sugar, high fat foods, recreational drugs, television and gambling and replace with water, oxygen, vitamins and minerals, natural foods, exercise, sex, laughter and rest. While you will be eliminating bad fats from your diet, it is essential that you continue to consume essential fatty acids, through foods such as avocados, extra virgin olive oil, almonds and flax seed oils. These fats serve a number of vital functions for good health, such as: o o o o o o o Providing energy and increasing the bodys metabolism. Assisting in the production of hormones. Neutralising acids and protecting the body. Providing lubrication to help cells move freely. Building cell membranes. Protecting you from the cold. Cushioning your organs and skeletal system from external knocks.
If you find yourself feeling frustrated, impatient or annoyed during the detox ask yourself, What is causing my progression to be halted? and What do I need to do in order to get my life flowing smoothly again? For the best results from the 7-Day Detox, speak to an Activate Your Life coach for further advice.
Removing toxins from your life permanently

By eliminating toxins and behavioural addictions you allow any suppressed thoughts, feelings, beliefs or behaviours to surface. In doing so, you become aware of them and can deal with them more easily, reducing their negative side effects on your body. If you really struggle with the detox process and find that you havent been able to completely eliminate toxins, you must look to the underlying issues that may be causing you to consume the toxins in the first place. The consumption of toxins is a coping strategy that is helping you to deal with an underlying issue or problem. By addressing and removing the underlying issue you will no longer feel the need for the toxins.
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Unfinished Business Worksheet

The following are some examples of unfinished business you may want to complete. Search the list and add any others that are relevant in your life. Unfinished Business to be Completed Complete any cycles of communication with others Resolve any issues with friends, family or colleagues Organise financial records (such as tax returns) Retrieve any money owing to you Pay off all money you owe (such as credit card) Remove yourself from relationships that no longer serve you Repair or remove anything that doesnt work Return anything that you have borrowed from others Retrieve anything that you have lent to others De-clutter and clean up your bedroom and/or house Clean up your wardrobe and remove anything you dont wear De-clutter and clean up your car and garage De-clutter and clean up your office or work station Other Completion Date Complete Yes / No
If you are having difficulties with any area of unfinished business, an Activate Your Life coach can help you to deal with the issues and get you moving forward toward your life of EASE.
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Step Four Establish a System for Exercise

Exercise is the perfect natural stimulant. Performing some form of exercise on a daily basis will provide you with so many benefits, both physically and psychologically. Physically, exercise improves your: Aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Muscle strength, power, flexibility and tone. Energy levels. Sex drive. Sleep quality. Insulin levels (which helps to reduce sugar cravings). Psychologically, exercise improves your: Confidence and self-esteem. Feeling of well-being. Stress levels.
It is important to incorporate a balanced combination of different types of exercise into your routine, including: Resistance exercise, such as weight training, which increases your muscle strength and tone as well as your bone density (to reduce your risk of injury). Cardio vascular exercise, such as aerobic or anaerobic training, to increase the efficiency of your heart and lungs and reduce your body fat levels. Flexibility exercise, such as regular stretching to improve your posture, to help you to recover from exercise faster and to reduce your risk of injury. The Activate Your Life 90-Day Program has been developed around six thirty-minute fitnesstraining sessions per week a manageable amount of exercise designed to fit into your busy schedule. Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Exercise Type Weights Cardio Weights Cardio Weights Resistance/Flexibility Rest/Reward day Program Type Chest, Shoulders, Triceps Intervals and Stretch Legs and Abdominals Intervals and Stretch Back and Biceps Abdominals and Stretch
How are you going to fit your new training program into your busy schedule? There are 336 half hours in a week. If you use 112 of those for sleep, you are left with 224. Only six of those half hours are required to get the best possible results from your exercise thats only 1.75% of your week! Always give yourself the best possible chance of adhering to your exercise program. Allocate time that is unlikely to conflict with your other activities. Early mornings are an excellent time for exercise, lunchtimes and after work can often be interrupted by un-planned meetings or lastminute changes to your schedule. Exercising in the morning (before breakfast) also kick-starts your metabolism for the day and burns any excess energy that your body may have stored overnight. 65
Activate Your Life Exercise Guidelines

Seek clearance from your qualified healthcare practitioner before undertaking the Activate Your Life exercise program. Weight Training Weight (or resistance) training offers the following benefits: Increased muscle strength, power, endurance, size and tone. Improved posture. Increased bone density. Increased metabolism for fat burning.
The exercises you do in your weight training sessions actually damage your muscles (in a positive way) so that your body must repair them. It is during the rest period between your weight training workouts (that is, at least 48 hours) that your body repairs your muscles resulting in them becoming stronger than they were before your workout. Perform weight training three times per week for 30 minutes. Schedule your training sessions for the early morning (before breakfast) for faster fat burning results. Perform two different exercises per muscle group. Perform two sets of 8-12 repetitions per exercise. Your last repetition is to failure. Failure is a positive word when it comes to your weight training; it is where you cannot lift the weight one more time safely. Because you will be training to failure it is important that you have a training partner or coach to assist you. Rest for at least 30 seconds between each set. Record each session in your training diary and always look to beat last weeks session. To ensure that you are improving, push yourself further by at least 1-2 repetitions each week. When you reach 12 repetitions on an exercise, increase the weight by 5% and begin by aiming for 8 repetitions again. Allow at least 48 hours rest between weight sessions for your muscles to recuperate and repair. The Activate Your Life 90-Day Program gives you 168 hours rest (seven days) between each muscle group to give your body time for rest, recuperation and development.
To view photos and descriptions of weight training and body weight exercises, visit the Activate Your Life online training diary at www.activateyourlife.com.au.
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Cardiovascular (Cardio) Training Cardiovascular training offers the following benefits: Increased aerobic fitness (ability to perform low to medium intensity exercise for longer). Increased anaerobic Fitness (ability to perform high intensity exercise for longer). Increased muscle endurance. Increased metabolism for fat burning.
Cardio training includes: cycling, walking, jogging, rowing, swimming or any other activity that uses more than 50% of the muscles in the body at one time and gets the heart rate up consistently for 20 minutes or longer. The Activate Your Life 90-Day Program includes cardio training, specifically Interval training to allow you to get the best fitness and fat burning results in the shortest time frame. Interval training combined with weight training is the fastest way to increase your metabolism. This is great news as it means more fat burning. Unlike other forms of lower intensity exercise, interval training stimulates the metabolism so that the fat is burned in the hours after the workout. This is great news as it means you do not need to train for long each day. The Activate Your Life 90Day Program includes just two 20-minute cardio training sessions per week. Perform interval cardio training two times per week for 20 minutes. Schedule your training sessions for the early morning (before breakfast) for faster fat burning results. To make interval training more comfortable in the beginning, use a stationary cycle or treadmill. Warning: Interval training can be extremely hard work for beginners; do not push yourself too hard in the first few weeks of your program.
Example of interval training using a treadmill: Start the treadmill and for the first two minutes walk or run at 50% of your maximum intensity. At the third minute, increase your intensity (by increasing either the speed or the incline of the treadmill) so that you are now performing at 60% of your maximum. At the fourth minute, increase your intensity to 75% of your maximum. At the fifth minute, increase your intensity to 90% of your maximum. At the sixth minute, decrease your intensity to 60% and repeat the same pattern until the eighteenth minute, when you increase your intensity to 100% of your maximum. At the nineteenth and twentieth minutes, decrease your intensity to 90%.
Initially, you may not know what your maximum intensity is, so use your heart rate as a guide. You can purchase a heart rate monitor from www.activateyourlife.com.au to assist you. Use the health tools at www.activateyourlife.com.au or the following formula to determine your maximum exercise intensity level based on your heart rate.
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Maximum Heart Rate = 220 beats per minute minus your age (when you know your maximum heart rate, work out 50, 60, 75 and 90% of your maximum). Example: Interval training session for a 40-year-old
220 beats per minute - (age) 40 = 180 beats per minute 50% of 180 bpm = 90 bpm 60% of 180 bpm = 108 bpm 75% of 180 bpm = 135 bpm 90% of 180 bpm = 162 bpm Type Minute 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Intensity Warm Up (50%) Warm Up (50%) 60% 75% 90% 60% 75% 90% 60% 75% 90% 60% 75% 90% 60% 75% 90% 100% Cool Down(50%) Cool Down(50%) Heart Rate 90 90 108 135 162 108 135 162 108 135 162 108 135 162 108 135 162 180 90 90
(E.g. Treadmill)
Abdominal Training Abdominal training offers the following benefits: Improved posture. Reduced risk of lower back injury. Increased core strength. Increased support for vital organs and full body function. Perform abdominal training two times per week. Perform two sets of 15-50 repetitions.
To view photos and descriptions of abdominal exercises, visit the Activate Your Life online training diary at www.activateyourlife.com.au 68
Flexibility Training Flexibility training offers the following benefits: Increased muscle flexibility, which may reduce the risk of injury. Increased relaxation. Improved posture. Increased range of motion in joints. Enhanced blood flow, assisting in the removal of toxins from the body. Perform flexibility training after every workout (six days per week). Perform two sets of 15-30 seconds per muscle stretched.
To view photos and descriptions of flexibility exercises, visit the Activate Your Life online training diary at www.activateyourlife.com.au.
Raising your Basal Metabolic Rate (your metabolism)

Your metabolism is effectively the amount of energy you need to perform your day-to-day activities. Imagine your metabolism as a bon fire that has burnt down to the embers if you want to increase the effect of the bon fire you need to add energy (logs of wood) to it. Your metabolism works in a similar way to the bon fire. To increase the amount of energy your body expends each day you need to add exercise and good quality nutrition. In addition to this, the more muscle mass you have, the greater the amount of energy required to fuel these muscles: therefore the more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn. The exercise component of the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program has been specifically designed to increase lean muscle, strength, cardio vascular fitness and flexibility and to maximise your bodys metabolism, thus increasing your ability to burn fat. Ways to increase your metabolism include: Exercise (aerobic, anaerobic and resistance training). Eating (five to six smaller meals per day). Increasing your lean muscle mass. Incidental activity. Over-eating and sleeping reduce your metabolism avoid eating large meals within three hours of going to sleep.
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Incidental Activity
In the last ten to twenty years the average adult has reduced the amount of physical activity they do by the equivalent of walking approximately ten kilometres per day. Todays society requires less physical activity and more mental activity, so its important that you include as much incidental exercise as possible in your daily routine. Incidental exercise is any form of activity that you can perform in addition to your training sessions it can assist in raising your metabolism so that you burn more body fat throughout the day. Ways to increase your incidental exercise include: Walking, rather than taking a bus, train or taxi. Taking the stairs, rather than the elevator or escalator. Standing, rather than sitting. Taking the dog for a walk. Getting off the bus a few stops earlier. Parking your car some distance from your destination.
What equipment should I use?

If you are serious about your training and would like some recommendations on exercise equipment visit www.activateyourlife.com.au.
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Step Five Establish a System for Eating

To gain the maximum benefit from your Activate Your Life exercise program you must combine your physical activity with high quality nutrition. Theres a great deal of information around about exactly what constitutes good eating habits these days Id like to break through all the hype and provide you with the following simple and scientifically proven strategies to make eating EASY
Eat 5-6 smaller meals per day

Whenever you eat, you raise your metabolism as the body needs to expend more energy to break down the extra fuel that has been added. Therefore, by eating smaller meals more regularly throughout the day you will ensure that your metabolism is raised for a longer period of time, which means that your body will burn more fat. This is not about eating more than you usually would it is about eating more frequently. Take what you would normally eat in three meals, divide it by two and then spread it over six smaller meals, making your serving size roughly half of what it currently is. Preparing six small meals per day can be time-consuming, particularly if you are someone who already ends up eating on the run trying to manage three meals per day! I recommend that at least two of your smaller meals be made up of fruit, vegetables, nuts or a protein shake. Another simple way to ensure that you are receiving adequate nutrition, while sticking to your six small meals per day, is to use a protein meal replacement that can be kept handy in your home and office for mid-morning and afternoon meals. You can order a high quality protein meal replacement from www.activateyourlife.com.au.
Two-thirds of your plate should be plant (or natural) food

Incorporate six to eight servings of different fruits and vegetables into your menu every day these are the best natural source of vitamins and minerals.
One-third of your plate should be protein

Beans, nuts, eggs, seafood, fish, red meat and poultry are all excellent sources of protein. Aim to eat a combination of protein sources throughout the week, keeping your consumption of red meat and/or poultry to a maximum of twice per week (because of their high fat content).
Consume a minimal amount of dairy products

Avoid butter and margarine and reduce your intake of other dairy products because of their high fat content. Replace full cream milk with skim, rice or soymilk and start eating a low fat cheese such as Edam or low fat cottage or ricotta cheese. Avoid eating carbohydrates after 6pm The energy that carbohydrates give you will be stored as fat if it is not burned off eating carbohydrates after 6pm reduces your bodys ability to burn off any excess energy before going to sleep. Foods high in carbohydrate include pasta, rice and potatoes as well as anything high in 71
sugar, such as ice cream, chocolate or biscuits. The best meals to consume at dinnertime are high in plant food; see the meal suggestions below for some different dinner ideas. Eat Fruit and/or vegetables as snacks between meals Consume fruit and vegetables, a protein shake or some other form of protein such as nuts or seeds as snacks between meals. Make sure you eat breakfast every day Breakfast is designed to break the fast between the last meal you consumed yesterday and the lunch you will eat today. Skipping breakfast means that you will not have consumed any food for around sixteen hours this type of break between meals will slow down your metabolism and encourage your body to hold on to its fat stores. The ideal breakfast should be high in fibre and low in sugar, for example a low-sugar wheat cereal, porridge or multi-grain toast. High fibre foods also play an important role in getting the digestive system going for the day, which is important in helping to reduce the risks of colon (bowel) cancer. Try to consume low Glycemic Index foods The Glycemic Index (GI) is a ranking of foods based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. Foods with a high GI are rapidly digested and absorbed and result in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. This can lead to an increased risk of developing diabetes, because to the body is unable to secrete enough insulin to absorb the glucose or may result in an oversupply of insulin causing mood swings and an increased risk of obesity because, if not burnt off, the high sugar content will be stored as fat. Low GI foods are more slowly digested and absorbed, resulting in gradual increases in blood sugar and insulin levels. For a full list of the Glycemic Index of foods, you may want to read The GI Factor by Professor Jenny Brand-Miller. Reduce your caffeine intake Foods that contain caffeine include colas, some energy drinks, chocolate, coffee and tea. If you are going to consume caffeine drinks, limit yourself to only one cup per day, and preferably make it tea because of its anti-oxidant effects. If you are going to consume colas, energy drinks and chocolate then have them on your day off each week. If you are a heavy caffeine drinker, reduce your daily intake by one cup per day until you get to zero. The reason for this gradual decrease is because often when you go cold turkey the side effects can be very uncomfortable. By reducing your intake slowly you will give your body and mind a longer integration process, which will also mean that you should be able to maintain this new behaviour pattern permanently. Reduce your alcohol intake If you are going to drink alcohol, limit yourself to one glass per day and preferably make it red wine for its anti-oxidant benefits. If you are a moderate to heavy drinker, reduce your daily intake by one glass per day until you get to zero for the same reasons as mentioned above. On those 72
occasions when you do drink more, consume 500ml of water between each glass of alcohol this will help you to remain hydrated and to eliminate the alcohol from your system. Reduce your junk food intake Limit your consumption of junk food (foods that are high in sugar, high in fat, high in salt) to only one day per week. The more positive behaviours you perform for your body, such as doing daily exercise and following a healthy, balanced diet, the less you will feel like consuming foods that make you feel bad. There are no set recommendations for how much junk food you are allowed to consume on your day off, but instinctually you will know how much, if any, is right for you. I always ask my clients, Would you put diesel in a Ferrari?, they all answer no, so I then ask them Why would you pump your body full of diesel (junk food) when it has a far greater performance capacity than a Ferrari? Remain well hydrated at all times It is important that you drink at least three litres of purified water per day to flush away toxins and to keep yourself well hydrated it will also have wonderful benefits for your skin. You will know when you are hydrated because your urine will be very light or clear in colour. Keep up your vitamins and minerals Consume at least six to eight serves of different fruits and vegetables per day. If this is not possible, you may wish to use a multi-vitamin supplement. With soil degradation, packaging, chemical additives, cooking processes and the increased shelf-life of foods due to preservatives these days there is strong evidence to suggest that the consumption of a multi-vitamin every day may assist people to obtain the required daily levels of vitamins and minerals. To order a quality multi-vitamin supplement at a special Activate Your Life price, visit www.activateyourlife.com.au. Increase your muscle size If you want to increase your muscle size on the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program it is recommended that you consume between one and two grams of protein per day, per kilo of your body weight. Consuming extra protein in itself does not increase your muscle size, however if you are not receiving enough protein in your diet, your body begins to source it from other supplies, and the first place it gets it from is your own muscle tissue. By expending more energy than you normally would on the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program your appetite levels will naturally rise, and you will receive more protein in your diet through the extra food you are consuming. However, if you are training hard and your muscle size is decreasing then you may wish to consume a protein shake or a serve of creatine monohydrate daily. These assist in the re-building and energy production phases of muscle before, during and after a strenuous training session. To order your protein and creatine supplements at a discounted rate visit www.activateyourlife.com.au.
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Decrease your body weight and fat To reduce your body weight or body fat you must consume less energy than you expend each day. For example, if you expend 2000 kilojoules of energy in a day, you would need to consume 1999 kilojoules (or less) to reduce your body weight or body fat. If you want to reduce your body fat without losing body weight, you must consume the same amount of energy in kilojoules (or more) as you are expending each day. As mentioned above, if you are consuming more food than you are expending but still losing weight the then the composition of your diet may be too low in protein. Increasing your muscle mass through weight training increases your metabolism, which helps your body to burn fat even while you are resting. A fat metaboliser supplement can be useful in helping to reduce body fat. To order a high quality fat metaboliser supplement at a special Activate Your Life price, visit www.activateyourlife.com.au. Preparation is the key to getting the best results To get the best possible results from your nutrition it is imperative that you stock your cupboards each week with high quality foods. Always prepare your weekly menu plan and shopping list before you go shopping and never shop on an empty stomach. Have a day off and eat whatever you like! Thats right, one day per week you can eat whatever you like. Rest is one of the keys to performance and by having one day off from having to plan and prepare your nutritious meals each week you will actually help yourself to adhere to your program more effectively on the other six days. So once per week, go to town and eat as much of your favourite foods as you want!
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Activate Your Life Eating Guidelines Summary

Meal Snacks Approved High fibre cereal such as porridge, natural muesli Fresh fruit Eggs Wholegrain toast Fresh fruit smoothie Soy, skim or rice milk Natural yoghurt Multi-vitamin supplement Two glasses of water Protein shake Fresh fruit smoothie Fresh fruit Nuts, seeds Two glasses of water Whole grain breads Salads Fresh vegetables Tuna Two glasses of water Protein shake Fresh fruit Nuts, seeds Two glasses of water Stir-fry with fresh vegetables Steamed vegetables Grilled lean meat Two glasses of water Going for a walk after dinner Graze throughout the day Focus on fresh, natural foods Prepare for your hunger (plan ahead) Avoid Skipping breakfast High sugar cereals and adding sugar to cereal Meat Fried foods Whole fat milk Flavoured yoghurts Caffeine Butter
Breakfast
Mid-Morning
Over-eating Waiting until you feel hungry
Lunch
Adding mayonnaise or cheese Fast food or takeaways Red meat High Sugar foods Being hurried into choosing a bad option Going to the vending machine
Mid-Afternoon
Dinner
Adding oils/butters Eating red meat more than twice per week Eating lots of carbohydrates Going straight to bed Junk food, processed foods Having that sugar hit
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Activate Your Life Shopping List Suggestions

Fresh Vegetables Broccoli Carrots Mushrooms Lettuce Peppers Tomatoes Onions Corn Pumpkin Cucumber Eggplant Beans
Fresh Fruits
Bananas Apples Mangos Oranges Peaches Pears Strawberries Kiwifruit Apricots Avocados Blue Berries Nectarines
Nuts, Grains, Cereals and Seeds Rolled oats Whole-grain cereals Bran cereals Wholegrain Muesli Wholegrain bread Sour Dough Bread Crispbread Peanuts (unsalted) Almonds Cashew Nuts Sunflower seeds Pumpkin Seeds
Fresh Meat Tuna Snapper Salmon Sashimi Sardines Lobster Prawns Chicken breast Turkey breast Sirloin Steak T-Bone Steak Venison
Other Brown Rice Brown Pasta Eggs Tofu Sultanas Dried apricots Soy or Rice Milk Kidney beans Lentils Potatoes Sushi Garlic
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Activate Your Life Healthy Meal Suggestions

Breakfast: Porridge with diced dried apricots and soy/rice milk Wholegrain toast with poached eggs Mixed (fresh) berry smoothie (add ice and soy/rice milk) Tomato and herb omelette Potato onion and herb frittata Bran cereal with sultanas and soy/rice milk Natural yoghurt and fruit salad
Mid-Morning: Protein shake Bran muffin with low fat cream cheese Mixed nuts Apple, orange or banana Roasted sunflower seeds with soy sauce Fresh fruit (banana) smoothie (add ice and soy/rice milk)
Lunch: Tuna and salad sandwich on wholegrain bread Grilled chicken salad (no mayo) Vegetarian filled, wholegrain roll (no cheese) Sushi Mixed garden salad with balsamic vinegar and side serve of mixed nuts Grilled fish with steamed vegetables Vegetable soup with serving of wholegrain bread Tuna pasta with vegetables Vegetarian lasagne with eggplant Tinned salmon on brown rice with lemon, pepper and green beans
Mid-Afternoon: Protein shake Mixed nuts Low fat cream cheese with tomato on multigrain crisp bread Fresh fruit salad (preferable home-made) Sushi roll
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Dinner: Tomato, roasted red pepper and basil soup with whole grain garlic bread Tuna Steak and green salad Three-bean burritos Grilled chicken breast over garlic mash and green beans Thai beef salad Vegetarian stir-fry with cashew nuts and soy sauce Roasted rosemary lamb with roasted vegetables Brown rice chicken and vegetable risotto Grilled salmon with a baked potato and green salad Vegetarian lasagne
If you want to feel more alive, eat more live food.
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Step Six Establish a System for Education

You are the same person today that you are going to be five years from now except for two things: the people with whom you associate and the books you read.
Charles Jones
Education is so important for removing dis-EASE and creating EASE in you life. You cannot remove dis-EASE from the same mental space that created it. Constant learning will enable you to shift your context so that you can deal with the underlying cause of your dis-EASE sooner and begin living on purpose faster. The benefits of continuous learning are subtle yet powerful. Whether you wish to seek a pay rise, career advancement, to close an investment deal or simply converse confidently with new people, having a broad general knowledge is the foundation for effective social and communication skills. Wherever you are today, it is a reflection of the books you have read, the seminars you have attended and the people you have associated with during the past five years. What will your life reflect five years from today?
Your brain is a muscle, use it or lose it!

Because my business requires me to constantly learn new things and relay that knowledge to others, I often spend up to six hours per day studying. For you, Id recommend scheduling just half an hour per day to devote to reading, studying, learning and working out that brain! If you cant find half an hour every day, block out a couple of hours on the weekend this alone will put you well ahead of most people. Some of the best ways to constantly expand your knowledge include: Reading books and highlighting interesting or useful information. Choose a combination of both fiction and non-fiction books. The reason I suggest this is because fiction books stimulate the right side of your brain, which is the creative, imaginative part. This is the side of the brain that works closely with the subconscious mind to connect to the infinite universal intelligence. It is often when you are reading fiction that you get powerful insights into problems or issues that you have been thinking about. Reading fiction also gives the left side of your brain (your intellectual mind) time for a rest. We think over 50,000 thoughts per day, so drifting into fantasy land now and then allows the left side of your brain to relax for a while. Listening to tapes or CDs on the ferry, bus, train or in the car on the way to and from work. I am fortunate to travel every day on the Manly Ferry in Sydney. I call it the best university in the world because I get to read or listen to inspiring CDs for 60 minutes every day while travelling across the most beautiful harbour in the world. I have had a far more relevant and interesting education doing this than I ever had at university. Keeping a learning journal and record your daily learnings.
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Modelling people who are already successful in whatever it is you want to be good at. I always ask successful people for their book recommendations and often invite them out to lunch to ask them questions or brainstorm ideas. Establishing a network of like-minded individuals. This makes your path a lot easier by giving you access to the knowledge and skills of a group of people.
Elements of learning
Repetition Everything new is difficult until it becomes easy. When you learn a new skill your brain and nervous system work together to form a neural pathway that supports the new skill. If you only ever perform a new task once, the neural pathway will not develop and if you repeat the task again sometime in the future, your nervous system will probably have no memory of it and your learning will need to start again. However, if you continue to perform the new task constantly, it will eventually form a deep enough connection and a solid neural pathway will be formed. The key therefore to learning is constant repetition. Imagine the forming of a neural pathway like a line of sheep walking across a paddock. If the sheep walk across the paddock only once, a small indentation will be made in the grass and it will disappear within a day or two. However, if the sheep continue using this same route across the paddock every day, the path will become a permanent feature of the paddock. Whenever you learn something new you need to let it settle in to your neural system so that a new neural pathway can be formed. This occurs when you are resting, so make sure that you give yourself adequate integration (or rest) time whenever you learn new information or a new skill. Your learning style We all have an innate, preferred learning style. Some people respond well to visual learning (through images or pictures), some to auditory learning (through sound or listening) and some to kinaesthetic learning (through movement or performing a task). Being aware of your preferred learning style and structuring your learning around that style you can help you to learn new skills much faster. Complete the Learning Style Questionnaire over the page to determine which method of learning is more likely to suit you.
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Learning Style Questionnaire We all have the ability to move from one learning style to another depending on the situation. Complete the questionnaire below by indicating whether you prefer option A, B, or C as your preferred learning style. You should only select ONE preference for each question. There are no right or wrong answers you are simply indicating your preference. The mode that you score the highest in indicates your preferred learning style. A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C I love to listen to music. I enjoy art galleries and window-shopping. I feel compelled to dance to good music. I would rather take an oral test than a written one. I was good at spelling at school. I tend to answer questions using my gut feelings. I have been told that I have a good speaking voice. My confidence increases when I look good. I find it easy to grasp what others are feeling. I can resolve problems more quickly when I talk out loud. I would rather be shown an illustration than told an explanation. I would rather hold or touch things as they are explained. I can usually determine sincerity by the sound of a persons voice. I find myself evaluating others based on their appearance. The way a person shakes hands is important to me. I would rather listen to a CD than read a book. I like to watch television and go to the cinema. I like hiking, sport or other outdoor activities. I can hear even the slightest noise my car makes. Its important to me that my car remains clean inside. I like a car that feels good when I drive it. Others tell me that I am easy to talk to. I enjoy people-watching. I often touch people when talking to them. I am aware of what voices sound like, face-to-face and on the phone. I often remember what someone looks like, but cant remember names. I cant remember what people look like. I often hum or sing to the radio. I enjoy photography. I like to make things with my hands.
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A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C
I would rather have an idea explained to me than read it myself. I prefer it when speakers use visual aids. I like to participate in activities rather than watch them. I am a good listener. I find myself evaluating others based on their appearance. I feel positive or negative toward others without knowing why. I would rather be told directions than given a map. I am good at using maps. I rarely need maps because I have a good sense of direction. I like quiet areas in a house or office. It is important that my house or office space is clean and tidy. I like a house or office that feels comfortable. I like to try and imitate the way people talk. I make a list of things to do each day. I have been told that I am well co-ordinated. ______ ______ ______ ______
Number of A (auditory) responses: Number of B (visual) responses: Number of C (kinaesthetic) responses: My preferred style of learning:
If you are a visual learner, watch videos or read books. If you are an auditory learner, listen to tapes or audio presentations. If you are a kinaesthetic learner, perform practical, movement-based activities or use physical anchors when watching or listening.
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The four stages of learning
Stage One Unconscious Incompetence At this stage you dont know that you dont know something you are completely oblivious to whatever it is that you dont know. This stage of learning can be quite detrimental because you form beliefs about a subject that you have no knowledge of and your potential may be limited if your beliefs are negative. Example: Wanting to be a millionaire In chapter three I referred to an example of a person who wants to become a millionaire but thinks that the only way to achieve this is to work hard and try to save one million dollars. He or she has no idea that any other possibilities exist he or she doesnt know that there are any other options, that is, they dont know what it is that they dont know. Stage Two Conscious Incompetence At this stage of learning, you know that you dont know something. Example: Learning a topic for the first time You may have just read your first book on sales and you now know how much more there is to learn if you want to become proficient at it.
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Stage Three Conscious Competence This is the stage of learning when you know that you know something. You know that you know how to perform a task, but as you are performing it you still need to be aware of what you are doing. Example: Baking a cake You know how to bake the cake, but you still need to refer to the recipe book for assistance. Stage Four Unconscious Competence At this stage you dont know that you know something. This is the best stage to get to with a skill because it means that you can do it without even thinking about it, it happens automatically as a subconscious behaviour however, if it is a negative subconscious behaviour, it is very difficult to correct. Example: Golf swing You may have been using a certain golf swing for years and never had to think about it but for some reason it has begun to give you a bad hook when you drive. Now, because the swing has such a strongly developed neural pathway, it will be difficult to change. You may need to go right back to basics and develop your swing again from scratch. To do this you must break down the swing into its different components and practice each repetitively until a new neural pathway is formed.
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Step Seven Establish a System for Expression

Indulging in our passions is the fuel that helps us to remain motivated more frequently and consistently the key to establishing a system for expression is to spend your time doing the things that you love to do. Emotion is energy in motion. Expressing your emotions is essential for keeping your positive energy flowing on a daily basis. To block this natural process is to deny yourself the opportunity to become the best you can be. The opposite of expression is suppression. If you fail to recognise and express an emotion (whether it is sadness, happiness, fear), it will suppress itself and come up again to be dealt with at another time only next time the emotion will have far more energy behind it and it may be negative. This can often lead to physical, mental, emotional or spiritual dis-EASE. Any unfinished business that you might have listed in your Unfinished Business Worksheet (in Step Three Establish a System for Elimination) is a cycle of energy that has not yet been fully expressed. When you begin something (that is, when you put energy in motion) and dont complete it, the energy remains trapped in the past, which means it is not 100% available in the present moment, and this can leave you feeling inexplicably and constantly tired from carrying all that un-expressed energy around with you. Goal Setting Setting worthwhile goals allows you to move toward a target(s) that is suited to your true being and expresses who you truly are. Remember, it is the feelings associated with the achievement of specific goals that drives you toward them in the first place. The process of achieving your goals is designed to provide you with an outlet to express your feelings. The achievement of the goals is important, but the feelings you have when you achieve them is what gives you the real fulfilment. Have you ever set goals and, as you worked toward achieving them, noticed that you were experiencing the opposite feelings to what you had expected? Whether frustration, fear, anger, sadness or resistance, you would have noticed that you felt some form of emotional stress. Usually these feelings are related to your subconscious mind being resistant to change. This is a completely natural response and is a test of your level of willingness and commitment to have the life you truly want. If you deal with the underlying issues causing the emotional stress, by expressing the emotions that you are feeling, you will ultimately achieve your goals.
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Dis-Comfort Model
Too often it is while experiencing emotional stress that people do an about-turn they return to their old patterns of dis-EASE and never achieve the life of EASE that is rightfully theirs (see the Dis-Comfort Model above.) With constant awareness of your emotions and a successful system for expression you will get through the short-term discomfort and become closer to your life of EASE and freedom. Self-Awareness Emotions are the bi-products of your feelings. To get the most out of your life you must aim to express yourself freely and be conscious of, and feel, your feelings at any given moment. To be truly awake to the feelings and emotions you are experiencing, and to be able to identify and express your feelings, it is important to stay in the present moment (that is, not living in the past or thinking about the future. One of the best ways to stay in the present moment is to meditate. Meditation is an important part of the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program because of its ability to help people to listen to their internal messages, feelings, emotions and intuition. If you go within you never go without.
Judge T Troward
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Suppression and Dis-EASE
Mental Suppression If an issue is not dealt with mentally then it is suppressed and passed on to the emotional or physical side of the triangle. If you are stronger emotionally than you are physically, the stress will present itself as a physical ailment, injury or illness. Emotional Suppression If an issue is not dealt with emotionally then it is suppressed and passed on to the mental or physical side of the triangle. If you are stronger physically than you are mentally, the stress will present itself as a mental weakness. Physical Suppression If an issue is not dealt with physically then it is suppressed and passed on to the mental or emotional side of the triangle. If you are stronger mentally than you are emotionally, the stress will present itself as an emotional weakness. Overall, if an issue is not dealt with mentally, physically or emotionally an imbalance (or energy blockage) occurs. This energy blockage is stored in a muscle, organ or meridian and it is here that dis-EASE manifests as a symptom (such as an injury, ailment or illness) to let you know that something is not in balance in your energy system (or body).
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Systems for Self Expression A great way to express yourself is to identify the specific activities that allow you get in touch with your feelings. For some people it might be music, art, gardening, singing, theatre, books, going to the movies or something else altogether, such as: Dancing Golf Music Sex Sculpting Driving Watching Sport Modelling Singing Laughter Gardening Acting Drawing Fishing Family Outing Hair and Make-up Writing Painting Socialising Exercise Reading Tennis Designing Jewellery Riding a bike
When you discover where your passions lie, make time to indulge in them regularly. Through doing the things that you love you will be getting in touch with your emotions and allowing energy to be expressed rather than suppressed.
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Step Eight Establish a System for Effortlessness

In the rush of day-to-day life, we often overlook the need for, and importance of, rest and relaxation. Their positive benefits allow the immune system to recover, which reduces the chances of dis-EASE occurring in your life. A good sign that you may need rest is when things arent going so well and negative thoughts have started creeping into your mind. Rest and relaxation provide you with the opportunity to recover and keep your mind, body and spirit in a well-balanced state. Rest and relaxation are the medicines of the future. Your system for effortlessness should be based around the following: Weekends Take one whole day off per week. It is very important that you do no work at all on your day off. Holidays Take one week off every three months or one four-week holiday every year. Taking a regular holiday will help to increase your mental focus, decrease your stress levels, enhance your relationships and increase your physical and psychological well-being. A holiday is an excellent way to detach from the day-to-day grind and evaluate where you are currently at and where you want to be. Sleep Perhaps the best and most popular form of rest is sleep. Quality sleep allows the body to recover from the days activities. During quality sleep the body secretes growth hormone, which aids in the repair, recuperation and replacement of your bodys cells. Poor quality sleep can result in many negative side effects, which ultimately lead to sub-standard performance. As little as two poor nights sleep in a row can dramatically reduce your performance. The ideal amount of sleep is eight quality hours per night. Tips for Good Quality Sleep Make sleep a priority. Establish a routine and go to bed at the same time every night. Do regular exercise. Keep your room slightly cool. Avoid napping during the day. If you must have a nap, make it a power nap and fit it in at least six hours before bedtime. A power nap should be no longer than twenty minutes. An excellent way to measure a power nap is to place a set of keys in your hand when you go to sleep. When you feel the keys drop out of your hand, it is time to wake up. Avoid sleeping-in while it seems good at the time, it can interfere with your normal sleep cycle. Reduce your consumption of coffee, tea and other beverages containing caffeine late in the day. Avoid the temptation to have a nightcap before bed. Alcohol makes you sleepy but the sleep is of an inferior quality and wont refresh or sustain you. Dont eat or watch television in bed. Reserve the bed for sleeping only. Keep the room dark. Eyeshades are an easy solution for a room thats too light. If you are affected by noise, invest in some earplugs. 89
Meditation Meditation is another excellent form of rest; it is a period of solitude set aside each day to quiet your mind and is an excellent way to slow down, chill out and get in touch with the eternal side of your being. It will bring clarity and insight into your daily life and recharge you. Initially in meditation, the thoughts are slowed down; as you become more experienced, eventually your thoughts will stop completely. Meditation is: Allowing your mind to be alert and attentive. Allowing your mind to be calm, concentrated and focused without strain. Increased awareness of the world around you. Being in the moment, not worrying about the past or future. A process more than a goala journey rather than a destination.
Meditation plays an integral role in the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program because it offers the following benefits: Decreases stress, tension, depression, anxiety and develops more balanced emotions. Strengthens the immune system and improves health. Enhances ones sense of identity and connection. Improves confidence and concentration. Improves peace of mind, optimism and self-worth. Creates a greater sense of spiritual connection.
In todays busy world people struggle to take ten minutes out for themselves each day let alone being able to listen to what their intuition is telling them. Meditation will enable you to slow down and re-connect with your inner self so that you can begin to derive the benefits of a centred mind. The benefits of meditation can be experienced immediately, beginning with your first meditation session. How do I meditate? Sit comfortably, (either on the floor or in a chair) preferably in an upright and alert position. When sitting, allow your spine and back muscles to support you if you' re able to, otherwise use the back of a chair. Close your eyes (unless this causes you to fall asleep) and breathe in and out through your nose. Bring your attention to the triangle between the tip of the nose and your top lip. Concentrate on the sensation of the inhalation and exhalation of your breath in this area for the entire time you are meditating. When you notice your mind wandering, bring your attention back to this triangle. Eventually your mind will come back without your assistance.
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Get the best results from your meditation sessions by: Meditating in morning upon arising or in the evening just before bed. Beginning each meditation session with a brief relaxation exercise and stating your intention for the meditation. Keeping a thoughts journal next to your bed and record any negative thoughts, issues, physical stresses or symptoms, feelings, positive thoughts and things you appreciate each day. This will help you to have a clear mind and to be 100% present for your meditation. Practising meditation for at least twenty minutes per day. Avoiding trying to meditate when you are exhausted. Avoiding eating thirty minutes before or after meditation. Using a guided meditation audio program to assist you. Visit www.activateyourlife.com.au to purchase a meditation program. Relaxation Exercise The ability to relax on demand is a very useful skill. The following relaxation exercise can be performed at any time and is guaranteed to reduce your stress levels almost instantly. Lie down and relax your entire body. If you cannot lie down, sit in a chair. Close your eyes and slowly breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Contract the muscles in your right foot and lower leg by pointing your toe. Hold this contraction for 5-10 seconds and then relax. As you relax feel the warmth in your muscles as the tension melts away. Repeat this process twice for the right leg and twice for the left leg. Feel the difference between tension and relaxation in each muscle as you continue to focus on your breathing. Contract and relax the muscles in your right thigh and buttock. Repeat twice and move on to the left thigh and buttock. Contract and relax the muscles in your right hand and forearm by forming a fist. Repeat twice and move on to the left hand and forearm. Contract and relax the bicep muscles in both of your upper arms by bending your elbows and pulling your hands up to your shoulders. Repeat twice. Contract and relax your back muscles by arching your back. Repeat twice. Contract and relax your stomach and chest muscles by sucking in your stomach and pushing the palms of your hands together strongly. Repeat twice. Contract and relax your neck and shoulder muscles by shrugging your shoulders to your ears. Repeat twice. Contract and relax your face by scrunching up your lips, cheeks, eyes and forehead and biting your teeth together strongly. Repeat twice.
When you have completed this routine, check your entire body and use the technique to release any lingering tension. You should now feel completely relaxed.
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Step Nine Establish a System for Encouragement

The word encouragement emanates from the Latin word Cor, meaning heart. It means to give courage, confidence or hope. Having courage is having the ability to disregard fear and to be brave. The easiest way to be brave and fearless is to listen to and follow your heart. To further your level of success you must establish a system for self-encouragement.
Pursue activities that you feel passionate about.

Performing activities that you enjoy and that are fulfilling will help you to build momentum toward your life of EASE. As mentioned in Step Three of Creating Your Life of EASE, it is the feelings that achieving your goals will give you that make them fulfilling in the first place. The most important aspect of establishing your system for encouragement is to focus your attention on the feelings that achieving your vision will give you. There is no point performing activities that do not make you feel compelled to perform them. You will know if the activity is correct for you by instinct and by the feelings you get when you perform them. Before setting any goal or performing any activity, ask yourself the following questions: Why do I want to achieve this goal? What is the underlying feeling it will give me? What does this mean to me? Is this feeling compelling enough to maintain my motivation in the long term?
Self-acknowledgement
An excellent way to encourage yourself, and to become more aware of your progress, is to acknowledge yourself for your achievements. Often we get caught up in the things that we havent achieved in our lives, which takes our focus away from what is really happening. If you are struggling to see any personal progress I recommend writing a list of everything you have achieved in your life. This will very quickly give you a different perspective on your life and the progress you are making toward your goals. Perhaps the best way to acknowledge yourself is to reward yourself every time you achieve a significant goal. Rewarding yourself builds motivation and confidence. Each time you achieve a goal, CELEBRATE! You deserve it! Rewards also close-off the energy that was created while moving toward the goal. If you dont acknowledge yourself for achieving a goal, it will actually become unfinished business and, even though you have achieved it, some past energy will be stored thus not making 100% of your energy available in the present. Design a list of rewards that you can give yourself for achieving your goals. These could be tangible rewards such as a dinner out with friends, a new piece of clothing, a pampering day at the spa or a well-earned holiday, or intangible rewards such as feelings. You will notice, as you begin to achieve your goals, that the feelings of achieving the goal are often the greatest 92
rewards. The feelings of strong self-confidence, self-belief and heightened self-worth that come with achieving your goals are priceless.
Self-appreciation
Another excellent way of encouraging yourself is to have gratitude for all of the things you have in your life. Often we get caught up in the negative things or the things that we dont have or dont want in our lives, and this takes our focus away from all the positive things that we do have. If you are struggling to find the positives about yourself, I recommend keeping a pen and paper beside your bed, and each night before you go to sleep writing down everything that happened during the day that you are grateful for. Within no time you will have a very different perspective on yourself, your life and the things and people in it.
Accountability and support group

Identifying key people in your life that you can share your vision of EASE with and asking them for their encouragement and support to help you to achieve it is a great way to encourage yourself. Even better, why not all support each other and form an EASE creation group, where you meet regularly to discuss your goals and vision for your life of EASE. In doing this you will not only encourage each other and feel supported, but you will also keep each other accountable to follow through on your plans. List the people you would like to have in your EASE creation group below.
Motivation
Motivation is possibly the biggest determining factor when it comes to creating your life of EASE. Your level of motivation can make or break your plans. That is why it is so important to be clear on the underlying values and feelings that your goals will give you before you embark on achieving them. If they are very clear and you feel 100% committed to their achievement then nothing will get in the way of your success. But there may be times when you feel a little flat and it is at these times that you will need the support of both internal and external motivation to keep going. Motivation can be: External: Rewards, prizes and recognition. Internal: Challenge and accomplishment. Motivation is very important, especially when you are about to embark on a program that will transform your life. When learning any new skill, or adopting any new behaviour, there are four stages that you will need motivation for, they are:
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1) 2) 3) 4)
The Discomfort Stage The Results Stage The Pleasure Stage The Maintenance Stage
I will use exercise as an example to demonstrate each of these stages of motivation. The Discomfort Stage When you first start doing exercise, it seems like hard work. Your body tires quickly, you feel short of breath easily, your muscles are often sore the next day and of course it will be difficult to find the time to workout. The good news is that this stage doesnt last forever. In most cases, between four and six weeks are required before the next stage is reached. The length of time depends on your initial fitness level, your program and your ability to train regularly. During this stage, motivation often needs to come from outside; a personal trainer, a life coach or a structured program can be particularly helpful. The Results Stage During this stage, the time and effort that you have put into your exercise program begins to pay off; much of the discomfort of doing exercise is over and you even find yourself feeling good after each session. More importantly, you will feel the rewards of your effort you will feel fitter, begin to see changes in your body shape and you may discover that you have more energy. Motivation becomes much easier, as there are now positive benefits to balance the short term pain or inconvenience of exercise. Some external motivation is still helpful though as it is easy at this stage to skip a session and lose momentum. The Pleasure Stage As the name suggests, during this stage your exercise program becomes a pleasurable experience. The physical rewards are still realised, but the main motivators are now psychological a person in this stage wants to exercise. When you reach the pleasure stage, you dont like to miss a session, in fact studies have shown that regular, long-term exercisers show withdrawal symptoms if they miss a session. Needless to say, when you have reached this stage, motivation is not a problem. Reward yourself for your efforts. The Maintenance Stage Although you are well into your training routine and things are going great, it is important at this stage to maintain long term motivation. If you continue to perform the same program for too long you may become bored or your physical results may plateau. It is important to add variety to your workouts and mix up your training sessions, try a group class one day, a boxing session the next to provide you with added stimulus and to spark further results and motivation.
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The Ten Keys to Self-Motivation The following are ten key points to help keep you motivated to achieve all that you can throughout the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program and beyond. 1. Establish clear goals. Know why you are activating your life and the steps that you will be taking by setting specific and realistic goals. If there are times when you are finding it hard to keep going, your goals will help to keep you on the right path. 2. Plan ahead. At the beginning of each week, or each day, decide what strategies you are going to perform, for how long and at what time. Make sure that you have whatever equipment or support you need. That way, when it is time to take action, you will not have to think about it you can just turn up and get on with it. 3. Incorporate fun and variety. Developing a variety of fun and interesting strategies in your program will help you to stay interested and reduce boredom. Fun and variety also reduce the chances of you dropping out and help you to ensure that you have a holistic and well-balanced program. 4. Reward yourself. Give yourself a reward from day one, just for having embarked on your program. The reward could be anything from simply congratulating yourself, to giving yourself a special treat just make sure that you dont reward yourself with things that are detrimental to your progress. 5. Perform the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program with a friend or partner. This way you can motivate each other. 6. Enlist support from your family and close friends. Or utilise the Activate Your Life support resources such as personal trainers, life coaches and the www.activateyourlife.com.au website. 7. Ensure personal accountability. Develop a system whereby you are accountable for the achievement of your goals. This could be a weekly session with your life coach or a weekly check in with a close friend. Accountability works best when there is a deadline and when there is something that you stand to lose if you do not achieve your goals or perform set tasks. This may be as simple as losing respect from the person you are accountable to, or having to pay a fine of some form. 8. Always focus on the goals you want to achieve and the feelings you want to feel throughout the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program. Your subconscious mind works like a heat-seeking missile; it will always hit what it is aiming for. If you experience adversity or setbacks during the 90 days, stay positive and continue to focus on what it is you want to achieve and the feelings you want to feel. 9. Plan for obstacles, set backs and adversity. By failing to plan, you plan to fail. Identify any potential obstacles that you may encounter and design a strategy to overcome them so that they will not affect your progress toward your goals. 10. Record your progress in your Activate Your Life online diary or training manual. By aiming for constant daily improvements you will soon achieve the goals you have set. Recording 95
your progress allows you to see your improvements from week to week, which increases your confidence, motivation and determination to adhere to the program. Does life some times just feel too HARD? When it comes to motivation, be aware that the easiest way may not always appear to be the easiest way, but it will all make sense in the end. In fact, facing some challenges on your journey may actually be necessary for you to move on to the next phase of your development. Say, for example, that your vision is to climb Mount Everest and one of your strategies to achieve this vision is to join a health club. You begin training and in your first three weeks everything seems so hard your muscles ache, you are always tired and you cant stop eating. But you know that if you persist the results will come and they will enhance your growth and development. In this case it will be the increase in strength and fitness that you achieve by persevering that will help you to climb Mount Everest. So be patient with yourself and know that even when things are challenging they are often for the betterment of your vision. Most people never achieve their goals because things are too HARD in certain areas of their lives, which reduces their motivation. Why do things sometimes feel HARD?
HARD = Harbouring Acute Resistance toward the Direction you are taking in some area of your life, which ultimately causes dis-Ease. Life is meant to be EASY, and if everything in life were EASY our lives would flow and we would be free from dis-Ease. If you are finding that certain goals or strategies that you have chosen are too HARD, look for the root cause of the issue causing the challenge and either remove it, or set yourself some more compelling goals or more effective achievement strategies.
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Dis-Comfort Model
HARD Choice = Your External World will control your Internal World. EASY Choice = Your Internal World will control your External World When people feel discomfort, they are right on the edge of their comfort zone, and they can make one of two choices: 1. Expand their context by taking the EASY choice and create EASE. 2. Remain stuck in their comfort zone by taking the HARD choice and return to a state of disEASE. By using the tools of encouragement and the ten keys to motivation you will ensure a smooth transition through the discomfort phase of your program and you will fast track your results. If you would like to maintain a consistently high level of self-encouragement and motivation I recommend that you sign up for the Activate Your Life EASE-ine at www.activateyourlife.com.au. The EASE-ine is a free monthly newsletter that will inspire and support you on your journey toward your life of EASE. As a special gift for subscribing, you will also receive a ten-part e-coaching series, valued at $197, absolutely free!
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Step Ten Establish a System for Evaluation

Evaluation is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of the goal achievement process. People dont want to know where they are at in case the news is not good. But constant feedback keeps you on track to achieve your goals without it you may never arrive at your destination. Feedback is not something to be feared it provides valuable information that can help you to evaluate which areas of your performance need improving and which you are already excelling at. Did you know that when a commercial aeroplane flies from one destination to another it is only on course for about two per cent of its journey? For the rest of the time the on-board computer system is assessing and evaluating feedback and plotting new flight coordinates to get it back on track. This will be the case on your journey toward your life of EASE you will not be on track every minute of every day. You will need to constantly monitor your progress and add or remove anything that is not helping you to reach your destination.
Fast track your life of EASE by arranging high quality feedback systems
Feedback is like good old-fashioned medicine, its hard to swallow but its good for you think of it as an opportunity to increase the effectiveness and quality of your performance. Feedback can be: 1. Subjective Subjective feedback is feeling-based. Your emotions and your intuition are excellent feedback systems. If you are not feeling good about something, or if it doesnt quite feel right, then chances are its not right for you. 2. Objective Objective feedback is measurable and recordable. A nutrition, lifestyle and fitness assessment is an excellent way to get objective feedback on your current level of health. Activate Your Life offers a comprehensive nutrition, lifestyle and fitness assessment when you join the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program. Visit www.activateyourlife.com.au for details. Check in with yourself regularly Check in with yourself on a daily and weekly basis to ensure that you are living EASILY and that you are on track to achieve your vision. Set aside a regular time each week to evaluate whether you are living on purpose and are at EASE. You may find that you need to add, remove or refine your existing EASY living strategies to enhance your development. A weekly check in will keep you accountable for the direction you have chosen and ensure that you are evolving on a daily basis.
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What feedback systems can you develop to evaluate your progress toward your vision?
For example: Hire an Activate Your Life coach.
1.___________________________________________________________________________ 2.___________________________________________________________________________ 3.___________________________________________________________________________ 4.___________________________________________________________________________ 5.___________________________________________________________________________
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Activate Your Life Weekly Evaluation

What were the positives of this week?
_________________
What were the negatives of this week?
_________________
What areas will I improve on next week?
_______________________________________________________________ _________________________________
Did I achieve my weekly goals? Why/Why not? Yes No
_____
_________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________
What support will I need to achieve my goals next week?
___
_________________________________________________________________ ______________________
What will be the positives of achieving my goals next week?
______________________________________ _____________________________________________
What will be the negatives if I dont achieve my goals next week?
____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________
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Inner World Peace
Chapter Five
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Congratulations! Having reached the end of this book you now know that you are in complete control of your life you understand that you (and only you) control your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours. You know that every circumstance that occurs in your life manifests because of the quality of your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours. This is such an empowering space to live your life from because you are now armed with the life tools and strategies you need to be completely at choice as to how you choose to live the rest of your life. By allocating just a few minutes each day to your EASY living strategies you will achieve your new life of EASE and freedom. Are you going to allow your external world to continue to control your internal world? Or are you going to take personal responsibility and allow your internal world to create the external world that you have always wanted? Its your choice. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is an elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one, that otherwise never would have occurred. A whole stream of event issues from the decision, raising in ones favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Final Thoughts
If you follow the suggestions and establish a system for EASE, I guarantee that you will remove physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dis-EASE from your life. The thousands of people who have had incredible results from the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program are proof that the system works. The system works, you just need to work the system. Be the best person that you can be and experience the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program for yourself see which systems work best for you, what difference they make to your life and how much more fulfilling and purposeful your life becomes. Every day you delay is a day that you delay living a life of EASE and freedom. Activate Your Life today! To support you in your journey toward your life of EASE, Activate Your Life provides you with the following support tools:
Activate Your Life 90-Day Program Activate Your Life coaching and mentoring programs (nutritionists, personal trainers, life coaches and mentors) Activate Your Life free monthly e-zine Activate Your Life online pay-per-view seminars Activate Your Life seminars and events Activate Your Life educational resources, such as books and e-books, DVDs, CDs and video programs, audio and video downloads. Activate Your Life exercise equipment and nutrition products.
To find out more about these life-changing services, visit www.activateyourlife.com.au.
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Success Stories
Neen James Wow what a transformation! It is hard to write in a page the changes from the old Neen (preprogram) to now. The outside world may only notice the physical changes, which I am happy with, but I believe the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program represented more for me and helped mentally, emotionally, spiritually and relationally. When I embarked on this journey I assumed I would lose weight, become a gym member and have a different shaped body at the end. This wasnt totally the case. I didnt lose any weight according to traditional scales, but discovered I had lost 12 kilos of fat and replaced it with 12.2 kilos of muscle! This was exciting. Overall I lost 15% body fat an achievement I am proud of. I also noticed physically that my shape started to improve and my body feels more toned, stronger, hydrated and healthier. I feel more energetic overall and my sleep patterns improved dramatically. What I didnt count on during the program was the affect it would have on the other areas of my life. Mentally I am more alert and have stopped the negative mind chatter. Emotionally, I feel even more contented and happy within myself. I learnt to stop trying to control outcomes and just be in a space to allow things to unfold. I am someone who relies on intuition and the program reinforced that for me. Spiritually, I learnt how to meditate (which was really hard for me with my short attention span and mind running a million miles an hour). This skill has allowed me to gain insights, trust Gods plan and increased awareness of myself. I feel fantastic about the changes I see. I am proud of completing the program and grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a life-changing event. I feel positive about the future and know I can carry on the work that has been started. I feel this was a great accomplishment and I want to tell the world about the Activate Your Life 90-Day Programs success and how it can affect their lives too. I am excited and proud about watching my body take shape and feel more calm and centred.
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Beau Braund In the beginning Physically, Id been kidding myself for a few years that I wasnt in really bad shape. However, I really was overweight (~35% body fat), I had love handles, my chest was ready for a Bro, and I looked atrocious in togs. I ate big meals and didnt think twice when eating the wrong foods. I kept thinking Id tone up a bit (magically I guess, without actually doing anything about it!), so I refused to buy new bigger clothes and therefore spent my days at work in discomfort in trousers that were way too tight around the waist. I had little fitness stamina, could barely run 400m without collapsing and gasping for breath and had no motivation to get into a positive exercise routine. Mentally, the motivation factor with exercise extended to other areas of my life. Along with having little physical energy, my mental energy was suffering. I was getting into bad habits with working during the day and collapsing in front of mind-numbing TV late at night with precious little mental effort put toward other life activities that were important to me. Emotionally, I skipped across the surface in self-reflection in most relationships, never really feeling the exhilaration or pain of life. I rarely took stock of, or analysed my own emotions. And I had the tendency to let precious moments with family and friends pass rather than take the opportunity to connect on a deeper level. Id set goals, but emotionally, Id never buy into them in a meaningful way that would help drive me toward achieving them. Spiritually, I was something of a lightweight! Whilst conscious of my spiritual self, I was only ever vaguely aware of the need to feed it, rejuvenate it and consider it a powerful self-guiding force, for my lifes journey. After 90 days Physically, Ive experienced some really positive changes. I dropped my targeted 5kg, halved my body fat to 17.4% (i.e. lost 17kg of body fat, and built 12kg of new muscle tissue), the love handles are almost gone, and now theres no need for the bro! I know theres more work to achieve the fitness level I really want, but Im so far along the track from where I was its unbelievable. I do a four kilometre run 4-5 mornings each week I couldnt even run this distance when I was at high school!! The weight-training program during the 90 days has definitely built my strength and a vastly improved body shape is materialising. I can see and feel the results in myself, Ive got more energy, I eat well, sleep better and now my body craves a good workout each day! Mentally, my concentration levels are up. I focus better. I have more energy to devote to my job, to be more effective and time-efficient. I seem to have more time for my studies outside work, and personal things that are more important to me. Being able to tune in the mental job at hand means I can set myself more challenging goals and achieve more each day. Emotionally, the program has been a great opportunity to feel and become conscious of my emotions theyve always been there, but remained unacknowledged. This has not been an overnight process, but I now have increased ability to look for ways to connect with important people in my life on a more satisfying, more fulfilling level, for which I am truly grateful. 104
Spiritually, I now look for ways to rejuvenate myself. Whether it be through meditation, yoga, books, music, I now am more aware of this part of who I am. Its the force within if you like and Im just beginning to tap into it. Its been a bit like visiting a new country so much to explore and experience and so exciting and enriching at the same time. With this awareness comes a much stronger sense of purpose in my life. When I reflect on the changes across all aspects of my life, they are overwhelming. Its incredible to think that so much can change in such a short period of time. Its not so much that you feel and experience a great number of changes, and think to yourself Ive arrived (at the end of the program). Rather, its that you commit to having a good hard look at yourself, what you stand for and you get a clearer idea of who you want to be and what path you want to walk in life and at the end of the program you know that youre well on your way to achieving your personal vision. I know that my priorities and the challenges I set for myself will be dynamic and continue to change over time, but life has a greater sense of purpose, and I have stronger resolve and some great tools to take a much more holistic approach to achieve a fulfilling life. At the beginning of the program, I sometimes found myself wondering What will I be doing at the end of the 90 days? It was as if I was saying to myself that Ill set some goals, go through the program, make some improvements, the program will end and Ill see where life goes from there. However, by the time the program ended, I could see myself chasing much bigger dreams, and seeing a continual cycle ahead of setting and achieving bigger and more challenging personal goals. I feel very excited, energised, motivated and very happy about these possibilities. Well done, guys! Thank you. Its been a privilege to be one of the inaugural 90-dayers! Best wishes for every success under the sun!!
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Eva Forsaith Earlier this year, I was pondering how best to approach the reasonably substantial list of things about my life I had decided to change in 2004. It was in fact the same list I had come up with the year before and indeed the year before that! So based on the fact that my previous attempts to address these issues had been, shall we say, a little shy of successful I was understandably curious when someone at work gave me some basic information about the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program. The offer included a gym membership, group training sessions, life coaching, meditation and kinesiology (about which I knew nothing). After a brief meeting with Andrew McCombe I decided to take the program on. This was clearly much more than a gym membership. It was an opportunity to get some help in managing the things I had been struggling to do on my own. After detoxing for the first week (not easy, but nothing like as difficult I thought it would be either) I moved into a pattern of 6.00am training sessions three times a week and cardio sessions every other day. To go from doing virtually no exercise to this level seems like a big step but it was surprisingly easy on the body and dare I say even enjoyable! After a couple of weeks I had more energy than Id had in a long time and already had a real sense of achievement. The other element introduced at this time was meditation. At the end of most gym sessions, we were encouraged to take ten minutes or so to either focus on an intention or just clear the mind. There is absolutely no doubt that taking a few minutes a day (even if its just to be in a quiet environment) for yourself is therapeutic. Then came the life coaching. My first session with the life coach involved establishing how I felt about myself, and what I was doing with my life versus what I actually wanted to be doing. This isnt necessarily easy stuff. It involves answering a great number of questions about yourself. It forced me to think about things that I had neatly filed away in my brains filing cabinet under too hard! Its interesting working with someone who doesnt share your preconceptions about yourself and who forces you to face up to the fact that by formulating a plan, it is entirely possible for things to change. Going through the process of setting goals, and then creating an action plan to make them happen, helps to simplify things. I could see a way forward and when I was feeling vague I could refer back to it and get back on track. I suppose the key thing about having a life coach is that you have someone who is there entirely for you. For the length of the session your needs and requirements are all that matter. For me, this process was real proof of one thing (issue, block, physical ailment ) being linked to another. I had always thought this to be true to a certain extent but as each session progressed, it became apparent to me that this is undeniably true. In the very last week of the program I found myself bedridden with back pain. The program introduced me to so much and right at the end I started to doubt my progress. I put off my final life coaching session and found myself with a real case of the blues. I spoke with my life coach about my desire to put off my final evaluation for another month. He understandably asked me to consider what the link between all these things was. At first I couldnt answer the question. It was 106
a real blank spot for me. Thankfully however I had a kind of epiphany! Because it concerned something private and personal I wont go in to detail but I can tell you that this (for want of a better word) breakthrough was undoubtedly the most important thing to have come out of the program for me. I had my final session with my life coach and in terms of achieving the goals I had set for myself I had made real progress. Those that I wasnt able to tick off completely were all well underway and surprise, surprise my priorities had changed dramatically. I would be deviating from the truth if I said that the journey was all plain sailing! For the most part its a blast, however for me there were some confronting moments. I stepped way outside of my normal comfort zone however even the anxiety I felt at the end of the course turned out to be a positive! In the 90 days, I left a job that was taking me nowhere except providing me with a salary, I completed a concept document for a television program I had been wrestling with for ages, I bought myself a keyboard and a home recording set-up, lost over 5kg in weight, improved my fitness level considerably and set a plan to help continue my progress for the next six months.
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Fiona Bulmer A week or so before Christmas 2003, I received an offer to do the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program. I could not believe the timing or the range of benefits that would be covered over the three months. I immediately accepted as this was a rare opportunity to really focus on myself on so many levels, physically and emotionally. I was looking forward to pushing new boundaries and finding what I could do to improve my fitness, overall health and nutrition and to mentally stretch myself. Most of my life I have tried to be the best daughter, sister, friend, employee, wife and mother, now I was entering a whole new chapter of my life and I wanted to explore how to improve myself. The program far exceeded my initial high expectations as I did not count on meeting some great new friends and being inspired by the great trainers and coaches on the program. I discovered so much about myself as this program really made me focus on what I want out of life. It may sound simple, however I lead such a hectic life working full time and bringing up my two young children as a single parent that I had just lost my way and was too busy doing and not being. I seemed to charge ahead at full speed without really knowing what made me happy. Many times I found myself outside of my comfort zone during the program as I naturally find it easy to look after others needs and disregard the importance of looking after my own needs. This program has helped me identify what my strengths are and gave me the push to move to another level. I went through a great deal of personal change over the 90 days. At the end of the program I made some profound decisions and am now moving in a new direction at work and at home. I addressed issues to do with family, relationships, career, health and on all fronts I am ecstatic. I am now working part-time from home, I spend more time with my beautiful children and partner. I have fully cleared and cleaned out every closet both mentally and physically in my life. My house is being renovated inside and out to reflect the new simple, clean life I have chosen to live. All my family have benefited as I now have more energy, laughter and patience to spend time together without fitting it into the tight timeframes I used to have. I am grateful for the support and understanding of all the team at Activate Your Life. I am now leading the life I dreamt about and have set new goals to reach.
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Megan Crawford When I decided to take part in the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program the only real trouble I had with my life was admitting when something was wrong and talking it through. I instead chose to keep my feelings bottled up inside which resulted in an emotional roller coaster when things became too much for me mentally. I was scared of what people thought of me, and did not how to respond when something was not feeling completely fine. I at times hated myself and who I was, but at the same time I was scared of changing. Which, when I look at it now, was a big setback in my life and growing to be the person I wanted to. Once I began the program I was unsure of where I was going to end up. However, as I took part in each new concept of life, my own life began to make sense and now I look at myself in a new light. I write what troubles me in a journal and set goals to overcome these difficulties as I learned to do through my life coaching sessions. The kinesiology made me understand that each emotional distress I push further inside creates an alternate problem. Now when I am confronted by something that is not how I want it to be, I know I can sit down and work through each little problem to end it before it takes control over who I am. I know now that a life of EASE is not that hard to achieve if you really want it. I am happy with the results I have gained from my involvement in the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program and would gladly take part in it again. With the help of the Activate Your Life team, I began to realise that other peoples views of me are not what matters in life. What I have walked away with is knowing that the way I see myself, who I believe I can be and what I aim for in life is all that matters. My purpose for the program was to be me and accept me which I found to be difficult at first because for so long I had been focusing on the rest of the world. Through ending relationships that no longer made me happy I found new friends who have helped me achieve great things over the past 90 days. I now feel stronger within myself and know that if I set my mind to achieve great things I will. I look forward to a future where I am in control of my own life and know that each path will lead me to something bigger and better. Even though I am still at university, I now have a clearer picture of where I want to be when I finish my first degree. I want to help spread the word to other people who are like the old me that there is a way to a better life. By taking part in the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program I now know that I am in control of me and want to help other people to see this as well.
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Rachel Ravenscroft When I started to the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program I was over-worked, suffering from a lack of exercise and recovering from an operation on my left foot earlier in the year. I didnt think there was enough time in the day to accomplish everything I had to in the office as well as exercise and have time for loved ones, so you could say that I was a bit of stress bucket. One good thing about all that stress was that it was keeping my weight down, however I just didnt have any muscle tone or stamina! I was also facing some life changing decisions which needed to be made sooner rather than later. I initially thought that Activate Your Life was just a get fit program, but this impression soon changed after my first couple of weeks working with the Activate team, I realised that the program was going to positively touch almost every area of my life including but not limited to nutrition, exercise, meeting and making new friends, relaxation (my husband was convinced I couldnt do this bit of the program well and I sure proved him wrong!), setting personal goals and achieving them and not forgetting to reward oneself when you have achieved them. It has been an amazing 90 days, through the duration of the program I lost body fat, gained muscle tone, increased flexibility and increased my exercise to never before seen levels. I also made (with my husband) that life changing decision which we are now acting on, moving countries is a logistical nightmare! The team helped me successfully cope with very serious unexpected illnesses of loved ones both here and overseas, for this I am really grateful. I have met and made new friends, learnt about a number of different alternative therapies, holographic repatterning and kinesiology to name a couple. I have had so many comments from friends and colleagues who have really noticed a positive change in my appearance, which was great to hear. Now that Ive finished the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program Ive promised myself never to let my exercise drop to zero no matter how busy I am at work. The Activate team have shown me that there is always enough time in the day for some form of exercise and that exercise can be fun, especially when done with others. I now also use some of the meditation techniques the Activate team taught us to wind down at the end of a long day. One of the major changes Ive noticed in myself is that I am now more focused on achieving what I want to achieve than I ever was before, that was a little frightening at first but I have settled into it now.
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Sue Henry When I joined the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program my life was out of balance in most areas, physically I was overweight, lethargic and embarrassed about my body and how I had let myself get to such a state. Emotionally I was extremely stressed, unhappy with myself and not sure what to do next. Although I knew that I had to exercise and eat healthily to lose weight I couldnt find the inspiration to do it. My business was up and down like a roller coaster ride and I kept thinking if I worked harder the rewards would eventually come, however, I was really kidding myself because I had been thinking that way for many years and was still waiting for the rewards. The first thing that I discovered during the program that was to have a profound impact on my life was that I was not looking at the whole picture, I was selectively looking at parts of my life and attempting to fix each part separate to the others. From this one learning I have now mastered the art of detecting when I am going into stress and choosing my response and how I deal with it. In the past I would have eaten to make myself feel better. The program has had profound impact on my life here are some of the many things I have achieved during the 90 days I have lost 16.3% body fat. As a result, my body shape is changing and I have reduced almost two sizes in my clothes. Its nice to have my waist back! I am able to run 4.5km comfortably a huge success considering a 2km power walk at the start of the program was a challenge for me! I have made some terrific new friends. I have co-authored and published a book a long time goal that is now a reality. I have several tools to manage stress and am able to enjoy each moment in each day! I discovered that I really love exercise and hadnt been true to myself and integrated it as a fun activity in my life.
Ive been so inspired by the last 90 days that I have signed up for another 90 days! In my opinion there is no better complete system of support, encouragement and ease to achieve the results in life than the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program can offer. Thanks for helping me take charge of MY LIFE!
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Emily Mason When I first approached Activate Your Life about joining the 90-day program, I wasnt in a good way at all. Over the last 3 years I had gone from being a confident, attractive and adventurous bundle of energy to someone who was overweight, bored and downright miserable. I was unfulfilled and unhappy in my work I had a job that was glamorous and exciting on the outside, but one that I found increasingly shallow and unfulfilling. I was in an out-of-date relationship with a lovely but not right man, but I was terrified of leaving. I was so wound-up about my job that I had no time or energy for myself, let alone for my friends or family. My healthy, active lifestyle had gone out the window and had been replaced by weekends of drinking too much, eating too much, sleeping in and buying things that I didnt want. I was a good 12kg overweight, had no energy and felt absolutely horrible. I remember waking up one day and thinking with absolute conviction that something has to change. I didnt know what that something was. I didnt know for the life of me how to start changing. And I was utterly terrified! My first life coaching and the physical assessment sessions were extremely emotional experiences. They formed a pretty tough reality check of where I was it was difficult to face up to the reality of my life situation particularly as Id been successfully pretending that everything was fine for so long! But the Activate Teams 100% positive attitude and unconditional belief in me meant that I walked out of both sessions with my head held high, and with an excitement I hadnt felt in years about the possibilities that lay ahead of me. Over the next 90 days this unconditional belief and positive attitude didnt waiver for a second. I honestly believe that the program is so much more than a job for the Activate Team; they are truly men and women with a mission! It never even occurred to them that I would do anything other than succeed, this sort of belief and passion is as infectious as it is rare, and you find yourself making enormous leaps of courage and sticking at things that you would never have done before. Ninety days down the track, my life has turned 180 degrees I know who I am again, and I have a life of energy, fulfilment and joy. I have lost 14.5% body fat, and dropped almost two dress sizes. I now run every morning for an hour, and train every lunchtime, and I do this because I love it! I love feeling so fit and alive and knowing that my body is functioning better than it has done in over ten years. I spring out of bed at 6am every day (without an alarm clock!!) and fit literally four times as much into my days as I used to. Ive also taken up beach volleyball and am about to start training as a triathlete. On top of all this, I have twice as much time to spend reading, listening to music and being with friends and family. From week one, the Activate team gave me the self-belief and courage to pull out of my out-ofdate relationship, and have supported me all the way in the aftermath of that sea-change. I now know exactly what I want in a partner and I know that I dont need to compromise. I know that I have finally blossomed into a gorgeous, sexy and independent woman, and this shows in the reactions I get from the people around me, not to mention strangers on the street! 112
I have also left my uninspiring job, and now work four days a week in an exciting and fulfilling job that I truly love. I have also dedicated one day a week to self-growth and re-training, as I would love to be able to make the same contribution to someone elses life. I really feel that the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program has been just the beginning for me. Unlike other short-term health kicks, this program has been an intensive learning period that has helped me realise who I am and how I fit into the bigger picture. Its taught me how my physical, emotional and spiritual health all impact on each other, and has given me the tools to keep on growing and be the best I can be for the rest of my life. I can truly say that partaking in the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program was the best thing I have ever done (it knocks nine months of travelling, emigrating to Australia and a four-year degree off the top of the list!) When I compare the person I was 90 days ago to the person I am now, I barely recognise myself. It is a phenomenal experience when you start to unlock your true potential, and this is only the tip of the iceberg! I owe so much to the Activate team that I find it difficult to express in words. Without wishing to sound melodramatic, I truly believe that they have saved my life. I look back with horror and sadness at the person I was three months ago, and look forward with joy and excitement to the person I will become in the next three months, six months and so on. Thank you so, so much you are a fabulous and inspiring group of people on an amazing mission. I truly believe you will change the world and I wish you every joy and success on your journey. With big love to you all. xxxx
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Cheryl Jenkins I became chronically ill a number of years ago. I went from being a reasonably active person without too many cares to someone in constant, unrelenting pain. In the beginning, the decline of my health was so rapid, it was all consuming. I could no longer work, pay my way or do many of the things I once enjoyed and had taken for granted. I was very frightened as nobody could tell me what was wrong with me. Even worse than the pain was the not knowing. Was it serious? Was it permanent? Would it kill me? After a long time and many doctors and various drugs later, I finally had a name for my condition Fibromyalgia. I was that told it wasnt serious, in as much as it would not kill me or cause any permanent tissue or joint damage, but it cant really be cured because medical professionals dont really understand the cause. However it is very serious to the sufferer as we are the ones who endure pain that changes your whole life. Some people just get a few aches and pains and it goes away on its own, others are completely debilitated. Most improve somewhat. Some get better. It cannot be cured but it can be managed to an extent. One of the many symptoms of this disease is depression. I was lucky as I refused to let it change my love of life, for my friends and family. But I did feel extremely limited and very frustrated. After a couple of years I was able to return to working part time and participate again in some of the things that I enjoyed. What I didnt realise was how scared I had become. Not only of change but also of stepping out of my uncomfortable comfort zone. Earlier this year I realised that if I didnt make some changes this illness had already beaten me. I quit the part time job that I had and moved cities. I left the comfort of the constant support of my family into a new and relatively unfamiliar environment. Without a job, without good health but with a belief that I could do it. Well, I got a new part time job, much better than the last, and found myself somewhere to live and realised I was loving every minute of it. But it wasnt until I began the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program that I learned that I could do more, feel more positive and achieve things I didnt think were possible. I was actually exercising and it was tough going but I could feel my body getting stronger. I was changing destructive thought patterns and becoming freer than I had been in a very long time. I was realising that even with physical limitations there are no limitations on your heart and mind. I can now find my way over hurdles that previously I felt were insurmountable. It may not be a direct jump but with some thought and determination I can build ladders to climb over them. The end result is that I can get there, where once I felt I couldnt. I dont know what the future holds except promise. The thought that if I really want something no matter what it is, I can get it, have it, do it, if I put my mind to it. Our minds put up more barriers than our bodies do. The training has made my body stronger. I may be still what many would consider physically unfit but I have taken huge personal strides. I am not yet well but being stronger certainly makes a huge difference. I am still in pain but I am coping better now and the stronger I become physically, the stronger I become emotionally and spiritually. I did not think I could push through the pain to exercise at all. I was wrong. I think the two major things I have taken away from the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program are: 1. My journey has just begun and 2. I can do anything!
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James Mottee Prior to starting the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program I was constantly stressed, my diet was shocking, and my moods were erratic. I would eat a packet of lollies for lunch and not even think that this was bad! I had many negative thoughts and beliefs about myself, and my ability to achieve the goals I wanted to achieve in my life. I was not 100% clear on exactly where my life was going, where my relationship was going, and where I wanted to be in one, five or ten years time. My life was about work, and others, and I really didnt spend any time on my own development, or needs. As a human resources professional, most of my time was spent with other peoples issues, goals, desires and the last thing I wanted to spend time on was my own issues, goals and desires. When I first started the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program I had reservations. I was concerned that I may not fit the program in with work, and that I wouldnt be able to fully commit due to my workload. On starting, I found all these concerns dissipated quickly. I was more productive and found that I could allocate sufficient time to attend the gym and spend time on myself. I also found the time spent developing and working on myself the most productive and fruitful way to spend my time, as everything else in my life just easily slotted into place. The Activate Your Life 90-Day Program is a holistic program that covers many aspects of your life. Rather than just concentrating on your appearance, it makes you understand that your physicality and physical environment is just a manifestation of your inner self. It addresses the root causes of recurring issues and I was able to really understand why I would crave packets of lollies, binge on donuts and breads and drink lots of coffee (particularly when I am stressed). I found holographic repatterning of great assistance on my Activate journey. I was able to isolate why certain negative beliefs and thoughts keep recurring in my life, and attack them at their root cause. Then I could move on and start concentrating on the person I wanted to be. I now feel more positive and motivated at work as I now devote more time to myself. I dont begrudge work for taking my time away, as I now feel I am devoting ample time to me! I also now have a better picture of what I want to achieve professionally, and where I see myself in the future. People are now constantly commenting on how relaxed I am, and this is because of the program. I would normally be spinning myself out of control trying to organise and influence things within my life. I now know that I need to relax, trust and not stress. Things happen for a reason, and its more important to concentrate on yourself, your core being, and your inner self, and things will naturally fall into place. An important part of the program is unfinished business. I found at the start of the program I did not want to address my business as my life was geared towards worrying about other peoples business. This made my life stressful, messy and uncontrollable. I found in addressing my unfinished business like tax returns, bills and issues with others, that I felt free of recurring 115
issues in my life. I obtained clarity in my life and I could concentrate on more exciting things, like my dreams and goals. Now I am a highly organised person, and I am reaping the benefits. My body looks exactly where I want it to be. I am leaner and have more muscle mass. I wanted to concentrate on building bulk muscle and this occurred on the program. My biceps and chest have increased out of sight and I really dont think this could have occurred without the assistance of the Activate Your Life crew. Moving forward I feel like I have the ball rolling again in my life. I feel like I am addressing things in my life that I should have addressed years ago and that I have put off for so long. These things may have never been addressed without the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program. I feel now my life is more rounded, I am better able to balance my friends, my family, my work, and my own needs. I feel far more positive about what I can achieve! Probably the most notable message I took away from the program is to relax, be happy with yourself, be true to yourself and follow your dreams. In doing this you really need to concentrate on clearing recurring issues, and these issue can occur in all areas of your life, including diet, relationships, attitude to work, weight, physical appearance and self-esteem. Once these issues and negative thoughts are cleared, anything is possible!
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Louise Moule Before I started the Activate Your Life 90-Day Program, I really had quite mixed thoughts about it. On the one hand, I was excited about the prospect of what I could achieve, particularly with regard to the heavy focus on physical activity. Although I already exercised regularly, this would be the first time that I had ever committed to such an intense workout program, and I felt that if anything would produce the results I wanted in terms of weight loss, fitness and body shape, this would. On the other hand, I also had some doubts as to whether the program would deliver the huge shifts and benefits that the Activate team promised. Working in the personal development industry I am lucky enough to work with literally some of the worlds best coaches, and so my standards of what I wanted the program to deliver for me were high to say the least. My expectations of myself were somewhat lower it has to be said in all honesty I went into the program thinking I would give it my best shot, but that it would be difficult to meet all the commitments and requirements. Mentally and emotionally I considered myself to be in pretty good shape. Having made some major life changes in the preceding two years, I already considered myself to have a relatively clear idea of who I was and where I was heading. The one major area of my life that I wanted to address, however, was my wealth creation strategy, something that I had successfully managed to avoid over a long period of time for a whole host of reasons, including lack of knowledge, fear, and uncertainty as well as a high degree of apathy. I also set myself a number of goals related to restoring some balance in my life, allowing me more time to enjoy my friends and family, as well as a couple of pastimes that I am passionate about. Spiritually, while I had made some progress toward really understanding the real me and my own needs, I was conscious that this was also an area I really needed to focus on. At that time, I was so busy leading an extremely active life professionally and socially that I was effectively burying issues that I had either thought Id dealt with, or hadnt even realised existed. In particular, it became obvious that I wasnt allowing myself any time for rest and relaxation, and certainly no me time. Consequently, very soon into the program I hit the wall physically and realised that I needed to make some significant changes if I was going to carry on with my previous lifestyle, let alone achieve the goals I had set. Literally as soon as I started the program, I started to notice the benefits and made some major changes in my lifestyle to keep the momentum going, such as really watching my diet, and allowing myself rest and relaxation time as well as the regular exercise sessions. I planned my schedule in advance to make sure I was always ready for the early morning workouts (in itself a major achievement!), and changed my diet, including giving up alcohol (also a major achievement!) for virtually the whole program. The guidance I received from the kinesiology sessions provided tremendous support in this area, and I truly was amazed at some of the results that emerged when I followed the advice I was given. This in itself made it so much easier to stay with the program, because I really did feel so much better. From a physical perspective, I really enjoyed the training sessions and soon noticed an increase in energy levels, as well as my fitness levels. I found I was consistently achieving much more on 117
a daily basis than I had previously, which contributed to me being able to achieve so many of my goals. It also became really important for me to listen to my body, and acknowledge that there were times when I actually did need to rest and recover rather than just keep ploughing on and burning myself out. From an emotional perspective, at times it was a bit of a rollercoaster. For the majority of the time, I found myself feeling incredibly positive happy for no apparent reason! Equally there were times when I found that I would suddenly be hit by things emotionally, and I uncovered all kinds of issues that I previously hadnt allowed myself to acknowledge, or even realised existed. Within a very short period of time, I became hugely aware of what was happening around me, and how I responded to different situations. I became much more in tune with my own needs, intuition and emotions, and again was quite amazed by how much better I felt when I acted in a way that met those needs, or acknowledged and acted upon any particularly strong feelings I had, no matter how bizarre they might have felt at the time. At the end of the 90 days, I have no doubt in my mind that I achieved all the goals I set for myself throughout the program. Not only did I secure my first investment property, I got my second one too. I am also way down the line in creating a successful financial future, and for the first time ever, am really excited at the opportunities ahead of me. I have overcome the negative feelings I have carried for way too long, and while I still have a long way to go to reach the level of financial security I want to get to, I really feel I have made huge progress. Physically I dropped nearly 7kgs of fat, as well a large number of centimetres. I have honestly never had so many people comment on the way I now look in my life, and I am absolutely delighted with it. I feel much better, I sleep better and I now have a much better understanding of what my body does/doesnt like which means I can follow a sensible eating program without depriving myself of some occasional indulgences. I also achieved each of the other goals I set, relating to the other key areas of my life such as my friends and family and fun activities such as horse riding and salsa classes. Yet to just consider the program to be a success because of achieving my goals would be to exclude all the other aspects that contributed to making it such an amazing all-round experience. The Activate team were simply phenomenal, providing support, encouragement, expertise, and just as importantly fun, at every step of the way. I also absolutely loved getting to know the other members of my team and have gained some fabulous new friends as a result. Spiritually and emotionally, I feel I have a much clearer understanding of who I am and want I want, which in turn has helped me to redefine my values and also set my own boundaries. Through the kinesiology and holographic repatterning sessions I gained some real insights into behavioural patterns, not just mine but those of others around me which in turn were affecting my life. As I said at the beginning, I set some very high expectations for the program and I can wholeheartedly say that it exceeded them in every way. I totally recommend it to anyone who feels they want to find a way of enhancing each aspect of their life in a way that is rewarding, easy to follow, and which can be easily incorporated into their current lifestyle if they are prepared to put in the effort and commitment the rewards make it so worthwhile.
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Right now, I feel fantastic and very excited about what I am going to achieve over the coming months. I am really proud of what I have achieved in each area of the program, and I have absolutely no doubt that I will continue to adopt the principles on an ongoing basis because it has become so much easier to consistently achieve so much more. I cannot recommend the program highly enough, and congratulate and thank all the Activate team for a phenomenal program, and their never-ending commitment, expertise, support and good humour.
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Recommended Readings and References

The following publications or authors have been referenced or consulted in the production of the Activate Your Life book and are highly recommended for you to activate your life to a new level. 1. Anthony, R. Beyond Positive Thinking. Hypnotic Marketing Inc. 2003 2. Das, Lama Surya. Awakening the Buddha within. Tibetan wisdom for the western world. Bantam Books. 1997. 3. Davis, M. and Fanning, P and McKay, M. Thoughts and feelings: Taking care of your moods and your life. New Harbinger publications. 1997. 4. Deida, D. The way of the superior man. A spiritual guide to mastering the challenges of women, work and sexual desire. Plexus. 1997. 5. Hodges, J. Sports Mind. An athletes guide to super performance through mental and emotional training. Hawk Personal Excellence. 1993. 6. Johnson, J. Goals Workshop. Pow Wow Events. 2003. 7. Kiyosaki, R. and Lechter, S. Cashflow Quadrant: Rich dads guide to financial freedom. Tech Press Inc. 1998. 8. Lang, J. RE : Life: Find your balance and master work, change, career, family, nutrition, exercise, sleep. Prentice Hall / Pearson Education. 2002. 9. Myss, C. Anatomy of the spirit. The seven stages of power and healing. Bantam Books. 1996. 10. Talbott, S. The cortisol connection. Why stress makes you fat and ruins your health-and what you can do about it. Hunter House Inc. 2002. 11. Tickell, J. Laughter, Sex, Vegetable and Fish. Crown Content. 2001. 12. Waitley, D. Psychology of Winning. Nightingale-Conant Corp. 1979.
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A 90 Day Program that will transform your life

About the Author

The Inspiration for Activate Your Life

Inner world peace

Activate Your Life

Andrew McCombe Sydney, Australia December 2004 9

Chapter One Dis-EASE: Getting to the Heart of the Matter

The EASE/Dis-EASE Model

How do you know if you are experiencing dis-EASE?

How do we reduce or remove dis-EASE?

Eliminating dis-EASE in five simple steps:

TOOLBOX 1 Getting Present

Chapter Two Your External World Is a Reflection of Your Internal World

Your thoughts and feelings create your current reality

How was my self-image created and how do I change it?

Re-creating your self-image

Stress and Dis-EASE

The three major causes of stress

Identify your optimal level of stress

Stimulants Caffeine Nicotine Recreational drugs Sugar

Suppressants Alcohol Prescription drugs High fat or processed foods

How Stress Manifests as Dis-EASE:

Are you suffering from stress?

Creating a Life of EASE

Five Steps to EASE Creation

Step One Activate Your Being

What is your purpose?

What is your vision?

Step Two Activate Your Thoughts

Health and Well-being

Example: I choose to live a financially abundant life.

Example: I choose to work in the career of my dreams.

Example: I choose to develop a strong, open bond with my family.

Example: I choose to invest my energy into forming high quality relationships.

Example: I choose to make time for myself every day.

Example: I choose to spend quality time daily with my partner.

Step Three Activate Your Feelings

Step Four: Activate Your Beliefs

Step Five: Activate Your Behaviours

EASE Action Plan

Always Remain Equanimous

Chapter Four Establishing a System for EASE in Your Life

Step One Establish a System for Empowerment

Step Two Establish a System for Efficiency

EASY Living Weekly Planner

EASY Living Weekly Planner

Step Three Establish a System for Elimination

How to do the 7-Day Detox

7-Day Detox Guidelines

Removing toxins from your life permanently

Unfinished Business Worksheet

Step Four Establish a System for Exercise

Activate Your Life Exercise Guidelines

Raising your Basal Metabolic Rate (your metabolism)

What equipment should I use?

Step Five Establish a System for Eating

Eat 5-6 smaller meals per day

Two-thirds of your plate should be plant (or natural) food

One-third of your plate should be protein

Consume a minimal amount of dairy products

Activate Your Life Eating Guidelines Summary

Over-eating Waiting until you feel hungry

Activate Your Life Shopping List Suggestions