Just as periods of time throughout history have been named for their accomplishments, such as the Ice Age and the Industrial Age. With the creation of the Internet and the ease of communication around the globe, today can honestly be considered the Information Age. Passing information from one person to the next or finding information on any conceivable subject is just a click of the button away. On top of the Encyclopedias, media, dictionaries and other sources of recorded facts and information, there are blogs full of the wisdom of millions of professionals in every different profession. It is literally impossible for someone with access to the internet to be ignorant, unless by choice.

All is good when it comes to learning right? But there is one principle that always stands true with everything: “To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.” Everything has it’s opposite. Good and Bad, Right and Wrong. With all this accurate information readily available, it is sometimes difficult to decipher what is legitimate and what is not. With all the good information available, there is the opposite…..bad information.

I know you have all heard the phrase: “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet!” I know! You are reading this on the internet! You are and have always been entitled to your own opinion, and so is everyone else. That’s why what you read on the internet is not always fact, or as accurate as it should be. Between the self proclaimed guru’s and professionals out there, confusion can set in. Look at the Network Marketing industry. You can find good and bad on just about any company large enough to be on the map. Who do you believe? Is the information you are reading right now correct and true? Can you trust David Allred? How do you know that I am not filling your head full of crap right now?

Guys, there is a way to gain clarity and to decipher what’s right! I have always operated on a core set of principles. These principles are based on religion, common sense and my personal education. These core values are impenetrable. They remain as the source of sorting through all the misinformation out there. What seems right to Joe may not be right for John and what’s right for me is not right for you.

Here’s a prime example that I am sure many of you can relate to. Do you remember the movie “The Secret?” It was a huge phenomena that many people connected with and many people disagreed with. The Law of attraction is a true principle to me regardless to other people’s opinions. The part that didn’t sit well with me, was the fact that the “Universe” is the energy behind the law of attraction. Being religious, I know that is GOD. So instead of completely disagreeing with the entire documentary, I took what I knew to be true according to my core values and used it to my advantage. I left the rest. My core values are the pattern that I compare everything to. When they don’t measure up, they don’t hold weight.

My advice is this….don’t be confused about who you are. You know! All you are searching for are ways to add to the person you already are. Establish your core values, get some education on how things work, and add to that. The things that measure up, keep…and the things that don’t, leave. In fact, I am in a business opportunity of media. Positive media and Personal Education is the way to gain clarity on what these core operating values are. It all starts with a DVD called “Know for Yourself” and moves into a higher level of learning that will teach principles of success, value and surety.

If you knew how to gain clarity on every bit of information you become exposed to….whether accurate or not, would that be something that would benefit you? It has been priceless for me.

This is a perfect example of one of the biggest Losers of all time! Many of you will know exactly who this is at a glance. Check out the amazing record of failures this guy had in his life compared to the amount if wins. It’s pretty shocking. I bet he was made fun of quite a bit by his peers and was told to give up on his dreams….

• 1831 – Lost his job
• 1832 – Defeated in run for Illinois State Legislature
• 1833 – Failed in business
• 1835 – Sweetheart died
• 1836 – Had nervous breakdown
• 1838 – Defeated in run for Illinois House Speaker
• 1843 – Defeated in run for nomination for U.S. Congress
• 1848 – Lost re-nomination
• 1849 – Rejected for land officer position
• 1854 – Defeated in run for U.S. Senate
• 1856 – Defeated in run for nomination for Vice President
• 1858 – Again defeated in run for U.S. Senate

How pathetic is this guy!? Well allow me to introduce you to Abraham Lincoln, elected President of the United States of America in 1860!

How many times was he defeated before he won? Count ‘em! Whenever you hit a hard spot, don’t EVER thing that you are special….or any different than anyone else who has chosen to go down their own road of success. Talk about a perfect example of persistence and willpower. You can accomplish ANYTHING you set your heart on. Celebrate your losses….because all they have done is put you that much closer to the wins!!

While in Puerto Rico at this last event, I must have taken around 10 full pages of notes. Six of those were from Yossi Ghinsberg. The guy was a walking quote book and if you’re like me, you get more out of a simple, blunt and to the point statement than you do a long drawn out explanation. Simple minded! That’s me.

One of the things he said was, “I don’t dream when I sleep….the dreams keep me awake.” This statement had a little deeper meaning for me than what it might have intending. Now it’s obvious that we all dream when we sleep and if you’re anything like me, most dreams you might have really make no sense at all and have very little meaning. If you forget them the moment you wake up, it’s okay. But, every once in a while you might have a dream that wakes you up in the middle of the night because if feels as if you just had instant revelation or pure knowledge flow into your brain. Instead of being able to sleep you are prompted to get up and write it down so that you can remember it in the morning. It has you inspired and excited to face the next day. You now have an immediate purpose or a direction…. and that’s exciting! Don’t under estimate the power of your dreams. If you are on purpose, they can be a great source of direction to you.

How many of you just can’t wait until the days passes so that you can hit the pillow? On the other hand, how many of you just can’t find enough hours in the day to fulfill your passions and accomplish your goals, having to be forced to sleep while eagerly awaiting to start the next day? Some people love to dream without action and others love to dream in real time….in action. That’s the difference. One is really happening and the other is forgotten.

In a true dream, you should be awake. Stop sleeping through your dreams and start living them!

Yossi went on to say, “If you don’t have a purpose or a dream, that is the most dangerous place you can be.” If you don’t have a purpose, then you fall back into the default purpose….which is the purpose of those that have a purpose. This means YOU are the victim, the one being directed…not the one directing. That is default.

If your purpose is to help everyone else in the world achieve their purpose, the way to do it is proactively. A dream is only a dream and will never become reality without belief that it actually can. Today, define your purpose or your dream. What is it that you are here on Earth to do? Stop thinking of what others would have you do! What is it that YOU want to do? Now, write it down, IN DETAIL, and then go do it. You are right in the midst of your dreams. The only difference between a sleeping dream and that same dream awake, is that one is done without your body. Just include it next time. It really is that simple. And according to my watch, that time is NOW!

We have all heard of the common phrase “think outside the box!” At times, it is used WAY too much. While in Puerto Rico, Yossi Ghinsberg gave a description of the meaning of this so called, “box,” and how it effects our lives. At this very moment in time, as you read this post, you are using a box. It’s all about leaving the normal grind and getting in touch with nature. Enjoy the video!

Yossi Ghinsberg has an amazing message. For those of you who follow this blog, my wife and I attended a conference in Puerto Rico last week that included Yossi as one of the speakers. The overall theme of this conference was “Exotic Adventures.” So all three speakers at this event had accomplished some sort of tremendous adventure and have a story to tell.

Yossi has a pretty thick accent, and at first, I was a little worried that I was going to suffer through his presentation. He started out pretty slow but picked up the pace pretty quickly. As he spoke, he sucked his audience into his story by his passion and the dramatic use of his words. His story began as he entered the uncharted jungles of the Amazon. Shortly after entering the Amazon, tragedy struck a member of their camp, a division happened among them and he found himself alone, in the middle of the Amazon, fighting for his life. His story of survival was the turning point in his life and one that I will not soon forget.

Without telling you the entire presentation he gave, I will tell you a few points that really hit home with me.

Yossi made a reference to fear, and how so many people in this world are controlled by it. Fear of losing their job, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of heights, fear of talking to a pretty woman, fear of success. It dictates the very decisions we make and for the most part, when faced with fear, most move in the opposite direction. Of course they would. If you see something you are afraid of, you try to avoid it, go around it or shy away from it. Yossi has a different point of view. Instead of running, “When fear arises, head to it. Confront it. Say thank you for showing me the way!” How much more would we be able to accomplish if we all lived by that philosophy? When faced with fear, confront it, because most likely, that’s the way you should be going. Awesome!

“Our true power is revealed when we give it away…because our true purpose is to serve.” This quote came when he was describing a point in time during his exile in the Amazon when times weren’t so hopeful. He felt like dying and if I remember right, had just prayed to die. His was laying face down in the mud, his feet were shredded, he had no will to go on when all of the sudden he heard a voice. He looked to the side and saw a woman begging him to help her. Even though just moments before he had wanted to die, thinking all was lost, he jumped up and grabbed the woman by the hand and started moving towards the river. Well, the woman was not real. She was a vision, an imagination, hallucination or whatever you want to call it. But the principle here is….that when he had already given up on himself, without the will-power or strength to carry on, he still had strength enough to help someone else. “Our true purpose is to serve.”

These are just a few points I wanted to cover. Look for a video of Yossi in tomorrows post. Well be talking about something you and I are very familiar with called the box. Very cool stuff! And if you have seen Yossi speak or have any of his material, I’d like to hear the effects of his story on your thoughts.

To learn more about Yossi Ghinsberg and his exotic adventure of survival in the Amazon, pick up your copy of his book by clicking on the image to the right!