CHAPTER 1

What is going on here?

Many years ago, in the early 90's, I watched an HBO documentary,part of its America Undercover series, which examined the lives ofpersons with "Multiple Personality Disorder," a rare medical afflictionknown today as Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID.

Up until that point I knew the brain was incredibly powerful, but whatI learned in this documentary really blew my mind and opened up awhole new level of understanding that really, the only limits we haveare those limits which we put on ourselves.

I clearly remember being astounded and enlightened by what I learned.In particular, the amazing story of Barb, a 35-year-old woman withfour or five different personalities living inside her brain.

I remember sitting on my couch watching HBO's film crew follow Barbas she grocery shops with her husband and two girls. Initially, Barb isinteracting and speaking with her family in a normal way, chattingwith her husband, and letting her two eager daughters pick out theirfavorite cereals.

Everything seems quite typical, nothing out of the ordinary but, after a fewmoments, something odd happens. After letting her two daughters pickout their favorite cereals, Barb informs her husband of a strawberry cerealshe especially wants for herself. What struck me at the time was hearingBarb ask for her favorite cereal in a distinctly "child-like" voice.

The narrator of the documentary quickly informs viewers that Barb isslipping into an alter personality, that of a five-year-old girl named Mae.This is typical behavior for Barb, we're told, who often "slips into andout of" many different personalities.

And as Barb continues looking for her favorite strawberry cereal,something even more extraordinary happens. After a brief momentscanning the shelf, Barb acts as if she's having a hard time seeing and,looking at her husband, she says she can't see with "Barb's" glasses on.

Gently accommodating his wife, he helps remove the glasses and "Mae,"the five year-old girl momentarily living inside Barb, can now pick outher favorite strawberry cereal.

Apparently, as Barb "slips" into the personality of a five-year-old girl,her eyesight does the same. I remember immediately thinking, "Is thisfor real?"

Is this woman's eyesight literally changing between personalities? DoesBarb actually see better when she slips into the personality of the five-year-oldgirl? I was completely floored by this possibility!

Unfortunately, the documentary didn't say whether Barb's eyesight had,in fact, literally changed. But I wanted to know! I mean, was there aphysiological reason for the dramatic change in Barb's eyesight? Or washer mind playing tricks on her? Was this amazing incident real?

Whatever the case, I was certain Barb's story, at least the story I wasexperiencing, had an answer. I was sure of it.

So I became inspired by the prospect of piecing together the whys andhows of Barb's amazing story. I committed myself to finding some kindof an answer. I gathered as much information as I could on the subjectof DID. And, boy, I'll tell you, I gathered some amazing stuff!

First, imagine a "split" in the brain allowing persons with DID to "believeat the deepest level" that two or more individual personalities actuallylive inside their bodies. I know this sounds a bit otherworldly for manypeople, but this is what life is actually like for persons living with DID.

And because I do many workshops on the brain, I've talked with peoplewho've attended workshops on DID. In fact, many people have sent mearticles or books on this fascinating subject. For me, nothing reveals thepower of the brain more than the amazing stories we hear from peoplewith Dissociative Identity Disorder. Why is it so amazing?

For starters, different personalities in a person with DID might havedifferent ages, or distinct sets of personality traits, and even uniquehandwriting styles ... which I later found out to be pretty typical stufffor those with DID ... I also heard some mind-blowing stories!

Now keep in mind, these are all medically documented cases ...

• One personality has a scar or bruise on the body but when theperson slips into a different personality ... the scar vanishes!

• One personality is able to drink orange juice without anyproblems, while another personality becomes allergic to theorange juice and breaks out in hives!

• One personality has green eyes and another personality hasbrown or blue eyes!

It's just amazing! The list goes on and on. Again, all are medicallyproven.

In all my research, I found the gem I was looking for ...

... an answer to Barb's story!

Incredibly enough, I learned there are people with DID who havediffering levels of visual perception between the various personalities.There are many documented cases, where one personality in a personwith DID might need to wear prescription glasses, while anotherpersonality in the same person tests out with perfect 20/20 vision.

I knew something astounding was happening inside that woman'smind!

It's beyond belief. And what's even more amazing about people likeBarb is that doctors basically have very few answers for this incredibleDID phenomenon. Mysteries of the brain are still baffling our mostbrilliant minds. Thousands of years of medical technology, and yetwhat we don't know!

Thanks to documentaries like HBO's and the numerous books onthe subject of the brain, we're all finding out more every day that ourminds are much more powerful than we ever imagined and nothingdrove home this point more for me than the incredible cases of peoplewith DID. It's so clear that what we can accomplish with our brain hasno limits and we're going to continue to drive that point home in thisbook.

CHAPTER 2

The Road to Success Beginsand Ends in Your Mind

Welcome. If you're reading this book, you've decided to "train" yourbrain. Good, because the real road to your success—family, personal orfinancial success—begins and ends in your mind.

By making small changes in the way you think—thinking in new andmore constructive ways—you can literally train your brain to controlevery aspect of your life.

I created Train Your Brain to give you the tools to produce results,which last. I've learned that anyone and everyone can be successful. AndI also know firsthand creating success that isn't going to fizzle out canbe accomplished quickly and effortlessly by making Train Your Brainpart of your daily regimen.

Although no one truly believes success can be achieved without somegood effort on our part, we all want it to be more effortless. I know, morethan anything, most people want to be in control of their own success.And the only way to achieve this sense of control is to create your ownmethod for success from inside your own mind.

Generally speaking, traditional approaches to training for entrepreneursand small business owners appear in one of two forms.

The first are action-based trainings. These are "how to" trainings. Theyteach you how to market, how to network, how to make phone calls,how to organize, how to bring your business online, and so on. Theyfocus on "action" or "how to" as the method to success.

There is nothing inherently wrong with action-based training. We featurea lot of action-based trainers on The Mind Aware Show and of course weall want to put systems in place that help to streamline our success, butthere are two inherent drawbacks to these types of of training materials.

First, many action-based trainings are "time-intensive" which meansfinding more time in our already busy lives, which results in a muchheavier workload and usually adds stress.

Many of us have had the experience of attending a seminar or trainingwhere the presenter is really convincing, with all the "latest and greatest"methods for business growth. They explain some new process or systemor marketing technique you should be implementing in your businessthat will increase your sales or grow your business in some way. Andyou get super-excited about how the new systems will increase yourproductivity and bring you more money.

However, many times when you begin adding all of the new tasks toyour already-full schedule, you soon find you're working more hoursthan ever, and pretty soon you're feeling overwhelmed and stressed out.And rule number one in Train Your Brain is that feeling overwhelmedand stressed out is counter-productive to success.

The other downside to action-based trainings is they perpetuate the illusionthat our success or growth in our business is because of hard work.

What you will learn in Train Your Brain is that hard work doesn't equalbig money. Some of the hardest working people in our society are someof the lowest paid. Others who seem to do nothing at all or at the veryleast do only what seems like "fun" are some of the highest paid. You'lllearn that you truly can make more while working less.

Just to be clear, I know and expect that you will take some action togrow your business and you will learn exactly the type of action Irecommend. I call it Intentional Action and I'll explain in it great detailin this book. However, you will grow your business faster and easierwhen you really understand that changing the way you think is the onlyway to attain that next level.

In addition to traditional action-based trainings offered to small businessowners, at the other end of the spectrum are motivational or inspirationaltrainings. Here the main objective is to get you "fired up." Again, thereis nothing inherently wrong with being motivated or inspired. I mean,who doesn't like to be "fired up"? However, again, there are some majordrawbacks to these types of trainings.

When you attend a motivational training, you come out of this trainingall charged-up and ready to take on the world but, unfortunately, thatexcitement doesn't last. In a short period of time it loses its punch. I callit the "Snicker bar effect." It's the same kind of letdown as when theinitial rush of sugar subsides after you eat a candy bar. The buzz ... theboost ... whatever you want to call it, is gone and you're not really leftwith any "usable" information that you can apply to your business.

So, the simpler alternative to labor-intensive action-based trainingsand the more lasting alternative to short-lived motivational trainingsis Train Your Brain. It combines the best from both of these camps tocreate a program, which leads to simpler and more lasting success.

Train Your Brain begins with awareness and it trains you to shift yourmindset.

In fact, I believe this mindset shift is so important to business successand personal fulfillment that I named my show, The Mind Aware.

Many of us are running our businesses and our lives on "auto-pilot."And we're letting our unconscious minds make our decisions for us.Unfortunately, when we run our lives on autopilot, our results suffer.But guess what? This is reversible. It is totally possible to change. It'spossible to change our minds and our results.

A big part of Train Your Brain's effectiveness is that its techniques helpyou to build up your awareness but, in order to do so, you must firstchoose to do so. The choice I'm talking about is the choice to make aconscious effort to get your mind aware. It's the choice to change yourold ways of thinking which have become obstacles to your success. It'sthe choice to create a new future for yourself.

So if you've been wondering why others are more successful thanyou ... it's only because you haven't yet learned the big part your brainplays in creating success, that's all.

But you will. You will realize there are no magical ways to be successful.No Midas touch. No special qualities you must possess. In the end, youwill realize being "smarter" than everyone else or "working harder"than everyone else has no bearing on your success.

However, I believe the most exciting part of your Train Your Brainjourney is that you'll discover you have exactly what it does take to besuccessful! You'll discover anyone can be successful!

I created Train Your Brain to give you the tools to produce results,which last. I've learned that anyone and everyone can be successful.And I also know firsthand creating lasting success can be accomplishedquickly and effortlessly by making Train Your Brain part of your dailyregimen.

Although no one truly believes success can be achieved without someeffort on our part, we all want it to be more effortless. I know, morethan anything, most people want to be in control of their own success.And the only way to achieve this sense of control is to create it frominside your own mind.

Overall, you will learn how to leverage the power of your mind, so youwill feel more positive, confident, and sure about the actions you aretaking in your business and your life ... and those actions will createsuccess so easily, it will feel effortless.

Get ready for this amazing journey that takes you from where you areto where you want to be!

CHAPTER 3

Rising to the Top:The Million Dollar Club

Some of you may already be familiar with me, and my work. You mayknow me from my years as a field leader in the direct sales industry;or as an independent trainer and speaker at conferences and workshopsfor entrepreneurs; or as host of The Mind Aware teleseminar seriesfor direct sellers; or as the host of The Mind Aware Radio Show forentrepreneurs and small business owners. On the other hand, some ofyou may not be familiar with me at all, so I'd like to give you a littlebackground.

Prior to my involvement working with and training entrepreneurs andbusiness owners, I lived a full life, exploring many different industriesand occupations. I began by working in corporate America, and decidedquite quickly this was not for me. I spent many years working as awriter and published author. I lived overseas for most of a decade andspent several years in Japan, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Finally Iworked in the film and video industry and enjoyed a fruitful career asa award-winning writer, producer, and script supervisor.

Then one day, like millions of people worldwide, I discovered a directsales product I would later go on to sell. I became so excited about thisproduct after attending an in-home party that I immediately requestedmaterial on how to become a "consultant" or "distributor."

This product was sold via party plan, and I talked to so many peopleabout my new venture that before my distributor kit even arrived I hadalready booked three parties. Maybe you've heard the term "ignoranceon fire"? That was me. I didn't have a clue what I was doing, but I wassure doing it with lots of energy and enthusiasm!

Now many of you know that part of being successful in direct sales hasto do with offering other people the same business opportunity youwere offered and helping them to be successful in their businesses.