As human beings, maintaining control of our creativity and subconscious mind often escapes us. While we know that there are things that we’d like to accomplish, unlocking our abilities is usually a challenge.
Jason Hartman addressed these issues in today’s Flashback Friday episode of the Creating Wealth podcast, which was originally published in June 2015. With guest Bob Proctor, one of the greatest speakers on personal development, Jason Hartman explored the subjects of creativity, self-control, breaking out of conditioning, and accomplishing goals by understanding your potential.
Hartman also spoke with Fernando on the pair’s most recent experiences at the Venture Alliance mastermind meeting. They covered the benefits of the small, intimate group and the ways that collaborating with experienced real estate investors can shed light on deals we might not look at from certain angles.
Fernando on Venture Alliance Meeting
Jason Hartman begins the podcast by announcing that as a 10th episode, he has an interview to play featuring Bob Proctor, a well-known success coach. He’s the author of several books and has created many programs regarding the mindset for growth and success, including understanding your potential.
Before getting into the interview, he notes that he’s at the Hilton in La Jolla after finishing a Mastermind meeting. He’s on the golf course with Fernando and his dog Coco, recapping the Venture Alliance meeting.
Fernando states that he enjoyed the events quite a bit and notes that they had a beautiful venue with top of the line food in the San Diego area. The meetings were highly productive, and the hot seat interviews were helpful in allowing members to interact and develop a sense of community and intimacy that’s not often seen in larger groups.
Hartman mentions that one of the highlights of the event for him was seeing Fernando’s face when he and his wife walked into George’s for lunch. Even though Fernando has been to nice places, he appeared amazed when he walked out onto the terrace.
Friendship, Community, and Shared Experiences
Fernando adds that the view was great, and that during the weekend, he got to go on a Segway ride and cruise along the coast. He states that the Mastermind events were just about the right intensity and allowed the members plenty of time to speak to one another. Networking and getting to know people on a deeper level is a big part of the Mastermind, he says.
Hartman notes that the stock and trade of friendship is shared experiences and that the events allow people to have a sense of community. One of his goals is to have people share valuable experiences together so that if they choose, they can perform deals and invest in properties together. He explains that he wants to get people to be in a friendly, community-oriented environment.
He explains that people should be direct investors, so that they do not violate Commandment 3 of investing, “Thou shalt maintain control.” When control is lost, it allows three problems to manifest. You could be investing with a crook, an idiot, or someone who is taking money off the top. People at the Mastermind events get to hear each other speak and share experiences with each other, as well as developing trust. This way, members know each other’s competences.
Hartman states that he and Fernando have attended three days of Masterminding, including the Venture Alliance and another meeting right afterward. Fernando adds that the pair of them learned quite a bit during their time spent.
He also notes that Hartman presented a couple of ideas for deals he was working on to the Venture Alliance group, and that despite the deals being kind of speculative, the group was excited about them.
Hartman clarifies that these deals are somewhat exclusive for the experienced investors in the Venture Alliance group. An $8 million investment could lead to who knows what.
The Support of Experienced Real Estate Investors
Hartman states that during one of the Masterminds, the analyst for Venture Alliance, Oliver, presented a portfolio of thirty or forty homes that the group was able to look at.
Fernando agrees that the portfolio was interesting and adds that people don’t often get to see these sorts of deals when they’re not in a Mastermind community. With the guidance and experience of the group, special deals come up, and it’s nice to have them vetted by people who have been in the business a while. He states that these deals feel less speculative with advice from experienced investors.
Fernando also presented his vision for his software company during the meeting and got great feedback from different angles. He states that he respected the ability to network and the level of trust he is able to form. He notes that he’s looking for constructive feedback, not someone who will nod their head and agree with him.
Hartman points out that people see a lot of that behavior from contractors and employees, simple shaking of the head to signify agreement without thinking. For people without a direct stake in a deal, constructive criticism comes more naturally. In a Mastermind group, a person could be introducing something, and a person viewing might have that one piece of information that would greatly help, whether it’s a resource or someone in the business to meet. That one tip could be worth half a million dollars.
Fernando adds that just today, one member by the name of Corey mentioned that one of the companies Fernando works with performs rent collections, a small comment that could end up saving him $400-500.
Informal Property Tour
Hartman explains that he and Fernando are going to go to Chicago and Grand Rapids to examine some opportunities in those markets. They’re heading out next month, and he adds that it will not be a formal tour. He tried to plan one for July 25th, but it isn’t coming together for various reasons. This led him to look at different options and go for an informal, somewhat private event. Pricing will be reasonable for those who want to join, starting in Chicago and working over the Grand Rapids afterward.
Fernando states that this tour will take place on July 16-19th and advises attendees to arrive late on the 15th so that they can take advantage of the full days of touring.
Proctor on Helping People and Understanding Your Potential
Hartman welcomes chairman and co-founder of the Proctor Gallagher Institute and author of several books and programs, Bob Proctor. He’s tuning in from Toronto, Canada, and Hartman notes that he has been following Proctor’s work for several years, adding that he wrote a new book entitled The ABCs of Success.
Proctor explains that he has only written three or four books but has quite a few programs that help people find out who they are, shift their paradigms, set up their goals, and achieve them. He notes that setting a goal and achieving it are two different things.
When asked if he could sum up his ideology, Proctor states that he believes we are God’s highest form of creation. We have been given creative tools that we constantly fail to understand and develop. He notes that he believes anyone can achieve anything that they can think so long as you’re understanding your potential. Solomon said once that as a person thinketh in their heart, so are they. All great leaders have agreed on that point, and Proctor dedicates his work to showing people how to control their thinking and understand their minds.
Hartman adds that we are all given circumstances and that Voltaire once said that we can’t choose the cards we’re dealt but we can learn how to play them.
Proctor agrees and notes that circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him to himself. The mind is the master power that molds and makes the world. It’s a difficult thing for some people to accept, that our environments are our looking glasses.
How to Gain Control of Our Thoughts
When asked how we are supposed to control our thoughts, Proctor states that it’s not as simple as saying so. A small percentage of people are in control of themselves, but it’s one of the key things in life. When you’re taught control, you can achieve anything in life, he says. A lot of us never learn this as we are not taught enough about ourselves. When we understand, we’re in control. When a man is the master of self-discipline, he cannot be mastered by anyone else. Proctor explains that most of us are mastered by something going on on the outside. Our thinking controls us, but our paradigm controls the way we think.
He states that we’re conditioned to live the way that we do, and if we don’t change or conditioning, the results will never change. To change our conditioning requires some discomfort and we have to understand that.
He explains the concept of a paradigm as a multitude of habits. People are conceived when particle energies from each parent become the nucleus of who we are. During gestation, people develop from their parents’ DNA, which is called genetic conditioning. After birth, Proctor says, or subconscious minds are wide open, and it is programmed by the people who surround us. We are the product of our environment.
He adds to this point by explaining that someone born and raised in China speaks Chinese, while someone born and raised in the US likely speaks English. If you were taken from America as a baby and grew up in China, you’d still speak Chinese. Proctor refers to a friend he had whose young son spoke four languages fluently because his family traveled. He was conditioned to speak several languages.
Proctor states that our self-image is developed before we can even think. He adds that 90-some percent of the world goes by without ever changing their subconscious mind. If it changes, the change is usually little, but once in a while someone makes a huge change. Proctor states that he was one of those people. He looked at his life and he was making great money, running a company with no formal education, so he wanted to study and seek out what didn’t make sense to him.
Hartman refers back to Proctor’s words about how leaders agree that we become what we think and adds that we need to learn how to control our thoughts.
When asked about how to control thinking and what our thoughts should be, Proctor explains that our thoughts can be whatever we want. He states that we have the ability to choose, which is our greatest power. Learning to control our thoughts is a lifetime process. Every creature responds to external stimuli. We are constantly bombarded with colors, sounds, and people. We pick things up mentally, which is mental activity rather than thinking. Humans have high faculties, and Proctor quotes Einstein by saying that the intuitive mind is a sacred gift while the rational mind is an obedient servant.
We have created a society that honors the servant and forgets the gift, Proctor says. We are never taught how to utilize our higher faculties. They are what enable us to choose our thoughts. They are what allow us to alter our lives, control our health, our wealth, and our relationships and set you on the path to discovering your potential.
He explains that we are not taught this in school, and the system actually discourages the use of higher faculties. When a child is in preschool, their mind is open and ready to learn. They will interact with a pot, take the lid off, and engage with it. We don’t know what they think, Proctor adds, but they play with everything. Then schools call it daydreaming later and the child is punished. They then learn not to use their minds.
This is why so many companies have a tiny creative department, Proctor explains. The whole company is a creative department, and no one is more creative than another. Some people are just using more of their creative potential.
The US is Full of Creativity
Hartman mentions that by comparison, when we look at the US and Canada, we have the rugged individual idea. It’s part of our ethic, and we encourage creativity more than China. China has very disciplined people, but creativity is where the money is. He explains that tech companies like Uber and Lyft exist, and we wonder why we didn’t come up with it ourselves. It’s a simple idea, but when there’s was nothing to copy from, it was a creative idea.
Proctor adds that creativity is the opposite of routine. The internet has brought an enormous wave of creativity with it. It’s moving into high gear. There have always been a small group of creative people who don’t follow routine. They make breakthroughs and constantly want to make things better. There is no right way to do anything, he notes. There’s a valid and good way, but there are always ways to make it better.
He also states that the education system needs to change dramatically, because as of now we don’t have one. We have a system that helps people gain information. Remembering things is not education. A child is not like a cup that you fill up with knowledge. The way to do anything is already here. We just have to move our minds to a place where that thing exists so that we are on the same frequency.
Proctor on The Secret
Hartman takes a moment to ask Proctor what his thoughts are on The Secret, since it has been out fifteen or so years.
Proctor states that it was a phenomenal breakthrough and that Rhonda Byrne did a tremendous job. The Secret woke the world up and made a difference. It caused people to think but it led them wrong in one respect. You can’t get anything you want, Proctor says. You can have anything that you can internalize. You have to take the want and deposit it in your subconscious mind and in this, you move your mind into another vibration. This book led people onto that.
Tips on Accomplishment of Goals
Proctor clarifies that no amount of thinking or memorizing is going to make people successful. It’s understanding and application that are important. You’ve got to take action and internalize the thought, produce the action. Desire is an idea that has been turned into an emotion, Proctor says. It takes root and starts to grow. You have to build that desire, get it churning in your subconscious mind, and utilize it in discovering your potential.
When asked what Proctor is up to now, he explains that he’s building a cutting-edge studio in his backyard. He’s going to be able to press a button and have cameras and prompters ready for him to use. It’s a floating, soundproof room that he plans to use to pump out a lot of great work.
He’s starting something he calls the Inner Circle, which is a live broadcast he is going to do two hours a week. He states that because it’s a membership site, listeners can tune in and listen to recordings of the live show if they missed it. It is intended to show people how he does what he does. He has a phenomenal team of people who market ideas quickly. A lot of people ask him how he spends his day, and he explains that this is going to show them.
Put Your Heart into Your Work
Hartman states that a lot of people struggle with trying to find their purpose and Proctor agrees that this is one of the most important things in the world. The two most important days of your life are the day you’re born and the day you discover why you were born. Your purpose is why you’re here and why you get out of bed in the morning, and it’s key in discovering your potential.
Proctor states that we are all hardwired to do something exceptional. We might never discover what that is, so we should sit down 15-30 minutes everyday to reflect. He advises listeners to get a notepad, sit in a quiet place, and ask yourself what you love doing. What do you love to do? That’s what you should do. It’s your purpose. If you love it, you’re going to do it very well.
He refers to a woman on TV who was a dancer in a chorus line in Las Vegas. She quit because she wasn’t good enough to be a star and didn’t want to stay on a chorus line forever. She loved pastries and decided she wanted to be a pastry chef. She moved to France and mentored under other great pastry chefs, and now she is one.
He states that we will never feel fulfilled truly until we know. Our vision is how we’re going to get where we want to be. A goal is taking a bite out of our vision. Take the first task out of your list and do it.
When you have chosen the right goal, you won’t know how you’re going to do it. You have to connect the dots by looking back, not ahead. What do you want to do? Proctor advises describing your goals in the present tense and think of how you can accomplish just one thing at a time. Raise your awareness to the frequency your goal exists on. Do what you’re going to do and put your heart into your work.
For more information about Bob Proctor and his work, visit his website at www.proctorgallagherinstitute.com.
