It actually struck me like the proverbial load of bricks one evening as I was preparing to leave my shop and drive to my home 40 minutes away.

As I was shutting down the various computers and equipment in my shop, I was talking to myself as I sometimes do, envisioning a time in the not too distant future where I was being asked by someone, perhaps a friend or relative, perhaps a reporter (who is inconsequential), how I had achieved what I had achieved (also inconsequential).

My answer centered around the phrase you can have, do or be anything you want, all you have to do is whatever it takes. Now I may be crazy but that just seemed suddenly more true for me than ever before – it seemed zen, it seemed deep.

Whether you watch Golf or not, you have probably heard of Tiger Woods. Tiger ‘burst’ onto the scene a few years ago now, as the youngest person to ever win a Master’s. How did he get there? How did he get to ‘suddenly’ become the best in the world? Well, it wasn’t suddenly, he first swung a golf club under the watchful eye of his recently departed Father at age 18 months or something like that. 18 months.

What the gallery and the sportscasters and his agent and his endorsement sponsors did not see was the hours of practice each day. Every day, Every week, Every month. Every year. For the next 20 years.

What seemed to be a ‘sudden’ arrival was in fact the only logical result for a plan set in motion fully two decades before.

Tiger practiced each and every day, whether he wanted to or not, whether he felt like doing it or not, whether he could feel the minute improvements in his game or not. His ‘unparralleled natural skill’ was not the result of some genetic gift, not the result of happy coincidence. It was the undeniable effect of consistent dedication to improving on the mechanics of each element of his game, drives, chips, putts.

So how do we apply this little bit of zen-deep thought?

Simple. Tony Robbins gives us something he calls his Ultimate Success Formula, a simple strategy for achieving. 1 – Decide what you want. 2 – Identify what is keeping you from having it right now. 3 – Figure out how to achieve it (the best you know how at the time). 4 – Take massive action. 5 – Notice what is working and what is not working. and 6 – Change your approach as necessary but remain focused on your goal, your outcome.

The key IMO is in looking not at the big goal (be the best golfer on the planet, win the masters, get endorsements, buy a Gulfstream 5 business jet), but rather in focusing on what can be improved on, no matter how incrementally, each and every day; how can I improve my drives today, my short game tomorrow.

So don’t look to be an ‘overnight success’. The wreckage and stress that follows real overnight success such as lottery winners is a terrible lesson in why it is so important to struggle and work, time and time again, to get what want. It is the daily effort, no matter how small, that cumulatively creates meaning for us, that creates value in what we achieve.

By ‘whatever it takes’ I am not suggesting you abandon all morality and ethos. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Doing ‘whatever it takes’ takes real morality, real commitment, real ethics. Doing ’whatever it takes’ means lifting weights in the morning, even when you would rather be sleeping, it is discipline over short term comfort – not sometimes, but EVERY time. Lack of ethics, lack of morality is laziness, not commitment.

So now the challenge is up to you.

• What do you want to have, do or be?
• What is keeping you from having it right now?
• How can you achieve it (the best you know how right now)?
• Take massive action
• Notice what is working and what is not working
• Change your approach as necessary but remain focused on your goal, your outcome, and you WILL have, do and be anything you want

Yes! I am attacking this strange concept of tolerance that has pervaded society, where some demand others be tolerant. The great irony of this is this call of tolerance is launched when someone voices their opinion or a belief that contradicts someone else’s. They level the attack that you are being intolerant if you say that you object to any number of activities or beliefs that are floating around. Whether it is politics, religion, homosexuality, race, or nudism, the call demand is the same, you must adjust your thinking to accept that idea of someone else.

It is here that the trap is laid. If you fall for this little trick you are falling for the fallacy of appeal to the mob. Your silence is being elicited by use of a ploy backed by some threat of social ostracism. But you must realize that your very belief system is at stake. If you think this is hyperbole then read on and learn why it’s not.

In the brainwashing of Prisoners of War the captors learned if they ever wanted to gain cooperation they must first break down the belief system of the prisoner. They very cleverly exploited the fact that people not only like but require consistency. If you can distort or remove this consistency then you can manipulate the person. They knew that if they could get the prisoner to simply agree to a demand even if that demand did not seem to contradict their beliefs it would be used against them and lead to the their eventual capitulation. The process was elegant in a way and follows a process. First attack the person’s identity. Second make them guilty, then the get them to betray themselves. and then wait for them to break.

This call for tolerance is no different. People have been taught to be tolerant. It has been socially conditioned that tolerance is good, although it should be pointed out that this tolerance only applies to socially acceptable ideas or behaviors. So this call for tolerance is generally a gentle attack, usually it is implicit that the person of whom tolerance is being demanded is somehow intolerant. Have you noticed even the word intolerant has a negative connotation in your own mind? Sometimes the demand is prefaced with an explicit attack. Either way the person’s identity is under assault. This is where the consistency part beings to work. If the person views themselves as good (generally a societal construct) then they will not want to be perceived as intolerant. There is the crack that will shred their belief system. To bad they didn’t recognize the lie they were been fooled into accepting.

The next step is to create guilt. Whether this is to tell the Christan that Jesus promoted tolerance (a lie in itself but it doesn’t matter if the guilt is inspired by truth or a lie) or that you shouldn’t judge others, or simply because you don’t have the right to project your beliefs on to others. The how isn’t important it is the effect that matters. A logical and rational mind could stop this in it’s tracks but we will get to this later.

But they aren’t done here, there is another step they require. They need you to agree with them. Ayn Rand warned us when she said, “Evil requires the sanction of the victim.” If the person has fallen into the trap and accepted first that they are intolerant, and have been persuaded to feel guilt for their beliefs, this is where the fatal blow occurs. When they admit that they are guilty. Then their reality can be distorted. Their friends, and anyone like them can be twisted into being just as guilty as them.

Finally they reach the breaking point. You probably are already thinking, “what more can they do to the poor guy?” They have already broken him when they made him guilty. But they have one final trick up their sleeve. They now give the person a way out. They tell them in not so many words that he does not need to be guilty. He can simply change his beliefs and be free.

Ah the simplicity by which people are convinced to give up their rationally held beliefs. But those who are rational should see that this whole line of thinking was irrational from the very beginning.

First a rational person will have to question the very idea that intolerance is wrong or bad. Is being intolerant of criminals wrong? How about liars? How about deviants? How about those who misuse power? You see, intolerance isn’t bad, in fact, it is often the most reasonable reaction. At this first link in the chain the rational mind can give the person a way out by simply failing to fall for the inconsistency that the trap is based on. Without creating the inconsistency the trap will not work.

Now let’s say that the rational person has been fooled, they have allowed society to program them with this idea that intolerance is bad and they have accepted the inconsistency. It’s still not too late. They can still save themselves by using a bit of thought and logic. By simply seeing that there is a problem in their premise that intolerance was bad they could have saved themselves, and now they simply have to refuse to feel guilty for their beliefs. They can decide that their beliefs were based on logic and rational thought and thus there is no reason for guilt.

So you say, what about the Christian that you mentioned above, how can they escape guilt. Again I say check your premise. Even for the Christian they must accept the argument that seeks to convict them. Take the first premise “Jesus was tolerant” didn’t he throw people out of the temple according to the story. Strike one against tolerance. But you say, “what about not judging” here is a tricky one because it takes a bit of study. Not judging has nothing to do with determining if someone is doing a bad thing in the biblical sense. That was laid out in the teachings of the bible, the judgment is determining the consequences for those actions in a spiritual sense. A little bit of knowledge breaks the argument completely. So even a Christian can use rational thought to preserve their belief system as long as they have a firm basis for their understanding.

And even here if the rational person has fallen for the attack, they have accepted the guilt, they can stop the process cold by simply failing to give their consent to feel guilty. Because even if they have convicted themselves by guilt they can choose not to punish themselves. They can simply decide that they may need to check their premises, and until that point where a rational conclusion has been reached there is no need to change their beliefs.

No acceptance of the attack, no break, No guilt, no break, no incrimination, no break. No break, no sinister changing of beliefs by the other party.

So while they are going to attempt to change your beliefs, you never have to allow it because you will recognize their assault and the fallacy of their argument.

I have to admit something I am not proud off. I have done something in the past that I am ashamed of. I covered up something and denied something that I should not have. The stain of this is hard to erase. Someone accused me of being ego driven and I denied it. That’s right I did the unthinkable.

In fact I did it without thinking. When they charged me with being ego driven I took it as a criticism because society had conditioned me to think that way and by sheer indoctrination I denied something I should have proclaimed with virtue. I want you to stop and think about this for a minute. Achievers are often criticized for their ego, but it is the ego that drives people to achieve. Without ego what would you be but a passive bystander waiting to follow the crowd?

Your ego is what allows you to follow up on your perception of your worth. Without it you would think that everyone else’s ideas were as good as your own. While it is possible that others may have good ideas or even brilliant ideas one must also realize when to take a stand and tell someone else they are wrong.

Egoism is the idea that rational people do what is in their own best interest. In fact, it isn’t rational not to behave this way. The road to one’s happiness is enlightened self interest. But society doesn’t want you to learn this. They want you to believe that you have a duty to live for others, that other people’s happiness and welfare is important and your own is not. This is something you cannot allow to taint your thinking. This irrational thought is like a chain around your neck and it will weigh you down and place you in the position of slave to the whims of others.

I have no defense for my own moment of irrationality. When accused that I always thought I was right I denied it. But isn’t it rational that if you believe something that you would think you were right? If you didn’t why would you believe it in the first place? But you see this accusation isn’t simply to assign guilt, it is a clever ploy to get you to play by the rules that others lay down for you. If you accept their accusation by defending yourself you are trapped and you have given up your power.

Nothing would ever be created if someone had never said I think I have a better way, or I have an Idea. The key in this is I. The concept of I, is the concept of ego. It is the concept of individuality. When someone accuses you of acting superior they are attacking your ability to outshine them. The worst thing is for these people to face is that you might indeed be superior to them. But if you fall for their trick, you may end up denying reality itself. The reality being “I am better than you, for the simple fact that I decide to be”

So my penance for this crime against myself and against my self-worth is to share it with others so they will never fall for this insidious tactic used to try and shame those who have ability, those who have knowledge, and those who have ambition. If someone accuses you of acting superior to others do not deny it by social convention, prove it. If someone asks, “why do you think you are right”, know that your knowledge and experience, your dedication to rational thought and logic, have given you the right to say “Because I am!” And if anyone dares suggest you should be ashamed of your ego, ask yourself why you are even listening to that sniveling creature at your feet.

Check out Anthem by Ayn Rand to see the inspiration for this article.

The very notion that this concept is valid requires one to suspend rational thought. It also leads down the road to personal damnation. The concept of the law of attraction is flawed at its very core. The use of the teachings of others such as Napoleon Hill, and others are used to support the Law of Attraction, but this can only be accomplished with a great deal of intellectual dishonesty.
While the concept on its face may appeal to those who want something for nothing, those who look rationally at the premise know that it cannot stand. Even worse, when the “Law” fails to work it creates a backlash that faults the subject not the “law” This blaming of the Victim of LOA is the dark side that is insidious in this philosophy. Yet the proponents of LOA only speak of the “achievements” that come about through LOA. So if you get a promotion at work, it is because you had the right thoughts and the Universe has chosen to reward you. Now you may say, “what’s wrong with that?” and go on to believe that all is well. But consider the opposite, a two year old child drowns in a pool, now if we consider LOA then the child must have manifested his circumstances and thus died by his own thoughts. When brought up to a support of LOA they will reply this is not the case because it could have been the bad intentions of the parents, perhaps caused by fear of their child drowning. So they now feel they have cut off your argument at the knees. But in reality they have changed the circumstances completely. In fact they have added an element that creates and even larger issue. The law says you manifest your destiny, but by their very argument your destiny now can be determined by the intentions of others.

One must realize that following the Law of Attractions means you are personally responsible for your intentions and by rule also for all the good and bad that happens to you. You are taking full responsibility for everything, including things that are outside your immediate control. You must accept if you are hit by a drunk driver after work that your intentions caused this. It is not the fault of the drunk driver; it is your intentions that caused it to happen. If your house burns down, it isn’t the lightning strike that caused it or the bad wiring, it is your fear that your house would be lost. That is unless you follow the idea that your destiny can be manifest by others.

So if others can manifest our destiny then in reality we have no control over our own lives. We cannot control the intentions of others, and thus we do not control our own lives. Here is the main issue, the very idea that was to lead millions across the world into prosperity by proper intention in actuality robs them of their ability to act and shape their own destiny. These people have given up free will, of their own volition. They are seeking gain without price. A rational mind cannot accept the very premise.

This concept isn’t new, he Hebrew religion found itself in a similar quandary in its early days. At one point the idea was that if you were devoted to God and acted correctly you would be rewarded. So people took that one step further, if something bad happened to you then you were being punished. This leads to a dangerous type of thinking. Now, if your child dies by drowning in a pool, it is not because they did not know how to swim, but because you have committed some evil and are being punished. It is easy to accept that you are being rewarded by God when something good happens, but what about when your community is hit by a hurricane. Was New Orleans evil? Were the people of Galveston chosen by God to be punished, or was it just their intentions? The Hebrews realized what was happening and thus the story of Lot. Lot a man of outstanding moral character favored by God and yet made to suffer for the very reason he should have been rewarded by the old way of thinking. He was devoted to God. Unfortunately LOA cannot hope for an addendum to “cosmic law” there can be no reprieve from a law that is written among the stars.

LOA and “The Secret” were a great feat in marketing. Unfortunately it was merely the pitch of a conman if they did so with knowledge of the ethical and logical problems with their Law, or at best when they ignorantly led people down a path that leads to disappointment and damnation.
So cast off the abominable notions of a Law that gives reward for nothing, the very concept is against the laws of nature and common sense. Instead seek “The Real Secret” that very thing worth having requires effort to achieve. Those who are successful do not sit and wish or hope for a gift from the universe, the go out and create their destiny. They earn their rewards through effort and action.