• Pay What You Owe

    edited by Alexander Becker

    Everyone has to pay what they owe.

    Whether you pay first and receive later or you receive first and pay later, one thing is for sure: You're going to pay, no matter what.

    Please review the suggested protocol, which is obviously not set in stone --

    1. What? Know what you want.
    2. That. Accept that you have to pay a price.
    3. How much? Determine its exact value for you.
    4. Really? Determine whether the price is worth paying.
    5. Close. Pay and receive or vice versa.

    You wouldn't walk into a store, ask for something, and just take it with you without paying. You want something, you give something in exchange. You want more, you give more. How much is it worth paying for? How badly do you want it? Of course, the more you want it, the more you're prepared to pay. If it's worth having, isn't it worth paying for?

    What about bargaining? Isn't bargaining a sign of less wanting within the pay-for-what-you-want sense?

    Bargaining is a type of negotiation in which the buyer and seller of a good or service dispute the price which will be paid and the exact nature of the transaction that will take place, and eventually come to an agreement.

    Referring to #3 of the above outlined protocol, you determine the exact value for you. Ultimately, you bargain exclusively with yourself.

    Negotiate solely with yourself and know that and what you are going to pay.

    You want it all, I know, but don't you want it all, only to avoid making a decision in favor of the definite outcome, the one thing you really want?

    Now, pay and receive.

    A simple negation, yet, a quality of its own: Do not pay what you do not owe. Very simple indeed but you and only you decide what it is and how much of it you really owe.

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  • Two Ways of Owning a Law

    edited by Alexander Becker

    The surprising difference between accepting a law and breaking it.

    There are laws for almost everything. And I am not talking about jurisdiction here. Not the social and societal restrictions and determinations of governmental authorities.

    Yet -- can every rule be bent and every law be broken?

    In science, there are a specific number of established scientific laws, or physical laws as they are sometimes called, that are considered absolute and inarguable facts of the physical world. Laws of science may, however, be disproved if new facts or evidence arise to contradict them. A "law" differs from those as hypotheses, theories, postulates, and principles, etc., in that a law is a general statement about nature that is considered proven beyond doubt.

    The laws of nature?

    The phrase Law of Nature has several meanings:

    • It can refer to a scientific generalization based upon empirical observation, i.e., a physical law.
    • It can refer any number of doctrines in moral, political and legal theory, also called natural law.

    The second law of thermodynamics --

    The entropy of an isolated system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time, approaching a maximum value at equilibrium.

    The law of excluded middle --

    The law of the excluded middle states that every proposition is either true or false.

    Newton's first law: law of inertia --

    An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force. An object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force.

    Finally, what about laws, named after people in general?

    Social and societal restrictions can be bent and broken, laws of nature, laws that by definition do not provide exceptions or exemptions, are best accepted and not directly fought against. Not even resisted.

    OK, enough common sense, this is the idea: Two ways to make history --

    1. The one who discovers a law of nature gets his name tied to it;
    2. The one who discovers that -- a physical law in particular -- can be bent or broken, gains immortality.

    The former is a mere observer while the latter successfully resisted a law of nature. Obviously, the law in question becomes void and obsolete. Now, choose between the latter and the former's experience.

    Change the rules and make them yours. Bend them until they break. Any rule that can be broken is worthless anyway. As a rule at least.

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  • Savor Your Moment

    edited by Alexander Becker

    Replace self-consciousness with self-awareness within one moment.

    When you waste a moment, you have killed it in a sense, squandering an irreplaceable opportunity. But when you use the moment properly, filling it with purpose and productivity, it lives on forever.

    Menachem Mendel Schneerson

    Every valuable thought, each memory, any emotion, is tied to one, ever so short, single moment.

    You don't get any more than that moment. Don't miss it, trade it, or give it up for the next one.

    Every moment is unique and if you have a perfect one, enjoy it, savor it, and expand it -- for once it is over, it is over, it will be gone for good.

    Do not wait through a moment in order to expand it -- instead, do the exact opposite: Live that moment as fast as you can and fill it with as much life as possible. Do not live it as if it was the last one, live it as if it was the only one. This moment will be eternal.

    Do not merely observe your moments, ... take part in your moments and observe yourself. This is the only way to extend that one situation and make it last forever. Observe yourself within the present moment, experience life most purely and at its best.

    Unlike the unpleasant feeling of self-consciousness that occurs when we realize that we are being watched or observed, the feeling that everyone is looking at us, we are after self-awareness. More specifically, becoming aware not of your actions but of your thoughts and emotions, your body and mind, leads to appreciation of the current moment. It's not you, it's now.

    Make that moment exclusive, whatever it is to distract you, if you can't change it within this very moment, exclude it and do not let it dilute this precious now.

    Everything has its moment.

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  • Willpower: Let Go of Everything

    edited by Alexander Becker

    You have a strong will. People fear your willpower, you even celebrate it. Yet, against popular belief, you cannot change other people's will with your own will, no matter how strong or terrible it is.

    You may use seduction or force to get what you want, but you cannot put up willpower against willpower. Try to recall such a situation -- did it work? What were the consequences?

    Get rid of the belief that you can control everything, because you can't. In fact, you are not even able to control anything, what you can and do control is your perception of things and events. You control and set up your expectations and your evaluations of events and their particular circumstances -- this is the mechanism to influence reality itself. Your subjective perceptions do objectively change your realities. You change your point of view, you walk around the object of contempt or desire and start to see it from different perspectives.

    Putting up your will against an undesirable situation causes frustration and resent, your own frustration and the situations' resent. You may use or leverage some hierarchical power to change the situation but this is not your will. The moment you're trying to control your environment through your will, you do in fact force that very will upon your own mind. Your ability to create suffers as a consequence.

    Change the situation using your will for good, not going against any other person's will and you are going to employ willpower for the first time in an economical and successful manner. Use that powerful will of yours to enhance and enforce your discipline, for example.

    Let go. As an exercise, let go of everything. How does that feel? Let go of everything and consciously select the few things that you actually desire to productively take care of. Let go of everything else.

    Now you are free. Free to create and free to succeed.

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  • Always Question Everything You Do

    edited by Alexander Becker

    You get up early. Question that. You start your day with a light workout. Before you leave the house you eat a light breakfast. You work during the day to the best of your abilities. In the evening, you workout heavily. You prepare your meal and you enjoy it before getting back to work at night, to the best of your abilities. You go to sleep after planning the next day. Question all that.

    There is no chance to improve anything without questioning everything.

    The time you get up -- is it possible to get up earlier or is it favorable to sleep a little longer in order to squeeze some more out of the evening hours?

    That light workout -- is it optimal or would you be better off with doing the hard workout before breakfast? The breakfast itself, what can you alter in order to stay more alert until your next meal?

    Are you really working to the best of your abilities? Question that.

    How is the quality of your evening workout? How do you feel afterwards? If the workout doesn't leave you feel like a million dollars, change it or shift it around on your schedule until that million is yours.

    What do you eat, how is it prepared, and when exactly is the absolute best time to peacefully eat and digest?

    Do you really plan your next day or do you simply copy the day you've planned once, years ago?

    Question your sleep. Do you sleep well? Always? Why not?

    Never accept anything simply because it repeats the same way over and over. Even the most basic tasks and functions should be subject to thorough questioning.

    You breathe. Well... let's take a look at the way you breathe, do you breathe deeply or rather shallow?

    Question it all.

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  • Remember Today

    edited by Alexander Becker

    The most beautiful day in your life. When was it? How was it? What made it so special and different from any other day you can think of? How did that day feel and what was the reason for that feeling? Is it likely and realistic to induce that feeling again, to repeat, if not the day, then at least the feeling?

    Although that one day is long gone and it won't come back anymore, the memories and the accompanying emotions will never fade away. Take a look at all your beautiful days in your life so far. What do these special, outstanding days have in common? They are perfect, they are unplanned, unexpected things happen, yet everything feels easy and like planned and executed by a divine hand.

    What do you expect to experience today? Do you expect an ordinary day or do you want a special one? You work today and you have a packed schedule and there is no time for any special moment? You plan on spending a perfect day on the weekend, your schedule will be free of stress and obligations, there will be plenty of time and everything is setup to accomodate future memories... How come that -- that day, the supposedly perfect, prepared, and predetermined day, turns out to be not special at all? No memories to take into the future to remember another beautiful day. Why is that?

    Let's go back to that day full of work. Full of decisions. Now, decide to make every moment special. Have a meeting? Make it special by chosing a different location, the most perfect location you can think of. Going to introduce yourself to an audience? Make it perfect by presenting yourself in the most special way possible.

    Since every moment you are going to encounter will be there for you exactly once -- decide and resolve to invest everything you have into every moment. Accept time and the present instead of resisting it, waiting for a better future. You'll end up waiting forever. Make the most out of every second you have because it will pass no matter how you spend it. Time passes anyway so why not enjoy it in its present, while it lasts?

    The most beautiful day? Today.

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