Where is Your Passion?

I received the following message from a subscriber who listened to my radio show Logical Soul Talk this past Tuesday.  It was such a great question, in fact, I want to share it with you . . .

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“Hi, Michael -

I listened in to the “Branding from the Inside Out” yesterday
which had me totally intrigued – enough to go back and listen
to other podcasts – such a rich resource there, really.

Question/Comment: When defining ‘passion’ you asked the question, ‘Is it something you are willing to die for?’ I am passionate about encouraging and coaching other artists to find their authentic creative paths but I am not willing to die for it.

Similarly, I am passionate about my own art and developing web presences for others, but not so much that I would die for it. I have businesses related to both and am marketing them with increasing success.

Were you speaking metaphorically? As in : death to a life without success surrounding your passion? Or lack of life energy or loss of joy if you couldn’t participate in what you are passionate about?”

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Dear subscriber: To answer your question, I will refer you to Will Smith’s video featured on the June 2nd Blog Post. During an interview, Will basically said he was willing to “die for the truth,” i.e., what he believes in, or what he is committed to.  Take 10 minutes to listen to that video – it will open your eyes.

Will Smith is very successful. Tony Robbins is successful. John Travolta, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey and Mohamed Ali are successful.  What do they all have in common?   They all share the same quality of total commitment that can only bring success . . . or annihilation.  Looking to history, we find this quality present mostly in the movers and shakers of their era:  General George Patton, Mahatma Ghandi, Harriet Tubman, Alexander the Great, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others like them.  All of these great ones played the same high-stakes game of “do or die.”

What sets each of these people apart from 97% of humanity is that they do NOT compromise when it comes to their deepest values . . . even if it means their physical death! When they focus on something, it gets done. Period. Their passion drives them towards success.  Nothing else matters.

If you can look at your career or life goals with the same conviction, you will succeed. If not, you will always have an “out.” Your chances for lasting success, therefore, are reduced.

The fact is, very few of our options (unless we are committed to extreme sports or sky-diving) will lead to physical death.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is:  there is a part of our brain that can’t tell the difference, and will continue to fight to keep us “safe.”

Does this mean you can’t have a measure of success?  No. What it DOES mean, however, is that you will NOT be playing the same game on the same world stage as the super-achievers.

If that’s not important to you, I understand. Your passion is for survival, as it is for most of us. This is not wrong; its just the way things are.  You can still achieve your own measure of success and happiness, so long as you know this is the game you are playing . . . so play it all out!  “Death” to you might mean something like public speaking, cold call selling, or doing something you believe in that risks criticism.  So do something that invites personal transformation.

This “passion for survival” can understood as part of our evolution as a species. Even if we no longer have to face daily threats like invading tribes and saber-toothed tigers, we still carry that awareness of threat within us. Facing danger in the past meant annihilation.  Therefore, our ability to commit to any perceived suicide – real or imagined – has essentially been bred out of us over the millenia.

Fears of death – whether it be to the body, emotions, ego, or even basic beliefs – all appear to us equally frightening, and the part of our brain that makes this ultimate “passion decision” is very old.  The limbic system - usually oversimplified as our “animal brain” – is programmed to make us survive at all costs.

In ancient times, when saber-toothed tigers roamed the earth, this meant either learning to either fight the tiger – and sure-fire way to get killed – or flee from the tiger and have a much better chance to survive. This “fight-or-flight” reaction, coined by Walter B. Cannon in the 1920’s, has also created a type of human schizophrenia.

While we WANT success, we HAVE TO survive! Our “passion thermostat,” therefore, is set for low. In our society, only the Alpha Males (and Females) actually attempt to kill the saber-tooth . . . or die trying. They become our leaders, or our deceased heroes. The rest of us are ruled by “common sense” . . . . something we’ve passed down to our descendants for millions of years.

So what does all this mean?

It means one of two things:

1. we live according to the evolutionary cards
   we were dealt, or
2. we change our survival decision setting.

Believe it or not, there is a way to change our evolutionary survival setting . . . but it takes time and a commitment to personal transformation. You must be willing to give up many of the time-honored “truths” you have held for most of your life, and be able to embrace a feeling of emptiness - at least for a short time.   This vacuum – coupled with a deep intent towards success – will invite that transformation.

For some, this might mean quitting your job to pursue your passion – a kind of “death” that still implies danger to our limbic system.  Some make it; some don’t.  Only by truly embracing your real passion can this work out.  If you quit your job to pursue the IDEA of what you  THINK is your passion, you will fail.  The good news is that you will probably still be alive and can regroup and try again later.

There are ways to actually LINK the passion for survival with a strong desire to succeed in a given field of endeavor. This is, in fact, a little less risky, and is the essence of “Branding from the Soul.” Without a firm (and deep) commitment, however, our “passion” will remain just a word.

So thanks for the question!

Yours for Outrageous Success,
- Michael

Ken Jensen

Ken Jensen is a former Marine who had given up all hope of ever recovering from his frequent bouts with BiPolar disorder. Since his conversion to “natural healing,” however, his life has turned around 180 degrees.  So much so, in fact, that he has started addressing larger audiences with his message of hope, natural living and tapping inner motivation.

Ken previously spent his days counseling others on how to emerge victorious from a disease that has crippled the minds of millions worldwide.  He is also Michael’s guest for 30 minutes on Logical Soul Talk on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 starting at 6 pm to talk about what’s been happening since he was on the show last year.

Go online, or call (347) 843-4544 if you want to ask Ken a question.

Ken is the author of the book It Takes Guts to Be Me: How an Ex-Marine Beat BiPolar Disorder. It was written, he says, as a sort of survival manual on how he survive his bipolar disorder. He explains:

“I was dying from it as my mind and body were failing. Prison, lockdown ward, and death were my coming future. I’d already lived through all three, to include death, but I was running out of juice to keep up the fight.

“I followed all doctors’ instructions to a ‘T’. By this, I mean I ate every pill they prescribed me for a six-year period. This equated to thousands of pills; over 100 individual prescriptions for almost every psychotropic applicable. I only got worse with each passing month.

“During my last psychiatric visit, the doctor told me he was just about out of options and he wasn’t hopeful. This news terrified me like nothing had before in my life. I was going to die, horribly insane. I decided to look elsewhere for help and luckily, I found it.

“I then began weaning myself off my meds, with the help of professionals, (NEVER just stop your meds!) while replacing them with nutrients I was lacking. I improved rapidly and for the first time since I’d been diagnosed, 6 years ago, I began to hope I’d be OK.

“I improved enough to realize I needed even more help to sort out all that was wrong with me. I’d been through too much trauma in too many areas to get away with just addressing nutrition, powerful, though that step was.

“And that’s where the rest of my system came from. I experimented on myself. I got ripped off and misled, frequently. Some tools were good but not meant for me. The items that worked, I kept. Now? You’d have to put a gun to my head to make me stop doing these steps that keep me healthy to this day. I have been meds-free for over two years.

“Just so we’re clear: I am no doctor but my system works. Thousands have proven many of the individual steps I espouse to be effective. This is without the addition of the rest of my steps. The testimonials of those who’d gone before me are what gave me the faith to try what I did. I simply combined the best of the best.  My reversal back to a “normal” individual, and my consequent bettering of myself to a level never before experienced, caused all who knew me to suggest authoring a book about my journey. The change was strikingly profound. That led me to some pros who helped me get to where I’m at now.

“I have two books written, and I’ve produced multiple articles, videos, and audio sessions all aimed at bringing others to what I know to be true. This project has recently morphed into a much broader goal of motivating people to do better in this life; to give hope to those who hear my story, no matter why they suffer. If I don’t maintain my vigilance, which is not hard at all, my bipolar will come back. I know this.

“But it is just one part of who I am and it is in my past. I work hard to build the life of my dreams and I want to take as many new friends with me as I can!”

Watch the video below.  The 10 minutes spent will be the best gift you can give yourself today.

Illania Hofler

Illania Hofler works with something called “the Genetic Voice,” and will share with Michael Craig how she “prints” this ancestral voice so that anyone can actually see pictures of their emotional state!

Tune into Logical Soul Talk on Tuesday, May 11th at 6 pm ET for the full story on Genetic Voice Printing, or  get on the Call Hotline at (347) 843-4544.

Ms. Hofler is a certified Vo-CAL instructor and will discuss with Michael the benefits of this cutting edge technology, also known as The Clear Voice. She reports that many people who use self-help workshops, books and courses are still plagued with repeated unwanted behaviors and feelings.

“That’s because” she adds, “these are symptoms of DNA emotional traumas that came through your parents and grandparents that block your ability to make solution oriented choices for yourself in present time.

“Your voice tells us where the ‘negative programs’ came from in your lineage and some special frequencies let you access your subconscious mind while wide awake—a very unique experience. Our software can now track when the pattern actually releases.”

Genetic Voice Printing apparently touches on areas known to those who are familiar with the Logical Soul(tm) work, i.e., hidden decisions.  Although she calls it the “central command,” the purpose is the same – to continue to play out the same old negative programs. This inaccessible subconscious area – whether you call it hidden decisions or central command – is normally shut off from conscious access, but is where the only real changes occur!

Hofler sees private clients in Smyrna, Georgia, and has spoke to various conferences about the topic of genetic voice printing and transformation. She has also made “before” and “after” voice prints of those who have undergone Logical Soul(tm) sessions, with very intriguing results.

Raymond Moody

Dr. Raymond Moody is a medical doctor, psychologist and renown researcher and author.  He is considered the leading authority on the ‘near-death experience’—a phrase he coined in the late seventies – and will discuss with Michael Craig during a 30-minute interview on Logical Soul Talk, Today (Tuesday), May 4^th at 6 pm ET, on Blog Talk Radio.

Called “the Father of the near-death experience” by the New York Times, Dr. Moody is the best-selling author of eleven books – including Life After Life which has sold over 13 million copies worldwide—and Reunions. He has also contributed numerous articles to academic and professional literature.

Dr. Moody continues to capture enormous public interest and generate controversy with his ground-breaking work on the near-death experience and what happens when we die.  He has captured the essence of this transformation and also uses facsimiles of “near-death” experiences for healing.

Dr. Moody earned his PhD in philosophy from the University of Virginia in 1969 and his MD from the Medical College of Georgia in 1976. He received the World Humanitarian Award in Denmark in 1988 and a bronze medal for Human Relations at the New York Film Festival for the movie version of Life After Life.

Raymond Moody has appeared on Oprah, MSNBC: Grief Recovery, NBC Today, ABC’s Turning Point, Donahue, Sally Jessie Raphael Show, Geraldo, The Joan Rivers Show, and hundreds of local and syndicated programs.

Don’t miss this special feature show tonight on Logical Soul Talk!

Dr. Moody and Dannion Brinkley appeared on Joan River’s show several years ago and described the “after life” experience and how this awareness alters the lives of those who go through it.  Raymond also describes how he uses this experience to provide the rest of us with a type of healing we could get no other way.   

This parallels much of the work in the Logical Soul(tm) in that the deepest levels of decision always have been – and always will be – beyond our normal conscious experience.  

Born and raised in a small village in Germany, Beate experienced sexual and other kinds of abuse as a child.  She arrived in the US in 1980 with $500 in her pocket and went through a difficult first marriage, but still held the belief that “love can conquer all.”

Since those difficult years,  Ms Fisher has embraced her talent for beauty and transformation work with a passion.  She has been trained extensively to understand and use transformation through Landmark Education programs, and is currently one of the few certified trainees for The Logical Soul work.  She is a world traveler, a spiritual seeker, and a “ghost buster” who has demonstrated she has a knack for clearing out negative energies in homes and businesses.

Currently Beate is employed as a Design Consultant with Ethan Allen, a position she has held for many years.  She loves this work, stating, “Its a job that gives me the opportunity to use my talent to create beautiful home environments for my clients.”

Beate is also a sponsor for Nepalese orphans and has been married to her husband Richard for almost 25 years.

Dr. Brenda Wade

Brenda Wade, PhD is a holistic psychologist, an author of three books, a TV hostess of a nationally-syndicated show “Can This Marriage Be Saved?” and has been featured in Essence Magazine.  You may have also seen her on  Oprah, the Today Show, Good Morning America, and CNN.

She has also written the Foreword to The Logical Soul book and will be Michael Craig’s special guest on Logical Soul Talk, Tuesday, April 13th, starting at 6 pm ET on www.BlogTalkRadio.com.

Dr. Wade has some unique insights into how our emotional and mental “stuff” gets in the way of our relationships and finances.  Her books and work are all about transforming and expanding human and financial boundaries.  Love Lessons: A Guide to Transforming Relationships; What Mama Couldn’t Tell Us About Love; and Power Choices:  Seven Steps to Creating Wholeness, Joy, Love and Peace all speak of ways to find – and hold on to – happiness.

Brenda has also been instrumental in getting together some of the finest talent in America to speak and present cutting edge ideas in her upcoming Love and Money Summit in September.  First held in Savannah, Georgia in 2009, this year’s event should be even more popular and transformative.

Tune in on Tuesday to hear this powerful speaker and author share her story and insights.

Hot off the presses!

The BOOK is ready!  Actually, the second – or “official” – edition, but who’s counting . . .

By early next week, GIH Publishing will have rolled out several dozen copies of The Logical Soul(tm): Eliminate Self-Sabotage in 30 Minutes or Less for Success, Wealth, Love & Happiness.  This edition features roughly sixty more pages, a Foreword by Dr. Brenda Wade, many pages of testimonials, and a complete Index section. 

It retails for $24.95 plus shipping, and will soon be available through Amazon and other retail outlets.  (You can also avoid shipping charges by purchasing yours at the monthly Meetup Group in Atlanta.)  Order your copy today, and learn why therapists, psychologists, motivational speakers, success coaches and others are touting this work as the next great advancement in human transformation!

I am fulfilling the early orders, so I will personally autograph the first 25 copies of what is sure to become a collectors item.  Do it now!

Today I had a Logical Soul(tm) session with a person named Mark who has been a lifelong sufferer of anxiety and depression.  Mark has been treated, in his own words, “by the best psychologists in the world”  and was skeptical that anything could be done to help him . . . at least for the first part of the session.

During the second part of the hour, Mark experienced a shift that left him exhasted, but changed.  He reported amazing things that I will let him tell in a future blog.   The good news is that Mark’s session was put on video, and will be available to view by members in the foreseable future.  Stay tuned. 

Also, Ilania Hofler took a voice print, both before and after his session, and showed that the changes made – as illustrated on the computer readout – were quite remarkable. 

I make no claims that the Logical Soul(tm) takes the place of traditional psychotherapy.  It does, however, present a totally new paradigm previously unknown in the field of mental health.  Mark reported that his traditional therapists did not delve into ancestry or his relationships with ancestors.  They only wanted to diagnose, then treat him with medication. 

Diagnosis certainly has its place.  But imagine what could happen when psychologists begin to embrace the tools offered by this simple technique . . . a way to unlock the transformation process, not merely “fix” someone so their illness can be managed. 

I look forward to working with doctors and therapists who express a genuine desire to see their work take on new meaning . . . for themselves as well as for their patients!