ZenBlue

Day 30 - Today is the final day of my initial goal. Yay I did it! Although I'm going to keep the no TV rule for as long as I can, this concludes the end of this journal. So far cutting TV out of my life for only 1 month has brought me some high yield results. In the mean time I will continue to write daily on my meditation journal. Now that I have cut out a passive activity, it is time for me to implement a positive habit that I actively do on a daily basis. That first step is with daily meditation.

Day 3 Had a 5 minute meditation session today. I find there is still a lot of monkey chatter in my brain and the time goes by rather quickly because of that. I would easily be able to meditate for 10+ minutes, but I don't think I would be consistent if I started increasing my time. I will hit at least 5 minutes every day until it becomes a daily habit and I will increase the time from there. I used to meditate about 2 years ago and I was doing it daily for at least 30 minutes a day. I kept that up for a few months, and then I stopped doing it altogether. Now I'm starting again because it had such a positive effect on my life before, and this time I want it to become a permanent part of my life.

@Zane Thank you Zane, Yes, definitely I'm also inspired by the works of other people, and that's where a lot of my ideas come from as well. @Neill Yea starting a business is hard work and it's not easy to do it by yourself. Having the right business partner would help a lot. I currently don't have any business partners so networking, and collaborating would be great. I remember you said you were working on a project of your own. Let me know if you want to discuss any business ideas or anything.

Day 29 - 1 more day left for the initial goal! Although I'm still going to keep this rule in place for at least the next 2 months. I find the longer I keep this up, the easier it becomes. I have to be careful though that I don't fall back into my old habit. I'm going to avoid watching TV shows for as long as I can. I'm still not as productive as I want to be. I realized my biggest problem with productivity is my energy level. I usually have low energy levels throughout the day. It is very rare for me to wake up with a lot of energy and maintain that through out the entire day. I need to raise my energy level through a better diet, and regular physical exercise.

Day 2 - Meditated for 5 minutes today - Went out for a little drive - Went through some of the Life Purpose Course videos

Day 28 - Still on track with my goal I'm nearing the 30 day mark, and although I still have urges to watch TV, it is a lot easier for me to ignore the urges. I am able to quickly block TV out of my mind and instead focus on other things in my life.

Like you mentioned I think strategy based video games would be a great way to practice your strategic skills. Also chess is a great strategy based game and could help you put it all into practice as well.

It depends on the type of work. Not all work is equal. Some work is very physically demanding, but requires very little mental work. Some work is very mentally demanding, but not very physical. Then you need to know yourself, and know what you can sustain over long periods of time. I think if you can find a good balance between mental and physical work, then you can easily work 80+ hours a week and sustain it over a long period of time. But the only way you would be able to sustain it is if you really love what you are doing. If you love what you are doing, then it won't feel like work and it will feel like you are just playing and having fun all day. If you are working long hours, but you really hate it, then you are going to burn out very fast. Change your definition of work. I used to think work was something we had to do out of necessity and never out of love. Now I realize work can be whatever you want it to be. I've been working hard my entire life without realizing it. Just because it didn't fit society's definition of work doesn't mean it isn't work. If I analyze a lot of my activities, it can be considered work that provides value to me even if other people see it as a waste of time or as "goofing off". People are ALWAYS working. Even small children are "working" by going to school, playing with friends, etc. Going to a forum like this, and posting and reading is work. It's just that if you enjoy doing it, you won't care if you make money from it or not. You'll just do it. Working isn't only about making money or having a job. Work is any activity that you perform. Of course you should be doing work that adds value to your life instead doing work that takes away value.

If I had $100 million, I would continue on my journey to self-actualization. I wouldn't need to work a job so that would free up a lot more time for me to focus on my personal development work. I have a deep passion for business, and entrepreneurship so I would most likely use the money to start up a few different businesses and do a lot of investing as well. I would create systems for building the businesses by outsourcing a ton of the work. I would mainly be generating ideas, strategizing, and bringing in the vision of what I want to implement. I would position myself so I only need to be involved with my businesses for 20 hours a week at the most. I would also have periods of unannounced and sudden leaves of absence and the businesses would still be able to run perfectly fine without me. I would spend a large portion of my time with my personal development. I would also set aside a lot of time for my friends and family. To be honest, this is a big part of my current vision. I know it seems lofty, and idealistic, but for some reason I believe I can make it happen.

I had no idea Russell Brand had such a high level of awareness until I saw this video. I wonder if he is very close to being enlightened or actually is enlightened. A lot of the things he says are the same exact things Leo has been sharing with us in his videos.

I PM'ed you. Day 27 - Still on track with my goal. Only 3 days left for the initial goal! There are perks with my job that I like, but there are also parts about it that are just draining the life out of me. It's a low paying job so I'm just getting by with my finances. The accident put a dent in my wallet, but once I take care of a few things I will have some extra money coming to me. In the mean time I'm going to look for a flexible job that will let me work from home full time or at least part time. I will work on building my business as well, and I want to turn that into a full time income. I haven't been very productive lately. I'm feeling drained and stressed out right now. I'm sure I will get things settled in a few weeks.

Day 26 - Still on track with my goal I watched the video about vision from the Life Purpose course. I saw the documentary that was recommended to watch. It's interesting to see the side of the story we never hear. The man with the vision who was so close to making it happen, but it just slipped right between his fingers. Yet even though the project wasn't fully developed, the work that was put into it has taken roots into a lot of the work we see today.

@8LanguageStud Yea a lot of Internet activities can be addicting. Luckily I don't have a big problem with using Facebook. I mainly use it for the news feed feature so I can get a quick scan of things going on with my friends, and current news. Day 24 - Still on track with my goal Slow day at work. Mainly did a little work on my start up and played video games with my girlfriend. Day 25 - Still on track with my goal Opened a joint bank account for me and my girlfriend today. Re-designed the header image for my start up site. Spent most of the day relaxing. I'm not good at organizing my time and keeping myself on a schedule. I need to improve my time management skills. I would like to get more free time for myself, but it will be a while before I can make it happen. In the meantime, I should learn how to maximize the current time I have now.

Day 23 - Still on track with my goal Nothing interesting today. Just went to work and then went home. I recently started the Life Purpose course and I'm going to focus on doing that for a while. Lately my mind is focused on: Finishing a personal task that I started months ago (Been taking a long time to finish, but it's almost done) Start up business Self-Actualization (Life Purpose Course) Improving my health and physical fitness Personal Blog (Branding) Obtaining financial wealth It will take a lot of effort and a long time to get all this to a high level, but I am committed to making it all happen. No matter what happens, I will keep going.

Day 22 - Still on track with my goal Life is keeping me so busy that I don't really have time to think about TV. Now the urges have mostly gone away. I don't feel the need to watch TV and I don't even miss it. It's crazy to think that my life used to revolve around it for so many years and now I don't need it. I'm grateful to be alive and healthy. Health is wealth. If anyone is fortunate to have a fully functioning body with no major issues, that is like winning the lottery in life. I have been taking such poor care of my health for a long time, but I want to change my bad habits. I know it will take me a long time for me to replace my bad habits with good ones, but it is all worth it in the end. Also, the feeling of driving a brand new car is quite amazing. I feel so much calmer and at peace when I'm on the road. I live in Los Angeles, and the drivers here are very aggressive and there is always a sense of road rage and urgency around here. My life isn't perfect, but I feel so blessed and have so much in my life already. I understand that I don't need more of anything in my life, but I want more out of life because I am no where near my full potential. I just want to be the best that I can be. I feel like it is my duty to push myself to the limits and reach a level of greatness. Transforming myself into a better person isn't just for my sake. It is also for the sake of my family, friends, and society in general.

Day 20 - TV = 0 Me = 20 Went to work Worked on my new business Played some video games Read my daily affirmations Day 21 - TV = 0 Me = 21 I'm feeling calmer today. I thought about how glad I am that no one was injured in the car accident. I'm looking at the positives and am taking this opportunity to enjoy driving a brand new car for the first time in my life. (Although very irresponsible of me financially) Went to work Ate dinner and spent time with my girlfriend and her family Read my daily affirmations Keeping this journal updated consistently is helping me with my goal. So far I don't miss TV, and my life feels very busy, even without it. I don't know how I had time for it before when even now I feel like my time is being stretched.

Day 18 - TV = 0 Me = 18 I didn't post yesterday because I got into a car accident. It was completely my fault and I take full ownership for it. Car had major damage and is not worth repairing. Day 19 - TV = 0 Me = 19 I made a very stupid and emotional choice today. I let my dad's opinions get in my head and I purchased a lease agreement for a new car I don't really like. The deal was horrible and I knew it was yet I still went through with it. This shows me I have a very long way to go in terms of controlling my emotions, and not letting outside circumstances affect me. This is the worst financial decision I have made in my life so far. I'm upset at myself because I don't know why I made such a stupid decision. I'm trying to just be aware of my negative thoughts and emotions. I want to use this as a learning experience so that I won't make the same mistake in the future.

Day 17 - TV = 0 Me = 17 Today's activities: Went to work Read my daily affirmations Played a video game for 30 min Browsed Facebook Worked on side project Watched Leo's video about mastering emotions My mind is still very disorganized and running around with a lot of thoughts. I still have a lot of my old belief systems inside of my mind. I have a lot of work cut out for me in terms of making spiritual, and personal growth. I will set aside time to meditate for at least 5 minutes a day, and gradually increase it.

Day 16 - TV = 0 Me = 16 Relaxing day today. What I did: Went to a nice park that had a great view. (Almost stepped on a snake that was lying in the grass) Watched a couple of Leo's videos. Went over my daily affirmations. Worked on my side project. Browsed through FaceBook

Day 15 - TV = 0 Me = 15 Today I went to work and I looked through my book of notes that I started for writing down concepts I learned either through educational videos, or things that I read. What I'm working on: Re-programming my mind. We have been conditioned since birth to think a certain way. That is why it is very difficult to change, but through repetition I can re-program my mind to the things that I want in my life. It would probably take several years to have a lasting impact. Getting more knowledge about a lot of different aspects. Getting my finances in order, and cleaning up the big mess I made when I took a massive financial risk that didn't pay off. Side projects that I want to grow to the point where I can generate enough income to transform them into businesses. It's difficult to stick with my commitment when TV is everywhere, but just being more aware of the potential traps keeps me on my feet. When I get the urge to watch TV, I watch educational videos on YouTube instead as a substitution method. I am replacing a bad habit with a good habit, which is easier than just trying to eliminate a bad habit.

The thing is there really isn't a truly passive income source. In order to get to the level where you are getting passive income you first have to put in tons of work with no pay. Also in the beginning even if you do start to make money it takes a certain amount of work to maintain that income. Trust me, if you ever become complacent that "passive" income will disappear very fast. With that being said, there are tons of ways to make passive income. You can do some low risk, low return investments. I would look into the concept of compounding interest. I haven't done much investing myself, but I'm currently studying finance, and investing and will begin doing so very soon. Like you mentioned you can do kindle publishing that could be a lucrative source. Other things that are good sources: affiliate marketing, drop shipping, e-commerce, digital products, real estate.

I believe we like fantasy because we are all creative by nature. We all have an innate spark of creativity within us. You can observe that creativity in children before it gets stomped out of them by society. The real problem is when we confuse fantasy with reality and when we get stuck in a fantasy. A lot of what we have in life now started as a fantasy. Imagine what will be possible in the future. A lot of current fantasies will become reality. Never stop dreaming, but don't get stuck in your dreams.

Don't worry so much about the things other people want. Focus on what YOU want. You clearly want a better life and want something good for yourself. If you didn't then you wouldn't be spending time on this forum making a post about it. You said you enjoy doing all sorts of activities, but you can't stick with them. The problem isn't a lack of want. You want a lot out of life otherwise you wouldn't have started these activities and you wouldn't enjoy learning new things and developing new skills. You clearly do enjoy learning new things and developing your skills. The real problem is that you don't believe that you can have all that you desire in this life. I'm telling you that you can live the life you want, but first you must re-program your mind and change yourself from within. Don't put so much pressure on achieving external success. It's not a waste of time for you to do something for the sake of enjoyment even if you do not produce the results you want. Life isn't meant to be so serious. Life isn't meant to be about how much money you have, or how much "success" you can achieve. Learn to have fun and enjoy the journey. Take in all that life has to offer and be excited by the possibilities.

@Sofiasspecial Seeing how his video elicited a strong emotional response in you, maybe you shouldn't be questioning and criticizing Leo. Maybe the real problem you have is something that lies within you. First you must set aside your ego and inspect yourself. What is it about video that got you so worked up, and why do you feel that way? You have to be honest with yourself in your self-evaluation, even if the truth hurts.

@Neill Bolton We should discuss developing inner growth and making real changes in ourselves. I just watched Leo's video about fake growth vs real growth. I realized a lot of the things I have done in the past were all just me chasing after the external things and focusing on fake growth. I'm sure a lot of us have fallen for the trap of fake growth at some point. Real growth comes from within.