We appreciate the incredible feedback the last two weeks… learning how to tie the great thoughts of the illuminated minds into daily like so things can improve… whoops, I mean so I could improve – LOL – took some experimenting …
Hoping this is a bit of a shortcut for you
Ever notice how early it starts? We’re told what matters long before we even get a chance to ask why.
“Get good grades.” “Go to college.” “Find a safe job.” “Buy the house. Retire someday.”
Sounds familiar, right? That’s not your voice — that’s conditioning.
And here’s the trap: when we let those outside voices define what’s “important,” our emotions start dancing to someone else’s tune. We end up chasing the next goal, the next approval, the next shiny promise of security… …and wondering why it still feels empty.
The Master Key Connection
In Chapter 7 of The Master Key System, Haanel lays it bare:
“The real power comes from within, but most people seek it from without.”
That line stopped me in my tracks years ago. I realized every time I felt frustrated, jealous, or fearful, it wasn’t life doing it to me — it was me reacting to borrowed values.
When we master our inner world, the outer world must follow. Every. Single. Time.
Emerson Backed That Up
Emerson called it The Over-Soul — that divine spark within each of us that already knows the truth. He said:
“The soul in man is the background of all our being.”
When you listen to that voice, the noise from governments, schools, media, or any “authority” loses its grip. You stop needing to prove, to please, to perform. You start creating from your own center — aligned with something infinite.
That’s the sweet spot where dreams stop feeling impossible… and start feeling inevitable.
Try This Today
Tomorrow morning, before the world wakes up, grab a quiet minute and ask yourself:
1️⃣ Whose values am I reacting to today? 2️⃣ How do I feel when I think about success or approval? 3️⃣ Are those feelings really mine… or borrowed?
Then repeat this simple truth:
You’ll feel it — that tiny shift where peace replaces pressure.
Here’s the Bottom Line
The moment we stop letting the outside world decide what’s valuable, everything changes. Peace shows up. Focus returns. Power flows.
Freedom isn’t out there waiting for you. It’s already inside — waiting for you to remember.
“The world within creates the world without.” — Haanel “The soul knows no persons; it invites every man to expand to the full circle of the universe.” — Emerson
Live from that place, and the world bends to your vision.
💡 Want to dive deeper into mastering this inner power so you can live by your true values and make your dreams come true. Twice a year we thank our readers and subscribers with free [meaning nothing for sale], master classes. We do three different types but instead of guessing, we’d love you to tell us what you prefer… so tell us! Take this 2-question [30 second] survey
Ever wonder where all the pied-pipers-of-prosperity get ideas from so they can sound brilliant, wise and genius? I’m paraphrasing Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill — This is why it sounds great, gets us excited, yet very little, if anything changes.
I like Hill’s book, yet the truth is he was a scoundrel. Hill was involved in countless scams over the years. One of his earliest involved buying lumber on credit, never paying his suppliers, and selling the lumber to others for cash at rates well below market value.
This, as you can guess, didn’t last very long before Hill went on the run. But that was just one of many scams that Hill would try over the years.
Good News Bad News
Bad news? Well, it wasn’t for me. A wonderful coincidence led me to The Master Key System by Charles Haanel. Hill “appropriated” the basis for “his” book so it has some value. As an English major, I can tell you without a doubt, after reading other books he “wrote,” that there is no way he wrote Think and Grow Rich. It was one of his wives, Rosa.
It was not bad news for me because I discover The Master Key System… a brilliant 24-week exercise. It helped me set Smarter Goals because I developed a healthy mindset.
Digging deeper as the Smarter Goals kept manifesting faster, it led me to Wallace Wattles. The really good news is that led me to the source of both these great minds utilized.
Full Credit
While Haanel paraphrased Emerson, Wattles’ brilliant works quoted Emerson directly. Without a deep study of Think and Grow Rich, I would never have rediscovered Emerson and I am grateful. Both gave reverence and full credit to Emerson and I encourage you to get your hands on his essays.
Emerson believed that we are all intended to grow. Unlike all other life forms, growth for us is optional. Trees, animals, plants all grow to their full potential. Not us. When we are not growing, we are unhappy, uneasy so we distract ourselves.
However, what no other life form has is the incredible gift of imagination. Getting a healthy mindset has a requirement… desire to become the best we are capable of becoming.
Building Block One: Set the stage for growth.
Make a decision, [not a preference], to find and maximize your potential. Our potential is far greater than we can possibly imagine but relax. If you follow these steps, you’ll lose interest in mindless entertainment, [doom scrolling etc.] and be drawn to the field of pure potentiality.
The word decision comes from Latin, decisio. It means to cut yourself off from any other possibility. Make a decision now! Why not discover and manifest your full potential?
Building Block Two: Morning Ritual, Fueling the Mind and and Body.
The science of today has validated Emerson’s assertion that we do not determine our lives, our habits do. To that end, he utilized rituals to set in motion foundational habits.
The morning ritual is simple and will most likely involve what feels like a “sacrifice.” You are designing your day so remember the decision you made at Building Block One.
Hydrate and no noise. This is a quiet time. No smart phone, no email, no news. Design your morning around this ritual first before the noise of the world.
This involves making your coffee or whatever… and transitioning onto dedicated time for learning. Read [Emerson? His essays are short]… pick one book and master it.
I’d suggest The Science of Being Greatby Wattles. Once study is over, get some exercise. Mind and body. Take a walk, yoga, workout. Physical exercise is a catalyst for both mental and physical well-being.
Building Block Three: Mid-morning & Afternoon Ritual, Productivity and Focus
Manage your workday by keeping the main thing the main thing. In today’s world the noise is loud, and the distractions are innumerable. Focus makes or breaks everyone.
Forget about the to-do lists with 27 things on it. Trust the process. By eliminating multitasking, mastering laser focus and following these 5 rituals, the quality of your work will rise, the time to do it will shrink and your confidence and intuition will blossom.
When your workday is over, grab a piece of paper and answer these two questions.
ONE: What did I do right?
TWO: What can I improve?
Asking specifically this way puts you in a positive mindset and unleashes your now developing imagination. To do great things, think great thoughts.
Ralph Waldo Emerson by chiplanay on Pixabay
Your workday has one more step. Organize your work area, desk, clean it up. Plan out the next day of work and get everything you need to execute that plan together and in the order you need it. Setting smarter goals and growing personally is dependent on organized planning.
Building Block Four: Evening Ritual, Relaxation and Recharging
Needing mindless entertainment will dissipate in a few weeks. Once you begin to experience personal growth triggered by a healthy mindset, that mindless entertainment simply becomes boring and pointless. If you must get a little,fine. But set a limit and by 7:00, shut it down.
Close out your evening with some thinking about what you studied that morning. Think about how you can incorporate what you are studying into your life, your work and most importantly into your personal relationships.
Do some journalling. Even a page or two a day will pay massive dividends. You will quickly move from not knowing what to write about to getting ideas, thoughts and feelings about your life improving… your potential expanding.
This ritual of unplugging, reading, reflecting and writing most likely is going to be uncomfortable at first; yet within a month you’ll wonder why this isn’t taught in school. You will grow to love it.
Go to bed earlier and get up earlier so the “don’t have the time for this today” excuse does not leak in.
Building Block Five: The Ritual of The Chain, The Power of Consistency
Back to Building Block One and the word, decision. No matter what, don’t break the chain. One of the biggest “lies” is that it takes 21 days to establish a habit. It takes 60-70 if you are already in the habit of forming new habits… 90+ days if you are not practiced at deploying new habits.
The Nudge [for adults only]
As you read this, were you building the “time” excuse?
One life… if you don’t have the time to do it right, when do you think you’ll have the time to do it over?
Once you break away from the $51 billion self-help industry’s nonsense, personal growth generally happens exponentially. Self-help industry nonsense? We covered that conclusively, no quantifiable results, a few days ago…
Since the subconscious mind, [aka subby], runs the show, accounting for better than 95% of your decisions and the kicker, is that subby does not learn like the conscious mind. If, like me, you’ve read self-help books, listened to podcasts, maybe even bought a course, and still feel stuck, keep reading. You are not alone. Self-development skills are required for anyone to grow personally.
I used to struggle with negative thoughts and self-doubt, but then I discovered the power of daily mindset rituals. Until I unearthed two tiny discoveries, I was destined to “rinse and repeat.” Buy a self-help book, read some of it, get excited, read the rest faster… still stuck… another book, lots of knowledge, no change in my life…
I want to share the transformative techniques that helped me overcome those challenges and achieve personal growth beyond my wildest dreams… including manifesting the big dream of living on Kaua’i and facilitating the #MasterKeyExperience.
Personal Growth comes after self-development; discovery one. Discovery two? Personal growth is not possible without a healthy mindset.
5 Healthy Mindset Habits
If you are anything like me… if “inconveniences” annoy you… built more around instant gratification than patience… STOP. These five self-development skills for a healthy mind are the fastest way to personal growth and manifesting beyond your imagination.
Everybody knows repetition is the mother of skill. Making these self-development skills for a healthy mindset habits is mandatory if you desire to extinguish the “rinse and repeat self-help cycle and replace it with your full potential.
5 Self-development skills for a healthy mindset.
Self-development Skill Habit 1: Mindfulness and Gratitude
The importance of being present and focusing on the now, reducing stress and anxiety.
Daily gratitude practices: Journaling, meditation, or simply appreciating small things throughout the day.
KEY: Write 3 “gratitudes” daily on an index card. One gratitude per card. And don’t forget to write out “I am grateful for each one. No repeats. Once the easy ones are taken, you’ll become increasingly mindful.
Mindfulness and gratitude foster optimism and resilience.
Self-development Skill Habit 2: Self-Awareness and Self-Compassion
Become an observer of your thoughts… without judgment. Understanding your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors is the foundation of personal growth. Practicing self-compassion by treating yourself with kindness and acceptance, especially during difficult times.
Self-awareness and self-compassion help you overcome negativity and build confidence.
As Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living” and he added, “Know thyself.”
Self-development Skill Habit 3: Make and Keep Promises
While the importance of taking consistent action, no matter how small, to create progress and build momentum is crucial, most big dreams never materialize because we don’t follow through. Here, you want to develop the habit that all people with a healthy mindset have. They keep their promises… to everyone, including themselves.
Start really small and use these 2 phrases. I promise to, and I always keep my promises. And charge it with emotion. Example, “I promise to take out the trash, and I always keep my promises.” Say it loud, with excitement.
When you take out the trash, celebrate and repeat “I always keep my promises” and “I did it!”… nothing, in my 37 years of studying metaphysics and personal growth, has anything come close to this in terms of building confidence. After a couple of months, you can up the ante on the promises because you have trained subby!
Self-development Skill Habit 4: Growth Mindset and Learning
Embracing challenges as opportunities for growth and learning, rather than seeing them as threats. Continuously seeking new knowledge about your behavior and new experiences to expand your horizons and develop new skills. The power of learning from setbacks and failures as valuable stepping stones to success.
Reflect back to some tough times, and maybe filled with fear… I sure thought my existence was going to collapse multiple times. Yet, here you are, reading this because you know you have more in you. Notice your response to challenges, big and small, and remind yourself when experiencing them… “this to shall pass”… make it a mantra…traffic, argument with spouse, flat tire, short on rent… keep repeating “this to shall pass.”
Self-development Skill Habit 5: Connection and Support
The importance of building positive and supportive relationships with people who encourage your growth. Seeking out mentors, coaches, or support groups to provide guidance and accountability, and investing in your social connections and finding a sense of belonging, to enhance your well-being.
The #MasterKeyExperience provides all that and more… it begins in September, so make sure you are on our list. Even if you are, nothing will set up your mindset for personal growth like Emmit Fox’s 7 Day Mental Diet… grab it right here https://markjbooks.info
What is self-development? Good place to start since most people who recognize they need to improve, in general, do so after the shit hits the fan. Some label it as self-development while other call it personal growth… but it almost always gets triggered after we realize that stuff going on in our life is… drumroll… out fault.
We are no longer buying our blame game and we’re too exhausted to even try and bullshit ourselves any more about the conditions in our life being someone else’s fault. This is a glorious yet sublime moment. Until we take personal responsibility for EVERYTHING that is not working out, we are roadkill with no chance to experience personal growth.
When we add the natural tendency to improve in the areas, we are already good at, it complicates the dynamic. It is very common for a good cook or tennis player to work on what they are good at instead of attack their weaknesses yet it is improving our weaknesses that that the good cook or tennis player finds greatness… they transcend themselves and become great.
They same is even more challenging with self-development so we grow personally.
Most People Suck At Most Things
To further compromise our hopes for transformation, let’s face it, most people suck at most things, and everybody sucks at virtually everything we try the first few times that we have never done before.
The knee-jerk reaction to trying something new and failing? Go back to what we know and work to improve the things we are already good at… we figure we’ll get our confidence back and then go back and try the hard thing again. Which, of course, we never do. Death to the resolution of improvement, growth, and transformation.
Transformation
Transformation is really the “after,” so be careful with the pied pipers of prosperity who promise transformation if you will pay them for their “secrets.” As far back as the written word goes, transformation happens after we experience personal growth. And, not surprisingly, they all laid out the same simple formula.
Transformation is a byproduct of pain, work and growing to revel in uncertainty. The overall pain comes from knowing what all the enlightened ones have shared for centuries… from Buddha to The Carpenter to Socrates to Plato, Haanel, Emerson… the list goes on and on. The pain comes from facing the truth that our lives are a printout of our subconscious programming. That means, good and bad, it is on us, 100%.
See, within that pain… the pain of knowing I created the conditions in my life based on the decisions I made… which are made 6-9 seconds before I am conscious of them in “subby” [the subconscious]. The key word in that sentence of course is… created.
In last week’s post, we covered the Law of Environment. Without a healthy mindset, you cannot grow new healthy thoughts.
Understanding that you are the caretaker of the miraculous subconscious is critical. Your conscious mind is really the “guardsmen” at the gate.
The Steps to Self-Development
Look, I’m not going to tell you what to think, but I want to share with you what the Ancients taught is that you can think for yourself… once you take the first few steps, it is exhilarating.
Step 1- Take full responsibility for every circumstance in your life… the science now backs up what the Ancients knew all along. You are your decisions.
Step 2 – Embrace the Law of Environment and be a great caretaker of it. To do this, take the 7-day mental diet to clean up the mind from the genetic predisposition we all have and vow to treasure it.
Step 3 – Know that the subconscious mind does not learn like the conscious mind. Rather than study self-helpers, study and master how the human mind works. Since “subby” runs the show, you need to know how to influence “subby” … The Theta state of mind occurs in the first 7 years of our lives… but, a good but here… but… you are in theta when you are drifting off to sleep.
Step 4 – Make a recording on your phone of what you want to feel… happy, peace, love, … and use the words I am. Example? I am healthy… I am peace… I am free… and add, if you like, your desired success. Example: I am healthy I am a best selling author… I am love, I am a successful real estate salesperson. Repeat each one 3 times with 4-8 second intervals. Example… I am healthy… I am healthy… I am healthy best-selling author…. best-selling author… best-selling author. Make it about 20 minutes long. Instead of social media or reruns of Everybody love Raymond… plug in your earbuds and now, in the theta state, you are putting a self-development program in “subby”
Step 5 – Gratitude. Write 3 gratitude cards, [index] a day with no repeats. Things work out the best for the people who make the best of the way things work out. A grateful heart has no fear.
Step 6 – Sit in silence, absolutely still for 15 minutes. Notice your mind will race. Remember, everyone sucks at everything the first few times.
Some of this will be hard but not harder than what Thoreau shared… most people live lives of quiet desperation. Choose your hard. Once you’ve learned and applied these 6 steps, you’ll have a healthy mindset. A healthy mindset now take you from Self-development to personal growth… and, like the sun coming up in the east, transformation happens at a bewildering pace.
Is there a personal development mystery? Everybody knows that if we don’t improve personally, nothing else improves. Let me correct that. There is still, I am sure, a substantial group of people who are looking for some hack or change that they think will make everything wonderful. So I guess it would be more accurate to write, “almost everybody knows that with personal development, nothing improves.
You know how, when you were a kid and our whole lives were wrapped up in one thing? If we made the team or got a date with our “crush” person or lost 40 pounds, or the acne went away then everything would be perfect?
The mystery of personal development gets more baffling as the years roll on if you’re anything like I was. Eating about four to six self-help books a year… making notes, highlighting, making dream boards… we learn them yet, ut-oh, nothing changes. Ugggh
Yet we keep trying without knowing that the subconscious mind is running the show, predetermining better that 95% of our decisions. Drove me crazy. Vacillating between despair and optimism. Despair after really committing to what the latest book instructed and failing. Optimism because I believed what was on the jacket of the “next big breakthrough” book. Love, hate… ying, yang.
Of course, at the time, I was unaware that the subconscious was running the show. And, making matters worse, I had now developed, unconsciously, a bad habit. Buying more books.
MYSTERY SOLVED
My friend hands me a scroll by Og Mandino, scroll IV. Palm slap to forehead. Epiphany. Bells and whistles go off. Says, “Mother Nature always emerges victorious” and we can all agree on that. Says, “I am part of nature”… that was it! I never perceived myself as part of nature.
What happens in nature? What belongs in an environment always shows up and flourishes, what does not belong in an environment will perish. Polar bears and penguins don’t show up in the desert… and they would die if they did. Roses don’t show up in the artic. Again, almost instant death.
Stopped reading. Began thinking about Kaua’i, Hawaii. My big dream. Kaua’i is known as the Garden Isle and it really is. Highest rainfall on the planet, lush, constantly blooming fruits, veggies, flowers, trees… landscapers can’t keep up with it.
Here’s the thing… there was nothing here. A volcano that went dormant… 100,000s of years pass. Rain erodes a lot of the lava rock. Perfect weather for growth… nothing here. Greatest place to grow stuff… nothing here. How did all the plants get here? WWW… wind, water or wings. No matter. What belongs here shows up! And flourishes.
I had a brainstorm. The environment of my mind is not conducive to growth. Maybe the stuff I am putting into the mental environment was OK but it could not grow. Committed to improving the environment of my mind. Maybe I did not have a healthy mindset. Finally cracked the code by going to science books instead of self-help drivel.
Without a healthy environment of what one wants to grow, it simply will not grow… like our polar bears and roses. Here’s what I mean by cracking the code. We don’t experience personal development and then get a healthy mindset. Nope. Just the opposite… we get a healthy mindset then we can grow personally.
THE LAW OF ENVIRONMENT
The Law of Environment for the mind mirrors the fundamental principles of nature. Just as in the natural world, where the environment determines what thrives and what perishes, our mental environment dictates the thoughts, habits, and desires that flourish within us. When we cultivate a positive, nurturing mental space, the qualities and outcomes we aspire to will emerge and grow. By working on our mental environment, developing a healthy mindset, we can grow personally
Conversely, negativity, doubt, and destructive patterns tend to fade away, unable to survive in a healthy mental environment. In a nutshell, why self-help books that don’t give you exercises to deal with “subby” [your subconscious] never work… not just for you, for all of us.
Nature demonstrates that everything belongs in its rightful place; what is suited to an environment will flourish, while what does not fit will eventually perish. This universal truth applies equally to our minds. When we intentionally create a mental landscape that supports growth through thoughts, beliefs, and practices that align with our goals—success and fulfillment naturally follow. Our mental environment becomes a fertile ground where the seeds of our desires can sprout and flourish.
Recognizing that we are part of nature reinforces this understanding. As living beings within the natural world, we have the power to shape our mental environment. By nurturing positive thoughts and removing limiting beliefs, we set the stage for our true desires to manifest and grow. Just as nature always emerges victorious by adapting and thriving, you too can harness this law to cultivate a mind that attracts and sustains what your heart truly wants.
In conclusion, the Law of Environment for the mind emphasizes the importance of creating a mental atmosphere conducive to growth. By aligning my thoughts and beliefs with my aspirations, I ensure that only what serves my highest good will flourish, leading to a fulfilling and successful life.
Step One? “Subby” is like a field; it returns what we plant… 🪴 the big dream, new habits, etc. BUT… good stuff and certainly personal development won’t grow in poor environments. So Step One is to take the 7-Day Mental Diet and give it all you have. This will purge the “field” and then, Step Two, become a vigilant guard person of that now precious healthy mindset.
As we’ve covered in a previous post, we don’t grow personally and get a healthy mindset. It works just the opposite. Personal development skills are required to foster transformation. First, we get a healthy mindset and then we grow personally. With the onslaught of “quick fixes” and a “new life in 4 easy steps” type pitches, it is easy to be misled. That takes work.
THE HERO’S JOURNEY
The significance of the Hero’s Journey is something pop-psychologists and guru’s want to side-step because bumps, bruises and work is something the hero must go through to learn and master the personal development skills to succeed… to traverse the journey successfully. Want to guess why they don’t want to tell you?
Telling potential customers or clients that work is involved, hard mental labor, simply does not sell in cultures where the thirst for instant gratification and an abhorrence for inconvenience rule.
You wouldn’t be reading this far, [thank you], if you had not grown past the nonsense of entitlement, reward without work and change with no pain mentalities.
Joseph Campbell discovered and coined the phrase the Hero’s Journey. In studying myths spanning 4000 plus years, he found the same story, the hero’s journey, is in every story, play, book, movie and biblical parable, [Noah, Moses, Gideon, Job, Jonah, etc.].
A person, like you or me, has a life we know…and we get the call to adventure. Generally, the Hero at first refuses the call as it requires stepping from the life we know into the unknown or in other words personal development skills.
SUPER NATURAL AID
For the record, both Star Wars and The Matrix are not movies but, in fact, documentaries of Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. We see Neo and Skywalker both initially “refuse” the call to adventure, a common motif that Campbell discovered… fear of the unknown gets displaced by a bigger fear or change.
It is at this point, when the hero, [not a hero yet], crosses the threshold and steps into the unknown. When this happens, mentors and helpers appear, the universe supporting the quest of the hero.
In the Matrix, Morpheus played both helper and mentor. Skywalker had Yoda and Obi Wan… and both Neo and Skywalker went through trails, temptations and, with help and some beatings, learned and mastered the skills needed for the bigger tests.
These are obviously metaphors for personal development skills. As they improved their skills and awareness, their confidence grew.
ANSWERING THE CALL?
Again, thanks for reading this far. Let’s get to the top four personal development skills so you can be a bit more willing to forget the world’s ideas of success, happiness, and the incredible gravity of the majority. These four must be there to carve a new reality. Takes courage to plunge into a new reality…
ONE: Courage. The personal development skill here is understanding no one gets courage and does the thing they fear. Nope. Sorry, it’s unfair but it just does work that way. We do the thing we fear, pause, realize we took action in the face of fear and … tada… courage grows a bit.
TWO: Insight. Morpheus, Yoda and Obi Wan provided insight, wisdom if you prefer. The skill we need to develop here is open-mindedness. Most people never realize internally that for things to change, we need to change. Without developing non-judgmental open-mindedness, we cannot receive insight.
THREE: Being the observer of our own reality. Since the subconscious mind makes a minimum of 95% of our decisions and operates below our consciousness, we really aren’t aware of what we are thinking. Our life is a printout of our thoughts. Being the observer is a skill, so we can identify self-sabotaging behavior. We can’t fix what we cannot see… being the observer is a huge personal development skill.
FOUR: Distinguishing fear and faith and knowing what the one thing they have in common is.
Love to know your thoughts, leave me a comment below…
