The Investor Type
Strategic Lifestyle…
Discover the process of achieving ultimate time and money freedom…
Click the cards below to see what each Phase of the Investor Lifestyle entails. You’ll see where you are on this journey and how to get from here to there. Watch for follow-up emails with even more information to guide you…
Phase 1: Easy Do-It-For-You…
Turning Money Into More Time for You
Peaceful Heart Meadow
Acceptance
Overview
Our ego-minds spend a great deal of time trying to keep us safe—sometimes in ways that, on close inspection, may seem quite dysfunctional. We often find ourselves trying to make sense of our circumstances by putting our own spin on things—that is, we analyze, explain, justify, or interpret our situations without really making any effort to accept them as they are. In other words, we unconsciously tend to reject what is in favor of our own story or thinking about what is.
In Peaceful Heart Meadow, we begin to learn about the first Key Skill: Acceptance. As we become more aware of what is, our first priority is to accept it as it is. That is, we suspend our judgments, conclusions or stories about it, so that we can grok it more clearly for what it really is—rather than for what we think it is.
Acceptance is not about agreeing with anything; it’s not about condoning anything; it’s not about believing in anything. All of those actions—agreeing, condoning, believing—require you to analyze, explain, justify or interpret what is, which puts you back into your ego-mind, and disconnects you from your innate ability to accept. Acceptance is simply about being fully aware of what is and acknowledging it as such—in other words, Acceptance is Awareness without Story. If you get out of your head and into your heart, you engage your natural power to accept what is. Once you have accepted it for what it really is, then and only then can you actually do something about it.
Situation
You are in the center of a confluence of events and circumstances that will lead to a situation you will find intolerable or unacceptable. Your unconscious reaction to this situation will put you in a place of powerful resistance to what is happening, and your resistance will in turn complicate the situation and exacerbate your own discomfort and upset. If you are not careful, this may lead to additional hardship or heartbreak for you.
Recommendation
You may not be able to change or stop whatever circumstances are coming your way, but you can certainly prepare yourself so that you are able to deal with them from a place of calm equanimity. The way to do this is to practice Acceptance for situations that are relatively easy to accept; then, as you gain confidence in your ability, you will find that bringing the same level of Acceptance to more challenging situations will become easier.
For a situation which has not yet come into being, it may be difficult for you to cultivate an accepting attitude in advance. However, you can use the Future Presence process to help you:
- Use your imagination to create a challenging but realistic scenario that has a reasonably high likelihood of coming to pass in your life. Put this scenario somewhere into your future, and imagine that it is something that is certain to happen.
- In your mind travel forward to a time a few days following the event in question, and begin to imagine that you dealt with the situation with complete success, because you were able to fully accept it as it was.
- In your mind, conduct a short interview with your future self. Ask him/her the following questions:
- How did you stay fully present and aware during this difficult time?
- When you found yourself resisting the situation, how did you bring yourself back to a place of Acceptance?
- What difference did your Acceptance make in your handling of the situation?
- What were you thinking as the situation progressed?
- What were you feeling?
- How do you feel now that the situation has passed?
- Take note of all the answers that you get, and bring your new understanding back to the present moment.
Recognize and understand that you have the capability to accept any situation for what it is, no matter how challenging it might appear to be. You can use this new understanding to prepare you more fully for what is yet to come.
For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).
Phase 2: Easy Do-It-Yourself
Spending Little Time While Making Lots More Money…
Karma Crossroads
Choice
Overview
One thing that we all have available to us in every moment is Choice. It may not always seem that way, though.
Sometimes, some of the alternatives available to us may be completely unacceptable for any number of reasons, so it may seem that there is only one viable option, even if that last remaining option is distasteful—in which case, it is usually the least of all evils. When this happens, we may think that we really have no choice at all—or that we are forced into something we didn’t really want.
In other circumstances, we may be making our choices unconsciously. In this case, we may be operating on “auto-pilot”, making decisions without even being aware. The problem here is that, when we aren’t aware of our choices, then we are certainly not aware of their impact, and we may not realize how our actions are affecting the world around us.
In Karma Crossroads, we look at the concept of Choice in a new way, and we learn how to make our choices both consciously and responsibly.
Situation
Lately, you have been making a lot of your choices unconsciously, and you are now becoming aware of some of the unintended consequences of those choices. Some of the people around you are beginning to express displeasure or even upset because of your words or actions. Some of them may even be describing pain in their relationship with you. And now, you are beginning to feel internal guilt or shame because of the current situation, and the voice inside your head may be berating you for some of these choices, with words like:
- How could you be so bone-headed as to make a decision like that?
- What on earth were you thinking? You should have known this would happen.
In addition, you are feeling significant emotional pain of your own right now, worrying that you may not be able to make things right.
Recommendation
The first thing you must realize is that you cannot respond to anything anyone is saying to you from a place of knee-jerk reaction. The easiest way to deal with people who are upset with you right now is simply to say to them: I’m sorry to hear that you are upset, and I thank you for your feedback. I am not in a space to respond right now, but I will consider what you’ve said and get back to you later today. Then, find yourself a safe and quiet space where you can do some gentle and loving introspection.
As with all Life Mastery processes, begin by getting yourself into a relaxing position and take some slow deep breaths to help raise your awareness. Notice what is going on around you and within you and allow yourself to observe everything without judgment or interpretation.
As your level of relaxation and awareness increase, do a time scan over the recent past to observe the choices you have made. Pay close attention to the energy you had when you made those choices. Were you under some kind of pressure that led you to choose without putting your full attention and intention into those choices? Or were you simply operating on “auto-pilot”? Whatever the case, simply observe without judgment or interpretation.
As you become aware of all of the choices you made without due consideration of possible consequences, forgive yourself for slipping into unconsciousness, and make a personal commitment to bring consciousness and intention into all of your choices going forward.
After you have completed this introspection, you can take a few more deep breaths, and honor yourself for doing the work necessary to take responsible stock of all of the choices you have made.
When you are ready, return to the people who have confronted you and take full ownership of the choices you made and why you made them. If necessary, apologize for any unintended consequences you may have created, and commit to those people your intention to choose more consciously in the future.
For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).
Phase 3: Passive Income All Day Long
Multiple Passive Income Streams and Money Freedom…
River of Grace
Flow
Overview
When we come into the physical world, we arrive in a state of sacred flow. We are excited and happy to be in our new surroundings, full of curiosity, and eager to venture onto the path of our adventures. We aren’t troubled by the past or worried about the future; we are simply present in the here-and-now, full of wonder for whatever shows up next.
But soon enough, life happens, and we find ourselves bound and restricted by ever more complicated rules and guidelines and demands. Soon enough, the sacred flow is nowhere to be found, and life becomes more of a struggle and challenge than an adventure.
When we visit River of Grace, we are gently and lovingly reminded of the natural state we arrived in. Here, we learn about Flow—the idea of presence in action—and how we can reclaim it and maintain it in our everyday life.
Situation
You have been experiencing a sense of disorientation or confusion lately because you are disconnected from your grounded center. You may be experiencing sadness or anger about something that happened in your past, or you may be experiencing fear about something that you expect to happen in the future. Whatever the case, you are having a great deal of difficulty staying present in the here-and-now, which means that you are unable to focus for any length of time on important items on your current to-do list. This is having negative consequences in all areas of your life, but is probably showing up most intensely in your relationships with loved ones, and slightly less intensely in your decision making abilities.
Recommendation
To regain your sense of presence in action, begin by bringing your full attention to your emotional state. Find a quiet place to sit and relax, and take several deep, slow, cleansing breaths.
As you feel your awareness and presence begin to increase, bring your focus internally to what you are feeling. If you have been obsessing over something from your past, then you will likely be feeling sadness relating to some kind of loss, or anger due to a boundary violation or failing to get something you really wanted. If you have been worrying about something in your future, then you are likely feeling fear about what you imagine may be coming your way. Without judging, simply observe your feelings, and where and how they are manifesting in your body.
Once you have identified your feelings, give yourself unconditional permission to feel them. Open yourself up, so that the emotional energy can simply flow through you and out of you. Some of the this energy may be uncomfortable or painful, but if you allow it to pass through you, the pain and/or discomfort will dissipate relatively quickly.
When the unpleasant energy diminishes to a low enough level, consciously and intentionally invite in warm, healing, loving energy to replace it. Allow this new feeling to fill your entire body, beginning at your belly and emanating to your extremities. Notice a sense of aliveness and presence growing more and more powerful within you.
Anchor this new feeling in your body and remind yourself that you can reconnect to it any time you want to—no matter what might be going on in your life. Take this Flow back into your life, and enjoy the reconnection to your natural state. Let this feeling inform all your thoughts, words, actions and emotions going forward.
For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).