Lou Tice

Where are the limits of human potential? Where are the limits of your own personal potential? These are questions that have fascinated us for centuries, and we won't settle them here today. But, let's stretch our thinking a bit.

Imagine a one-legged man climbing a tall mountain. Imagine a blind sculptor. Imagine a deaf composer. All are flesh and blood, and have walked this Earth. Imagine huge, incredibly heavy machines flying through the air like birds, carrying people inside of them. Once unimaginable - now a commonplace thing. 

Think of ordinary men and women walking across red-hot coals without harm.… >>>

One of the things that I talk about a great deal in my work at The Pacific Institute is the power of affirmations.

You know, some communication systems, like those used by the armed forces, use the word "affirmative" instead of "yes." And that is what an affirmation is: saying "yes" to something. In a formal debate, the side that upholds the truth of the proposition is called the "affirmative side." So when you make an affirmation, you are saying, "Yes, I believe in the truth of this."

Affirmations, combined with visualizations or mental images, are a highly effective way… >>>

If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?

There are two very important things you have to know if you want to plan a journey. You have to know where you are, and you have to know exactly where you want to go. Once you know these two things, the rest becomes simple. You make a plan, which might be a map or a strategy, and you follow your plan.

Going through life without setting clear goals is a little like starting out on a trip with no idea where you intend… >>>

What is the difference between being yourself and being your "best" self?

Some time ago, a young woman came up to me and asked an important question. She said,

"Everyone is always telling me to just be myself," she said. "But I can be so many different 'me's.'  How do I know which self is the best way to be?"

You know, she is right. All of us have many possible selves. Some aspects of our personalities are active and obvious, and these aspects we call current reality, or who we are right now. But there are many other possibilities,… >>>

Today I am going to tell you an easy and reliable way to predict the future. Now I know, at least since last weekend, there have been a lot of people trying to predict the future - it is an election year in the States - but I have a method that is far more reliable than the pundits.

If you want to predict the future, if you want to know what is in store for you, take a look at your thoughts. What do you think about? What do you dwell on and picture? What do you expect and… >>>

OK, so we've now spent several days becoming aware of the negatives in our thoughts. Are you having trouble getting some of those negative thoughts to go away?

No one, not even the most optimistic person in the world, can think positively all the time. But successful people know how to get rid of their negative thoughts fast when they do appear.

Here's a great technique that originated with Matt Oechsli, a therapeutic hypnotist:

First, identify the thought that is bothering you. Most likely, it is a fear of something. Is it failure? Rejection? Incompetence? Could it be illness or… >>>

So, how did you do in your 24 hours of "no negative thinking?" I know, it was a looooong evening, but I'll bet you did well. Today, I want to continue talking about trying to break negative thinking addiction.

We have been talking about the fact that negative thinking can be a harmful addiction, and about how to raise our awareness of the amount of negative thinking we do by learning to pay attention without blaming ourselves.

Today, I want to take it one step further and talk about what you can do to break this destructive habit, once you… >>>

Do you know anyone who is addicted to negative thoughts? Perhaps it's someone closer than you thought.     

I am not an expert on addictions, but I've been told that an addiction is behavior that is usually harmful and that controls you, rather than the other way around. Can negative thinking be an addiction? You bet it can. Can it harm you? It sure can. How can you tell if your negative thoughts are out of control? Well, the first step is awareness.

Let's make today your Day of Awareness. As an experiment, here is something you can try, something I… >>>

Do you ever have trouble motivating other people? Maybe I can help you figure out why that happens.

Here's a tip that may help you change your tactics and experience greater success. The first thing you need to do is understand and accept that you can't motivate someone else. You see, people don't motivate other people.  

There is one thing that can motivate someone, and that is an idea. A book doesn't motivate, but the ideas in it certainly can. Money doesn't motivate either. It's the idea of what you can do with the money that is a motivating force… >>>

What can you do when you want to improve your marriage or close relationship, but your significant other seems to be content with the way things are?

Marriage or other close relationships offer us unique opportunities to grow.  Sometimes, though, conflict arises when partners in romantic relationships have different visions of what the relationship should be like and different ideas about the direction it should take.

If you think your close relationship could use some work but your partner doesn't, what do you do? Well, for starters, you don't start blaming them for disagreeing with you and don't assume that… >>>