Ultimate Days Masterclass

Opportunity is everywhere

You see so much opportunity left on the table.

Last week I spoke to a leader of a tech company.

Her industry is on fire.

Growing faster than ever.

It’s her time to seize this opportunity.

Yet she’s holding herself back from going for it.

It was clear why.

She’s afraid

Afraid of getting it wrong.

Scared that if she pushes for what she wants she’ll be perceived as “too ambitious.”

Hahahahahaha.

Can you believe that?

I literally laughed out loud when she said it.

“Too ambitious?”

These are the sorts of fears you can have these days.

It’s such a beta time.

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Shining “Above the clouds”

Close friends had Wu-Tang Clan perform at their wedding.

50 Cent and Busta Rhymes too.

Hahahahaha, ridiculous.

You can’t make this stuff up.

They crushed it and then we had a magical time hanging out all night in the suite.

“Above the clouds”

You might know Wu-Tang has a track called “Above the Clouds.”

I’ll always remember the energy of Inspectah Deck standing next to me pumping the opening verse—

I-Self-Lord-And-Master shall bring disaster to evil factors

Demonic chapters shall be captured by Kings

Through the storms of days after

Unto the Earth from the Sun through triple darkness to blast ya

With a force that can’t be compared

To any firepower, for it’s mind power shared.

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Definition of insanity

A client joked that the definition of insanity is repeating that quote falsely attributed to Einstein expecting to get a laugh.

Hahahaha.

That’s the quote, isn’t it?

Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.

If that’s insanity, welcome to the mad house.

Mad house

I struggle to talk about the state of the world.

It’s like we’ve been locked in our homes for years and now we’re in another war, and most people seem to talk about it like this is “normal.”

Constantly in wars, conflict, tyranny, famine, poverty, scarcity, inequality, violence, bouncing from one crisis to another?

Is this how it’s meant to be?

Some people suggest that it is.

Our social programming is that over time we expect the world to get better, more sane, more equal, more free, more rich, more happy, etc.

The fact that we’re constantly in crisis is brushed off as the trials and tribulations of an evolving species.

But perhaps the definition of insanity is failing to see that our world is EXACTLY how it’s engineered to be.

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A key to living your most heavenly life, right now

Life is like looking out the window.

From inside you can see what’s going on out there.

But you don’t live ‘out there.’

The eyes merely show you what’s outside of you.

You live inside.

“You live in your mind”

A client said to me this week.

In all truth, I learn as much from clients as they learn from me.

We’re all lucky that way; a ‘collective of hidden knowledge’ one says.

His point is that life is a mental game.

It’s like the phrase you learn as a kid—

Sticks and stones can break your bones but names can never hurt me.

What’s happening out there only becomes YOUR life when you let it inside.

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Fired up for the new year?

How you doing?

How are you feeling about the new year?

Would you say you’re fired up or is there another energy you’re “projecting” into the year?

Obviously now is a time when fired up isn’t the dominant feeling for most people.

But it’s crucial to see you can at least choose.

“Let’s hope it’s better”

I politely walked away after he said that.

It was a holiday party when this older fellow started talking to me about the miserable things that happened this year.

Most the time I help people out of their miserable minds but in this case I chose to protect my own.

It can take tremendous effort to avoid being overcome by the stench of manure when you’re visiting a farm, and the same is true with people bathing in miserable energy.

Walking over to a buddy just 10 feet away was like stepping inside a greenhouse.

It was sunny and warm, he’s happy, excited, talking about how hard the year was but how much he, his team, and his family made the most of it, and are fired up for next year.

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Do we “live” in a simulation?

You hear this question plenty and different opinions on it.

But I bet you haven’t heard the TRUTH I’m sharing with you here.

On this day of the premiere of The Matrix Resurrections I’m revealing to you the most important truth that I’ve discovered over nearly 22 years researching this topic.

When you fully grok this knowledge, everything in your life transforms, FAST.

Why?

Because until you REALLY get this you’ll never be free.

You’ll never be free to think and feel how you want, nor take the actions you decide, at will.

How many people are?

How many people think and feel how they want just by choosing it?

How many people can get themselves to do the things they want, especially when they DON’T “want” to do them?

Said differently, are you in control of your mind and actions?

Or are you being controlled?

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The quality of your mind governs the quality of your life

Limitless Mind Gratitude is an important practice, right?

You know this because you’re often told it!

But why?

Why is it important to be grateful?

This seems obvious, doesn’t it?

You “should” feel grateful for what you have.

And certainly you want to feel the best you can about your life today.

But, REALLY, why are practices like gratitude so powerful?

The mind governs your life

See, this is the heart of the GREATEST mystery I’ve discovered in life.

It’s the mystery of mysteries that the ancients talked about.

But it’s a long way from where I began this work.

Back then it was all about—

How do you get what you want?

And come on, of course that’s a GREAT topic, right?

Who doesn’t want to live your absolute best life??

The problem is what was implied in my old definition—

You need your best life to feel your best!

But some tens of thousands of hours researching these topics taught me a new definition of “best life.”

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April Fool’s is no jokes, but remember to have a laugh

I wondered what we might wake up to on this April Fool’s Day.

Like maybe all this has been a practical joke.

Perhaps some great truth would be revealed.

Hahahahaha, we’d all try to have a good laugh.

And then keep getting on with our lives.

Unfortunately not.

Still a heavy time

The energy is heavy right now.

So heavy that no-one could expect to even crack an April Fool’s joke and get away with it.

You might even be dragged through the public square by the social enforcers.

But we also know this time hasn’t been ALL bad, has it?

Families have spent more time together.

Certainly some parts of the economy and financial assets have been on a tear.

Some people’s businesses are better than ever.

Still, it’s hardly a time for anyone to be celebrating.

But we can still be…

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This one thing is what we all REALLY want

Ultimate Days

You know something strange I’ve discovered?

It’s that we’re NEVER really seeking what we think we want.

Not saying you don’t actually want it.

I’m saying that behind that “thing” is MERELY a feeling.

That’s what you want.

The feeling.

The experience you get from this thing that you “think” you want.

You know the problem?

The feeling is fleeting.

We all know this, don’t we?

You dream of getting that house or job or partner or money or whatever…

And then you get it!

Yippee!!!

You feel this way for, how long?

Honestly??

How long do you get this BUZZ from this thing you so much wanted?

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3 steps from stuck to keep moving forward

System For Winning

It can feel hard when you’re stuck, can’t it?

And stuck can mean a lot of things.

Sometimes you can feel stuck in a way that’s temporary.

Say, at a time in your career or life you’ve just gotta work through.

But other times you’ve gotta make a leap.

Maybe that’s a defensive leap because you don’t see things playing out as you planned.

Or my favorite, offensively leaping to what you TRULY want.

Either way it can feel hard, when you want it to feel natural, like you’re just taking steps.

Or leaps!

“I’m seeing the next level,” said a client.

Now I will say, for decades all he’s done is keep reaching the next level!!

And he’s very good at it.

Over this time he’s made a number of HUGE career leaps.

Changing jobs at his firm.

Moving geographies.

Strategically leaping to different firms to skip a couple of rungs on the ladder.

Doing this he’s catapulted himself to near the top of a huge business.

And now he’s looking at two different leaps from here.

They’re both awesome.

But this too is where OPPORTUNITY can turn to stuck!!

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Hitting peak velocity

Ultimate Days You may have never jumped from a plane but you know the notion of terminal velocity.

This is the maximum velocity achievable by an object as it falls through fluid.

Or in the case of jumping from a plane, your maximum velocity as you punch through air hurtling toward the ground!

For this reason, I avoid the word “terminal.” 🙂

And use “Peak” velocity instead.

Peak velocity in your goals

You see this theme of velocity everywhere in my work.

Words like driving, momentum, flow, they all connote movement.

At the most fundamental level, that’s the opposite of being stuck!

When you don’t know what to do or you find yourself in the same old cycle, there’s zero momentum at all.

And what I learned early in my work is the power of getting moving.

Even if you don’t know where you’re headed, just building momentum is the crucial step to becoming that rolling stone gathering no moss as it rolls down the hill.

Peak velocity is the extreme.

It’s the maximum velocity you can build in driving forward your goals.

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For focusing on what matters, choose YOUR reality bubble

Focus Tools “You’re in a reality bubble,” she said.

Thinking it was an insult.

I took it as fact.

It was right after I told her I never pay attention to that stuff.

You know the things you’re “supposed” to pay attention to.

How some celebrity did this.

Lunatic did that.

Politician said…

Whatever, whatever

A question I keep hearing these days is—

With all that’s going on, how do you stay focused?

And it’s not just focus…

But how do you stay “optimistically” focused?

The best answer I have is—

Keep your attention on what you control.

I know that’s overly simplistic.

And I get some people see that as “narrow” minded.

Yet it also reflects the tale of two peoples you see right now.

Many people feeling stuck, are getting even more stuck in noise and distraction.

When everyone I’m close to is laser focused driving forward goals.

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1 thing for best starting your day, without getting lost in the “mourning” routine

Ultimate Days

How you start is often how you continue.

You certainly know the notion of waking up on the WRONG side of the bed.

And how much that can lead to the wrong side of the day.

But how much do you experiment with starting your day right?

Personally, I want methods to get my day ultimate no matter how you wake up.

And irrespective of how you wake, to use this CRUCIAL time for building incredible momentum for your day.

Many days ruined

In my last job I RUINED many days.

Waking up with someone I loved, like an actor on cue, my brain would start ruining the day.

Ugh, don’t feel like going to work today.

If only this wasn’t that.

Or whatever wasn’t whatever. 🙂

I laugh at it now because it’s just so obvious to me how I was waking up and letting that brain ruin the day.

But FACT IS, I hurt years of my life that way.

Now I see clearly, no matter what you’re doing, you’re doing it anyways, so you might as well find a way to love the one you’re with.

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Why can your “inner” thoughts be so different to your “outer” life?

Have you wondered why someone can have so much and still feel lack?

Why an attractive man or woman can feel ugly?

A rich person can feel financially insecure?

Someone who’s achieved enormously can fail to feel like they’ve “made it?”

I’m betting like me you know plenty of these people.

Maybe you are one of them?

I used to be.

What’s going on here?

You know we have that phrase of “inner thoughts.”

There’s nothing “inner” about it.

That’s who you are!

It’s your ENTIRE experience of life.

You know that person on the outside?

That’s who you choose to be.

I don’t have to point out to you that most of your life…

In fact, perhaps nearly all of your life, who you’re being outside can be different to inside.

The person you’re “playing” might not be how you feel.

Things that you say to people are edited.

You’re rarely, basically never, sharing your inner thoughts.

But package them in a way that you’re comfortable saying and others are comfortable hearing.

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Upgrade YOU 3.3. 74 times a day we do this, and it massively holds you back

On average we check email 74 times a day.

When you look at that number, what does it make you think?

Is it high to you?

About right?

Low?

Because in a 16 hour day, this means ONLY checking email every 12 minutes.

Ding, ding human…

Does the story of Ivan Pavlov ring a bell?

You might be familiar with how he conditioned his dogs to salivate at the sound of a ringing bell.

But do you know why this works so well?

And how it works exactly the same in you and me?

Of course you do!

Because you might be doing it all the time too.

Jumping to a dinging phone, responding to notifications, half the day working for your device, rather than it working for you.

It costs you a ton of time and effectiveness.

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Upgrade YOU 3.3. Keep riding the bull

A private equity founder shared this story from a portfolio company CEO.

Now, this client is an entrepreneur.

A founder. Builder.

He’s been surrounded by top business builders all his life.

And this idea is from one of them.

A guy with a special and meaningful story.

Who sold the business he founded in his kitchen for nearly a billion dollars.

“From the outside…”

He says, “Building a business is like riding a bull.”

Someone watching might be dazzled.

The way they ride that bucking animal can look magical.

Even effortless, as they flow with the movement.

“Yet to the bull rider,” he says, “You don’t have a choice.”

You’re strapped onto this thing!

Whether you’re gonna get thrown or ride to victory, you’re hanging on for dear life.

Failing means major disappointment.

And also potentially being impaled!

So you keep riding.

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Upgrade YOU 3.3. The myth of using 10% of your brain—SOLVED

If it’s popular culture, it’s likely wrong.

Just like this notion that you only use 10% of your brain.

It sounds all fancy.

And plenty of fiction, such as movies like Limitless and Lucy, is based on unlocking the remaining 90%.

But what does it mean?

You can trace the myth back to…

Articles suggest it comes from this vague quote by the father of modern psychology, William James—

Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are damped, our drafts are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.

So you see, there’s apparently little to it.

Yet, directionally, it’s certainly true we only use a fraction of our potential.

Whether that’s 10% or not, who cares?

Let’s talk about what it means.

Or, at least, in my view, a valuable interpretation!

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This may be helpful tonight if you’re roaring ahead this week…

You may be chilling.

But if you’re roaring into the new year, this might be helpful for you.

It’s been a focus for me and I’ve had a number of conversations with clients on it this week.

One thing you see with us ambitious types is the start of the year can feel a little overwhelming, can’t it?

Even after last year proved you can never simulate the future, that’s what your brain is built to do.

You think and perform worse

When your brain is simulating on ALL those things in the future, you perform worse now.

And even worse, with all of those more things you must get done…

No matter how much you accomplish today you can feel like there’s always more to do.

It’s a lose-lose when you can so easily make it a win-win.

Whether you’re fired up or overwhelmed, take what is massive and shrink it down.

Stop that brain simulating all those big things you’re doing this year.

Simply keep bringing your focus back to the smallest things you’re doing this week building momentum in your year.

Just small steps this week.

Then next.

And the next.

Over and over again crushing each day.

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New year, new YOU!

Hi there,

How you doing?

Hope you had a great new year and are roaring for 2021!

Certainly, none of us know where this year is headed.

Who could even pretend to guess the future based on what last year taught us all?

But we all do know one thing…

Focus on what you control

From about April on last year, this was so crucial to making last year one of my best.

The same is true with every client.

All of my work comes back to focusing on what you can influence.

And last year was a powerful reminder that’s basically nothing!

Zero ability to influence the health of the world.

Zero control over the decisions that govern you.

Heck, you have zero influence on your stomach digesting food or heart beating, let alone anything in our world.

Of course last year threw you a curve ball.

And who knows, this year could be the worst or greatest of all.

But what you do know, with absolute certainty is, nearly everything that impacts your life, you have zero control.

Absolutely zero.

None.

Nothing.

Nada.

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Why do New Year’s Resolutions REALLY fail?

This week surely lots of resolutions will be made.

Few broken resolutions will be reflected upon.

Too few resolutions will be any more than resolutions.

80% will be dust by mid-February.

Do you know why resolutions REALLY fail?

I mean, REALLY?

It’s not that we are weak or lazy or undisciplined.

The problem is the word “Resolution.”

In some way it has come to have a different meaning to a “real” goal.

Ultimately, it’s a type of goal that is socially acceptable to quit and fail at.

So we’re never really committed to begin with.

I write 3 more reasons why in this post and discuss a little in this short one minute video.

Not meaning to send you off the page here, but I’m keeping it short.

In past years I’ve written longer on why New Year’s Resolutions are stupid, and this video on why they’re still stupid.

But this year I’m making a resolution of my own. 🙂

And I’m starting early.

I, Geoff Blades, do solemnly resolve…

To ramble a whole lot less!

I haven’t put a word limit on it yet, but I can’t imagine writing any longer letters to you in 2021.

Less words more impact is my phrase.

And my target is one to two-thirds less words in every conversation, and the same in writing and videos.

That’s a reason I’m keeping this tight.

btw, not saying resolutions are entirely stupid.

Just that if you are making resolutions, why not go all the way to setting real goals you’re resolved to achieving?

If you want to go deeper into doing this I’d suggest these videos from Upgrade YOU:

Why Goals
What Goals
How to Condition Your Goals (so they’re not just resolutions but drilled into your brain)