In graphic detail, the writer reported on how the once highly-upmarket residential developments are now pockmarked with half-built shells, abandoned construction equipment and dusty weeded-over empty lots.    The writer described how a once wealthy construction business owner, who had owned three houses at the height of the boom, was now living in a homeless shelter.

It’s not the first article of its kind that I have read over the last few months.   Indeed, news websites have been chronicling ordinary people’s hardships in gory detail for months on end.   It seems, as always, bad news makes a good story.   By comparison, feel good stories are few and far between – how people are rising above their economic woes is almost invisible in the media.   What kind of sick minds repeatedly want us to consume disturbing information about real people’s problems?    You may find that question a little “in your face” but the problem is, from a long-term study of the way society works, constantly feeding us bad news exerts a measure of control on us – in consuming constant negative reportage, we subliminally self-satisfy ourselves that we are OK – we’re “not too bad” – so there’s no point in trying to rise above that normal level of “not-too-bad” – we could be worse off.

I don’t say this as some kind of throwaway remark – psychological research over the last hundred years has explored, in depth, the extent to which societal norms make normal people of us.   Indeed, when asking the question as to the kind of sick minds that wish to constantly feed us negative news, the question might be more appropriately put – what kind of sick minds constantly want to feed off other people’s bad news?   What kind of people take delight in reading the dirty gossip on those in the public eye?   What kind of sick minds watch the “reality” TV shows about road rage, neighbours from hell...?  I could go on and on

The answer to all those questions is simply “Normal People”.   Normal people are simply those that abide by the norms of society.   You might think that this is a good thing – surely otherwise we’d have chaos and anarchy.   But it is a bad thing.    A few scientific facts will allow me elaborate.  Normal people use almost none of their mental capacity – it is estimated, in fact, that normal people only use 1% of their mental capability.   Normal people only perceive what they expect to perceive.   Given that they are constantly fed negative news and how other normal people are living, their field of perception is constrained to a very narrow focus – one where nothing spectacular will ever happen in their lives.   Normal people behave and react automatically, based on their internal conditioning, which was “programmed” into their subconscious, during their formative years, by their immediate circle – parents, peers, teachers, etc – and by society in general.  In other words, we have been normalised right from the word go – when we were young and impressionable.

This is normality – this is the mass market for negative news.   That negative news reinforces the perception that “I could be worse and not too bad is good enough!”   It’s  not.   Why live the life of an automaton – where your actions and beliefs bear the horrible sameness of everyone else?  Where your actions are driven by a subconscious mind which is focused in your formative years, living out a life that is full of self-fulfilling prophecies based on the beliefs that were foisted upon you when you couldn’t make your mind up for yourself?   Why choose that kind of life – why choose not to be spectacularly happy and successful?  Because you have a choice.

As a grown adult, you can either take responsibility for your own state of mind or you can stay normal.  You can decide to tear your inner mind’s attention away from your formative programming – the result will be that you will stop reacting like all normal people and you will start acting.   Your actions will be based on what you feel is best for you – and, believe you me, from having worked with hundreds of clients over the last fourteen years, best for you bears no comparison to the normal not too bad.   This means that you can start having an abnormally successful and happy life – like all abnormally successful people, some of whom are so abnormally successful that we all know their names.   Why?   They stand out from the crowd.

You, too, can stand out from the crowd.  You, too, can achieve extraordinary success – in your business or career, in sports, in your personal life, financially and in real relationships.   All you have to do is use more than 1% of your mental capacity.   As I already said, tear your mind’s attention away from the past – into the present.  Yes, it’s that simple.   Train your mind to pay more than 1% attention to the present moment and you gain control of the type of mental power that my clients describe as “life-changing”.   Pay attention to the present moment using your five senses – every morning, before you start your day, take five to fifteen minutes to see, feel, hear, smell and taste where you are – you will, sooner or later, smell the sweet smell of success.