Tools that are at disposal.  Tell your story brotha!

It's that gut feeling; that instinct that makes you squint your eyes ever so slightly and stare, leaning your head faintly to the right.

 You're not so sure about that person, are you? You're not certain he's telling you the truth.  There's something more that she's not saying.

 You watch him.  You notice whether he looks away when he's making a point, or whether she holds her chin because she's uncomfortable with her words. They want your buy-in.  Your decision?  You'll wait and see.

 Trust is a powerful emotion.

 Think about how well you trust the people who surround you most: your co-workers, your boss, your partner, your family. Are they clear about what's right and what's wrong and take the high road  or are they comfortable with deceit, no matter how small?

Do they take responsibility for their decisions and actions, or do they deflect and point fingers at others?

 Do they act as though they care? For whom?  Others or themselves?

 Can you count on them - and do you? Would you be willing to take a big risk with them as your back-up?

 Trust determines how much you'll invest, doesn't it? It governs whether you'll embrace them or hold them off;  whether you'll be transparent or keep your secrets; whether you're even willing to show them what you have to offer.

 It's sobering to think about. Giving them your trust is not to be taken lightly. It's a very big deal.

 Now.  Ponder this: You co-workers, your boss, your partner and your family are also reading this message now and thinking about you. How will you rate?  Have you earned their trust?

 Is there something you can do today to increase it? 

The upcoming Bright Ideas will offer some tips.

Wrise Booker & c/o Urban Playa

This is important stuff for personal development!

Don't tell me that you're trustworthy.  Show me.

How you behave on a day-to-day basis will determine whether others will trust you.  Your values, your communication, the extent to which you demonstrate caring and openness, your competence as well as your reliability and believability - all of these characteristics blend to engender trust. 

 Following are twenty behaviors that build trust.  Select three of them that you really want to implement.  Then, concentrate, do them, make them habits, and pick three more.

There is someone to whom you made a promise and you haven't delivered.  Follow-up and follow through.
 
You can complete a task that would make someone else's work or life easier.  Do it  . . . without fanfare.

 Think about someone who has great talent or potential.  Invest some time in helping him/her stretch.

Someone you know seems to be more subdued lately.  Initiate a friendly conversation that demonstrates that he/she is not alone.

Sit down with a co-worker and learn what's going on in his/her job.  Identify a need he/she has that you can fulfill.

You claim to have a certain value but you did not uphold it in a recent instance.  Return to that circumstance and make it right.

Find ways to share bits of information about yourself to create a sense of connection.

 Return to the people with whom you've had a recent awkward or uncomfortable exchange.  Express your desire to clear the air and do so right then.

Volunteer to do something above and beyond the norm.

 Figure out what pieces of information you should share with your co-workers that will clarify or simplify their work.

Discover ways to decrease the level of competition that exists around you.

 Acknowledge to the person affected that you have been inconsistent.  Then, correct the situation.

Identify an experience you can create that will help someone else have a win.

 Praise someone for collaborating with others.

 Strategize with a co-worker on an issue that is important to you both.

 Offer feedback to someone who has been seeking it.

 Apologize for a mistake.
 
Invite someone to give his/her opinion on an important topic.

Accept responsibility for cleaning up a problem and follow-through quickly.

 Set a positive example even when others fail to do so.
 
Teach me to believe in you.

All things considered, I want to give you my trust

Wrise Booker c/o Urban Playa

Develop Your Mind: Use the Amazing Powers of Self-Hypnosis,

Hypnosis is a fantastic resource you can use in your day-to-day life to solve many of your problems. It allows you to delve into your subconscious by crossing the threshold that separates your conscious and subconscious minds. You can take advantage of the amazing powers of hypnosis, which has been practiced effectively for centuries, by learning how to use the technique of self-hypnosis.  

But first, it’s important to change some of the preconceived notions you may have about the practice of hypnosis, and define what it is, and what it is not. As long as you’re not clear about that, and remain unconvinced of its effectiveness, it will be very hard for you to apply its principles.

A Pragmatic and Scientific Approach

Self-hypnosis is only one of the many ways hypnosis can be used to develop personality. I’d like you to take a few minutes now and make a list of the things that come to mind when you think about hypnosis. Take your time, and write down whatever thoughts you have that are associated with the word hypnosis. 

When your list is complete, set it aside for later, and read the principles outlined below, dealing with how hypnosis can easily be used as a method for personal development. 

You’ll be surprised to realize that if you get rid of your preconceptions about hypnosis, and even without any prior experience, you can easily place yourself in a state of self-hypnosis, and use it to improve your day-to-day life.

The first thing you need to realize is that, in some sense, we’re all hypnotized!

Under Permanent Influence

Consider one of the most common definitions of hypnosis: a process capable of, and used for, planting ideas in people’s minds, and making them act in accordance with those ideas, both while hypnotized and during their day-to-day activities. 

Contrary to what many people believe, it’s impossible to make someone do something they fundamentally don’t agree with. But we’ll talk more about that later. 

We’re all under the influence of something, at every moment of our lives. Our actions are motivated by the pressures we feel from the ideas we believe in, ideas that come from many sources: parental education, school, religious or spiritual sources, cultural environment, social and professional milieu, etc. 

During childhood, we assimilate a mountain of beliefs and preconceptions that dictate the way we think, speak and act later in life. 

Sometimes – I’d even say often – people don’t question the principles they were indoctrinated with while under someone else’s authority.

Submitting To Authority

Being submissive is one of the main principles guiding our lives. Being submissive to “authority” doesn’t just mean obeying the police, the government or the army. It means submitting to everyone you came into contact with who had power over you, from the time you were a child to the present day: parents, teachers, religious figures, mentors, spouse, doctor, friends, colleagues, etc. 

In short, all the people you respected, and whose advice you followed to the letter, without questioning its “authority” in the larger sense of the word.

Many of the ideas that govern the way you live were put there by authority figures, usually people who thought they were doing good. At the same time, your head is crammed with ideas, some of which may be good for others, but not for you.

The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions

You shouldn’t try to see anything malevolent in the way others imposed their will on you. As the saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” People who thought they were acting in your best interests may have led you astray, and made you do things that didn’t correspond to your nature. 

Al of us, at some point in our lives, are hypnotized by ideas that are imposed on us, suggested by others. Which brings us back to the definition of hypnosis I gave you earlier. 

Let me remind you of it, so you don’t lose the thread of what I’m saying: Hypnosis is a process capable of, and used for, planting ideas in people’s minds, and making them act in accordance with those ideas, both while hypnotized and during their day-to-day activities.

Impregnate your mind with that principle, and then do the following exercises.

Exercise N° 1: The Practice of Self-Hypnosis

- Sit down in a comfortable position, or stretch out on your back.
- Close your eyes. 
- Breathe deeply from your abdomen* about a dozen times (1 cycle = 1 inspiration and 1 exhalation). Let your body gradually relax.
- Concentrate on the parts of your body, in the following order: feet, calves, thighs, buttocks, abdomen, solar plexus, chest, hands, forearms, upper arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, forehead, scalp, upper and lower back, coccyx.
- When you’re completely relaxed, formulate a positive suggestion. For example, you could say "From now on I’m filled with self-confidence."
- Then visualize a scene where you can demonstrate your self-confidence.

Recommendation: practice this exercise regularly, at least once a day, and use formulations that help improve your life.

* Abdominal breathing means controlling your breath with your abdomen. When you inhale, pull your stomach in. When you exhale, let it expand. Don’t force the rhythm of your breathing, but let it become slower and deeper on its own.

Exercise N° 2: The Mount Athos Method

- Sit cross-legged on the floor in a calm location. If the position is too difficult because you lack practice, or suffer from arthritis or joint problems, use a chair. Just make sure your back is straight, and your shoulders are relaxed. 
- Half-close your eyes. 
- Concentrate on your breathing, inhaling and exhaling at your natural speed, without forcing it in any way.
- When thoughts arise in your mind, let them pass. Don’t try to retain any of them, and don’t try to stop thinking about them either. Focus on your breathing. If your mind starts to follow a train of thought, concentrate harder on your breathing, and it will pass by itself.

Do this exercise starting with 15 minutes a day, and working yourself up to 30. It’s best to do it in the morning after waking up, to get yourself in shape for the rest of the day.