The Amazing Story Of Lester Levenson

“I was born July 19, 1909 in Elizabeth, New Jersey into a middle class family as a very shy person. I tried to do things the way they were supposed to be done -- doing the right thing, getting a good education, and being the best in my field.

My natural inclination was towards science. Especially the science of the world, and of man himself. I graduated from Rutgers University in 1931 as a physicist, after which I worked 20 some years in physics and engineering.
“I also went into various businesses, including restaurants, lumber, building and oil, intertwined with engineering, wanting to make money-- wanting to make it in the world. At that time, I did not know what I now know -- that what I was seeking was actually the answers to life itself.

And nothing that I had worked at would give me that answer. As the years went by, I became heavy with depression and with sickness. By 1952, I had been through constant illness -- I even had jaundice three or so times a year. I had an enlarged liver, kidney stones, spleen trouble, hyper and hypos acidity, ulcers that perforated and formed lesions, and to top it off, I had at least 10 years of migraine headaches. “This all culminated in 1952 when I had my second coronary thrombosis.”

“After the second coronary, I was told I would not live much longer -- that I might die any day and shouldn’t make the effort to take so much as a step unless I necessarily had to.

I was extremely fearful of dying, but I said to myself, “You’re still breathing, Lester -- there is still a chance.” So I sat down and began thinking on an “around the clock” basis. I had been considered a very smart boy. I always made the honor roll. I had been the recipient of a four-year scholarship to Rutgers back in the days when not many scholarships were handed out.

But then being told after my second heart attack that I wouldn’t live, I said to myself,
“Lester, you are stupid, stupid, stupid.”
“Having lived 42 or so years, and having reached the end of the line without happiness, without health -- therefore all this knowledge you have accumulated is of no avail. I had studied Watson’s behavior in the 30’s and Freud’s in the late 30’s and early 40’s.

I had studied the philosophies. I had studied logic. I studied economics. I studied all the major fields of man, and with all that knowledge there; I was at the end of the line.

This made me realize that...
“The Accumulated Knowledge of Man Was of No Use.”

“So I decided to start from scratch. Forget all that knowledge. Begin from point 0 and see what you can pick up. So, I posed some pretty basic questions and asking myself what I really wanted out of life.
“I began to get some answers. Investigating further, I made some startling discoveries. And I started getting better.

“I began correcting all my thoughts and feelings in that direction. And in that process, I discovered I was getting happier, freer, lighter, and feeling better in general. I continued until all the ailments I had in my physical body corrected. All my miseries dropped away. And I ended up in a place in which I was happy all the time, without sorrow.

“Not that the world stopped pushing against me -- it continued -- but I was at a place where I could resolve things almost immediately. Having cleared out the negative fears, all the negative ‘I can not’s,’ I would focus right on the answer to every problem, and get it very quickly.
And so,
My whole life turned around from being depressed and sick, to being happy and in perfect health all the time!
“One of the things that happened in this process was my identification with others. I saw that we are all related we are all inter-connected -- each mind is like a radio broadcasting and receiving station. That we are all tuned into each other unconsciously -- that we are just not aware of it.

That life was meant to be beautiful... meant to be happy all the time with no sorrow. And to be with perfect health. And so after reaching that high point of understanding in 1952, I have wanted to help others to discover what I had discovered.”

“I Believe If I Can Do It, Anyone Can Do It.”

Over the remaining 42 years of Lester’s life, he attracted thousands of students to his work - not because he spent time and money marketing his discovery, but because he was a living example of the possibility you and I possess when we learn to set our ego aside.

The reason so many of us fail to reach our goals is not due to a lack of effort. It is because we produce in our outer world what we hold in our inner world. If I desire more money, I reaffirm in my mind that I don’t not “have enough”, and it is lack that I create.

Positive thinking alone does not change this. You must learn to release the associated feelings.
And when you do, you also learn to let go of the thousands of thoughts you have associated with the feeling.

This frees you to see more opportunity, to experience greater happiness regardless of outcomes and literally attract into your life what you want. It is our desires, our wants, that prevent not only happiness, but our producing the results we seek in our life.

The results include:

• Less stress
• More financial abundance
• Deeper, more loving relationships
• Better health, wellness and vitality
• Career success
• Peace, happiness and more

Happiness and success in life have nothing to do with hard work, education or what you “have” to begin with. Happiness and success are equally available to everyone when you learn how to “release” the blocks, the thoughts and feelings, of limitation you hold. It is literally as effortless as holding a pen and letting it fall to the floor!

Waiting?

Recently, I was taking in the news coverage of a large local event here in Cincinnati, The Flying Pig Marathon. This event has exploded in popularity over its twelve years and attracts thousands of participants from all over the US. This year, despite the rain, well over 18,000 runners showed up to compete.

Although, I have participated in 5K events, I have never participated in a marathon (26.2 miles, are you kidding…) as a result, my knowledge is very basic. As the time for the race to begin approached, the commentators were discussing the first challenge facing the runners; something that I had never considered: getting across the Start line. With so many participants, it takes some time, and patience, for everyone to just get across the Start line.

How similar this is to life and the pursuit of goals and a better life. So much of what we read and focus on, is getting ourselves across the finish line. I find, at times, I spend too much time and energy, looking ahead to see where the finish line is, how long it will take to get there, and questioning whether it is worth it. Meanwhile, I haven’t even made it across the Start line. There is no finish line, without the start line. In fact, some of the most important races we will run, never have a finish line, but they all have a start line. Further, the Start line is the most important, and the most difficult to conquer. What is holding you back from crossing over?

Over Planning
Analysis Paralysis is one of the most destructive forces in our lives. By nature, I am not an organized individual. I learned long ago, when working in the staffing industry, that if I did not learn organizational skills, that success was not an option. I had to learn to multitask while multitasking. As a part of the organizational process, plans and strategies must be developed to accomplish goals. The problem occurs when the planning falls victim to the expectations of perfectionism. No plan, idea, or strategy is perfect
and if that is your expectation, you will never start. So, if you are considering a new goal, or business opportunity, you must set a date to begin implementation. Once that date arrives, you must begin even if every detail is not in place. If you do not, you will find yourself, wondering where the time went, as life passes you by, with the start line still ahead of you.

Fear of Failure
Hundreds of books have been written about this insidious illness. I have fallen victim to this evil. Every great leader has faced failure in his or her past. I know that I have. As we have all heard, the only ones who never fail are those who have never attempted to accomplish great things. As we get older and more experienced, we rack up a history of successes and great life experiences, but, also, along the way, we have a list of endeavors that did not go the way we had wished. Before we realize, our mind begins to focus on our past failures instead of our past successes. This can be debilitating. The only true failure occurs when we do not pursue our dreams and goals.

Moving Past The Start Line
So many times, we give up just before we are in a position to enjoy wild success. In order to cross the Start line, we have to develop a belief in success. What would you do if Napoleon Hill came to you in an apparition and told you that success was assured? If you knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if you just move past the Start line, that your goals would be attained. Would you hesitate to get going? Of course not. In fact, you would kick yourself for not getting started sooner. Well, this is exactly the case. If you currently find yourself stuck in a rut, fearful of what move to take next, it is time to do it NOW. If not now, when? Remember, you are not currently participating in a dress rehearsal, your life in currently in progress. How much more of it are you willing to waste, waiting to get started?

Throw Out The Wet Blanket
Examine what the voices surrounding you are saying. Are the people that you spend time with discouraging you from crossing your start line? Negative minded individuals love to group around the start line, eager to proclaim your failure in advance. They tend to carry extensive lists outlining why a new endeavor will fail. Observe Clark Kent’s relationship to Kryptonite and follow his example when relating to this breed. Thomas Edison was fond of silencing the naysayer and we should be, as well. Guard your dreams and goals; protect them from attack. When I am pursuing a goal, I rarely discuss it. A trusted sounding board is more valuable than gold. Develop a relationship with a trusted friend or colleague that will provide honest feedback without shooting down your dreams. Avoid discussion with anyone else. A constant drumbeat of negativity is difficult to overcome. Do not subject yourself to such torture.

The Enemy Within
In addition to outside voices, it is crucial to success to train your own voice. If you have developed a habit of “beating yourself up” over every mistake, or failure you have experienced, you are guilty of self-sabotage. This is a difficult habit to overcome, but must be done, not only for success, but also to experience an enjoyable life on a daily basis. Sure, we all have areas of our lives that require improvement, but this does not mean that we lay awake every night, taking an endless inventory of our past failures and shortcomings. Replace your negative self-talk with positive inner dialog.
This is a process that may seem uncomfortable in the beginning, you may have to “fake it ‘til you make it” but the power you will begin to feel as you proclaim your own self-value will open your path to quantum leaps toward accomplishing your goals and transform you into a happier individual. Ignore the reluctance that you will experience when you start this process. You must end your days as your own worst enemy.

Supplement this with daily doses of positive CDs and books from outside sources. Every success coach will proclaim this as a crucial component of success attainment. It always seems like such a simple recommendation but flooding your mind with positive messages via this method must be exercised daily. Among the most powerful material that you can consume are biographies. I am always amazed at the heartache, failure, and outright agony that some of the world’s most successful people have endured on their journey past the start line to the top of the mountain. Once we understand that failure and challenges are to be expected on the way to success, we can more easily deal with them and keep moving, with our eyes always fixed on the prize.

The Major Obstacle To Financial Success - Brian Tracy

The major mental obstacle to financial success is that some people believe that they don’t really deserve to be rich.

The Biggest Demotivator of All
They have been raised with a steady drumbeat of destructive criticism, as I was, that has led them to conclude, at an unconscious level, that they don’t really deserve to be successful and happy. The worst effect of negative experiences in childhood, which are all too common, is that when people actually do succeed as the result of hard work, they feel guilty. These guilt feelings then cause them to do things to get rid of the money, to throw it away. They spend it or invest it foolishly. They lend it, lose it or give it away. They engage in self-sabotage, in the form of overeating, excessive drinking, drug usage, marital infidelity and often dramatic personality changes. To change your results with money, you have to change your attitude toward it.

Treat Money With Care and Attention
The fact is that money is very much like a lover. It must be courted and coaxed and flattered and treated with care and attention. It gravitates toward people who respect it and value it and are capable of doing worthwhile things with it. It flows through the fingers and flees from people who do not understand it, or who do not take proper care of it.

Become Skilled With Money
Sometimes people say that they are not very good with money. But being good with money is a skill that anyone can learn through practice. Usually, saying that one is not very good with money is merely an excuse or a rationalization for the fact that the person is not very successful or disciplined with money. The person has not learned how to acquire it or to hold on to it.

Be A No-Limit Thinker
The starting point of accumulating money is for you to believe that you have an unlimited capacity to obtain all the money that you will ever need. Look upon yourself as a financial success just waiting for a place to happen. And see yourself as deserving all you can honestly acquire.

Open Any Door
Money is good. Money gives you choices and enables you to live your life the way you want to live it. Money opens doors for you that would have been closed in its absence. But just like anything, an obsession can be hurtful. If a person becomes so preoccupied with money that he loses sight of the fact that money is merely a tool that is to be used to acquire happiness, then money becomes a harmful thing.

Money is Neutral
The Bible says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” It doesn’t say, “money is the root of all evil.” It says, “the love of money is the root of all evil.” It is the preoccupation with money, to the exclusion of the really important things in life that is the problem, not the money itself. Money is essential to our lives in society. It is also neutral. It is neither good nor bad. It is only the way that it is acquired and the uses to which it is put that determines whether it is helpful or hurtful.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, recognize and accept that virtually everyone who has money today at one time was broke and probably broke for a long time. Then they learned the skills of accumulating money and they are now financially independent. Whatever they have done, you can probably do as well.

Second, become a student of money from this day forward. Study it, learn about it and apply the lessons you discover toward your own financial life until you begin to attract more and more money in your direction.
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Brian Tracy is Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations.

He has consulted for more than 1,000 companies and addressed more than 4,000,000 people in 4,000 talks and seminars throughout the US, Canada and 40 other countries worldwide. As a Keynote speaker and seminar leader, he addresses more than 250,000 people each year.

Live Large Magazine encourages you to visit his website, where many of Brian Tracy’s world renowned products are available, including his free monthly newsletter. www.briantracy.com