Category: Best Of

Brian Tracy is one of America’s leading authorities on the development of human potential and personal effectiveness. A dynamic and inspiring speaker, he addresses thousands of people each year on the subjects of personal and professional development, including the executives and staff of such firms as IBM, Arthur Andersen, McDonnell Douglas, and The Million Dollar Round Table. Prior to founding his own firm, Brian Tracy International, he had successful careers in sales and marketing, investments, real estate development, distribution, and management consulting. Tracy is the author of over forty books including the bestselling book Maximum Achievement.

4) Question: Veterans overseas often have to turn off parts of themselves, specifically emotional parts. How can someone recharge or re-engage parts of themselves and their brain that they haven’t used in a long time?

Answer: Perhaps the greatest discovery in human history is that, “You become what you think about – most of the time.”

Your brain adjusts quickly to the stresses and demands of a new situation, especially in a combat situation overseas. It shuts down parts of your thoughts and emotions that might make you ineffective or distract you from the work at hand. This is normal and natural, and is a survival mechanism that is designed for your benefit.

When you return, you still become what you think about most of the time. Now, however, it is time to think of other things. Just as if you change your physical diet, you will feel differently, when you change your mental diet, you will feel differently as well.

When you return, you can begin the reprogramming of your mind in a positive way by reading positive books, listening to positive audio programs, associating with positive people, and even watching comedies and action programs on television that stimulate your mind and begin changing your thinking in a positive way.

Fully 95% of what you do, say, think or feel is the result of habit. Good habits are hard to form but easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to form but hard to live with. The good news is that you can develop new, positive, healthy habits of thought and feeling by repeating the words, pictures and actions consistent with your new habit over and over again until they lock in.

Remember, the one thing in the world that you can control is your own thinking. And if you keep your thoughts on positive things; your goals, your relationships, your health, and your future, you eventually develop a whole new set of mental connections that keep your positive most of the time. Just remember to be patient with yourself at the beginning.

5) Question: In your book Victory, you talk about how to apply the proven principles of military strategy to achieve greater success in your personal and business life. How can veterans turn their experiences with military strategy and battle plans into personal and business plans?

Answer: My book, Victory, is a good piece of writing, filled with practical ideas that veterans can relate to immediately. Each returning veteran should read this book from cover to cover. To that end, anyone who comes to my website at www.briantracy.com/victory as a result of reading this article can download this eBook at no charge, as a gift from me to you, and in appreciation of your service.

When you get the book, read one chapter per day and take notes. Think about how you can apply these ideas to your current life.

6) Question: After some of the stories about leadership in the military, what advice would you give someone in a leadership position?

Answer: Many veterans have had many experiences in leadership already. They now need to learn to use those experiences and knowledge in leadership positions in the private sector.

I would suggest that each person reading this acquire my book, “How the Best Leaders Lead.” and read it from cover to cover. It will show you exactly how you can translate what you have learned in the military into getting valuable results for which companies will pay in the private sector.

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Brian Tracy is one of America’s leading authorities on the development of human potential and personal effectiveness. A dynamic and inspiring speaker, he addresses thousands of people each year on the subjects of personal and professional development, including the executives and staff of such firms as IBM, Arthur Andersen, McDonnell Douglas, and The Million Dollar Round Table. Prior to founding his own firm, Brian Tracy International, he had successful careers in sales and marketing, investments, real estate development, distribution, and management consulting. Tracy is the author of over forty books including the bestselling book Maximum Achievement.

1) Question: How should veterans ease or jump back into life?

Answer: First, give yourself a certain amount of time, between two and four weeks, to rest, recreate, decompress and generally settle back into civilian life. It is normal and natural to need a time to transition from an ordered military life into a completely free civilian lifestyle.

Second, accept that you are 100% responsible for who you are, what you do and everything you accomplish. It is up to you to begin making the decisions that will lead to a happy, healthy and fulfilled life in the months and years ahead;

Three: Take out a piece of paper and write down ten goals that you would like to accomplish in the coming year. Go over that list and ask yourself, “If I could only achieve one goal on this list, which one goal would have the greatest positive impact on my life?”

Four: Take a clean sheet of paper and make a list of everything that you could do, starting immediately, to make that one major goal a reality. Think on paper. The more action steps that you write down, the more focused you will be, and the more motivated to take action.

Five: Take action immediately. Do something. Do anything. Get up and get going. Resist the temptation to sleep in, watch television and take it easy. Remind yourself that, “Today is the first day of the rest of my life.”

2) Question: After they have jumped back in, what are the immediate steps that they should take toward success?

Answer: First, set a goal to get a job as quickly as you can. You may not be able to get the job that you want right away, but take any job that you think you might enjoy doing, and get started.

Set a goal to become excellent at what you do. Treat your job as if you were going to be doing that job for the next ten years. Decide to be in the top 10% of people at whatever you have decided to do.

Develop a learning plan for yourself. Begin reading, listening to audio programs, and attending seminars that will help you to be better and more productive in your work. Each time you learn and apply something new, you get a positive jolt of self-control, self-confidence and personal power.

Expect to be disappointed. Expect to fail occasionally. Life is a process of “two steps forward and one step back.” Nothing is easy, not for anyone. The most important quality you have as the result of your experience is your ability to bounce back from disappointment. It is your resilience. It is your ability to respond effectively to whatever happens to you without letting it get you down.

The most important thing is to take continuous action toward your goals. The busier you become the more positive you will feel, and the more in control of your life you will be.

3) Question: Many returning veterans suffer from some form of PTSD, depression, or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). How can a person go about reframing their thinking and beliefs and dealing with these symptoms?

Answer: Overseas deployment in a combat zone can be quite traumatic. It you feel negative or depressed for any reason, it is absolutely essential that you get immediate medical attention for your symptoms.

The medical specialists available to veterans today are some of the best in the world. They have enormous experience in dealing with returning service people. They can often pinpoint with great accuracy any problem or difficulty you have, and quickly suggest a solution or a treatment of some kind. Don’t try to figure it out by yourself.

Perhaps one of the most important things that you can do is to talk it out with other people. Sometimes, the release that you get from openly and honestly sharing your thoughts and feelings, and even your fears, will act as a great source of relief and peace. Don’t keep your feelings bottled up inside of you.

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a serious condition that affects individuals who have experienced some sort of serious trauma. It can develop soon after the individual has experienced it or months after the fact. Many individuals will notice that their symptoms subside after about three months. However, not everyone will. Those who do not experience any relief after this amount of time may end up being diagnosed with long term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which can last for many years. There are various forms of treatment available to those with PTSD. One that is gaining notoriety is yoga. Below, we will discuss how the popular exercise can help soldiers with this particular anxiety disorder.

Yoga is an effective way to decrease both mental and physical stress, hallmark symptoms of PTSD. The use of meditation, relaxation, breathing and stretching works to ease the mind and the body. It also helps soldiers deal with traumatic memories which tend to haunt the sufferers of post traumatic stress disorder.

Yoga is lauded for its ability to help soldiers develop techniques that will help them relax when they begin to feel a great deal of stress. This can come in handy when a soldier starts to experience flashbacks and stressful emotions. It is believed to be effective, in part, because the practice is grounded in principles very similar to therapy. The mind-body connection that yoga emphasizes is especially beneficial to soldiers suffering from this condition.

When the body suddenly comes under stress, the flight-or-flight mechanism is triggered. A person will either run or stick around and fight. When an individual has been traumatized, their flight-or-flight switch may become stuck. A person will subsequently, continually feel stressed physically, mentally and emotionally. They will always feel like they are under attack or in danger. This can be quite distressful and damaging overtime. Yoga is one method that has proven to help regulate the automatic nervous system so that it is once again normalized.

Yoga has proven to be such a powerful weapon in the fight against Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, that the army has adopted it as a formalized way to treat it. Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been using yoga to treat its soldiers since 2006. They offer it because it works and is a safe and gentle approach to treatment and care.

While yoga as a treatment option for PTSD won’t work for everyone, it can be very effective for many individuals. Those interested in giving it a try, can do so by purchasing a yoga program or taking classes.

Check out parts one and two of the series.

Part 1: What is Yoga

Part 2: How to Incorporate Yoga into Your Daily Life

Part 3: How Yoga Can Help Soldiers with PTSD

Yoga is a popular ancient eastern practice. Millions of people practice it regularly. It has many benefits. It improves your mental and physical health.

Some of the simplest ways to incorporate Yoga into your daily life are:

#1: Do it right in the morning.

Do at least 20 minutes of Yoga right after you finish your morning siesta. This will prepare you for your entire day. You will feel full of energy and motivation.

#2: 20 minutes of meditation after your workday will refresh you.

This is a much healthier and better alternative than watching TV or playing games. It refreshes you and you can do something useful with the rest of the time.

#3: Practice Yoga breathing during a walk or during a break at the office.

Yoga breathing is easy to learn and practice. Pick the simplest kind of breathing. Practice the breathing in 1 day. The next day, do another 10 minutes of breathing. You should learn to practice yoga breathing unconsciously. Most people breathe through their upper chest. You should breathe from your lower chest while doing your Yoga breathing exercises.

#4: Keep a healthy diet.

Eat as much natural food as you can. Your diet is truly important to your body. Don’t neglect it and pretend that it doesn’t matter. Most people eat unconsciously. Make your food choices rationally and consciously. Prepare what you are going to eat ahead of time. In this way, you will not be influenced by your emotions.

#5: Start small.

Don’t overextend yourself by practicing Yoga for a couple of hours right from the beginning. Start with 15 minutes and increase your practice. 30 minutes to 1 hour of practice per day is quite enough.

#6: Find a practice partner.

The best practice partner is a person with whom you spend a lot of time together. Humans are very emotionally susceptible to the people around them. It’s much easier to change yourself if other people around you change as well.

Yoga is a great practice that will improve your health. You should give it a try. Start small. Practice 20 minutes each day. You will like it more and more. Your health will improve with each day.

Check out parts one and two of the series.

Part 1: What is Yoga

Part 2: How to Incorporate Yoga into Your Daily Life

Part 3: How Yoga Can Help Soldiers with PTSD

So the Army’s been using Yoga to help Vets with PTSD; but a lot of people aren’t familiar with the practice, so I figured I’d spread the info for those who are interested.

Yoga is an ancient practice. It originated more than 5000 years ago. It is part of many Eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism. The most known types of yoga are: Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga. They are practical ways to achieve enlightenment. Yoga is known in the western world for its Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga is the beginner’s yoga. (My girlfriend and I’s first date was doing Hatha Yoga.)  It is mainly used for achieving mental and physical health. The name “Yoga” means union between your body, mind and spirit.

The most important yoga facts and principles are:

#1: Exercise.

The Yoga’s exercises are called Asanas. They are certain positions of the body that you need to maintain for a short period of time. They will improve your health.

#2: Breathing.

Breathing is truly important for the health of your body. Through breathing your body receives oxygen. And the oxygen makes you think better. With the use of oxygen, your body can heal itself much quicker.

#3: Relaxation.

One of the Yoga’s purposes is to reduce and eliminate the ego based effort. By practicing Yoga, you will become more at ease with everything around you.

#4: Diet.

What you eat influences how you think and feel. It has a direct effect on your productivity. This is why you need to eat only healthy foods.

#5: Meditation.

The art of meditation involves focusing on only one thought at the exclusion of all the other thoughts. The more advanced meditation techniques involve completely emptying your mind from all distractions and thoughts. This is quite hard to do for most people in our fast paced society.

#6: Practice each day.

To get the most of Yoga, you need to stick with it. Yoga is not a magic pill that needs to be taken only 1 time. Practice each day. And with time you will achieve greater and greater levels of freedom.

Yoga is a great set of practices that will improve your mental, emotional and spiritual lives. You will reduce your stress and feel better with each day.

Check out parts one and two of the series.

Part 1: What is Yoga

Part 2: How to Incorporate Yoga into Your Daily Life

Part 3: How Yoga Can Help Soldiers with PTSD