“The person who does not know precisely what he wants of Life must accept whatever Life has left over after those who use definiteness as a policy get through choosing.” – Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill
This video above is for those who prefer to hear/watch me blather on about the article and drop some commentary.
Why does it seem like some people get everything they want while most struggle?
I’ve witnessed people born in the hood rise to greatness while others born with a silver spoon in their mouth wallow into drug addiction and despair.
It’s not about where you come from, it’s about what you can own.
If you can own it, you have a chance to make a new choice.
Have you made a real new choice?
Choices
People go through this world believing they’re making choices. The reality? They’re running programs from the past that keep the same stories on repeat. The scene and names of the characters change, but the same suffering continues.
Real new choices are rare. And typically brought about by scenarios outside of our perceived control. A traumatic event can snap someone out of their patterned program creating an opening to choose something new.
Death of a parent. Near death experiences. Losing a job.
But what if you could create fertile ground for new choices without waiting for trauma to force you out of old patterns? What if you could do it consciously? That’s what I’m presenting to you here today.
The Path to Mastery
We all crave mastery—over our goals, our relationships, and our lives. But mastery isn’t a straight line. It’s a journey that unfolds in three stages:
- Methods
- Principles
- Being
Look back on your life. Was there something you desired to master? I have a list, but let’s start with one I bet you’ve had too: fitness.
Stage 1: Methods
It started with me walking down the magazine aisle at the local Kroger in Memphis, TN, as a 15-year-old. Like any insecure teenager, I was looking for a way to appeal to the ladies. The men featured on the covers had hot chicks leaning on them or gazing at them with adoration. Yup, that’s exactly what I wanted. If I could be like that, then I’d be happy. Easy.
Buy the magazine. Read the articles. Do the workouts. The methods were clear: workout routines and the proper combination of protein, carbs, and fats. I obsessed over the methods, and it worked—for a while. But results eventually slowed, and I moved from obsessing over methods to chasing the next best one, hoping to reignite the progress.
Different bodybuilder’s routines. Arnold’s chest workout. Dorian’s back routine. Frank’s leg day. Mixing and matching without understanding the underlying systems and principles.
I bought more time to keep getting results, but it didn’t last long.
Mindset Pitfall: oftentimes, when progress slows or stalls, we unconsciously engage the same type of behavior that generated success in the beginning. Rarely is this the solution, but satisfies the ego’s search for safety.
Stage 2: Principles
In 2006, nine years after picking up my first barbell, I encountered something that changed everything: proper guidance. Enter Dr. Brian Schilling and the sport of weightlifting. Here, I was introduced to the principles behind the methods. This was no longer about random routines from magazines. It was about understanding how human performance truly works.
Principles allowed me to go deeper. For two years, I immersed myself in research and training with a team of dedicated individuals. I saw the matrix of training and began to understand the “why” behind the “how.”
Stage 3: Being
Fast forward another nine years to 2015. I was conducting an interview at Eleiko HQ in Halmstad, Sweden for Barbell Shrugged. The guest (forgive me for forgetting his name), was talking about coaching and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I don’t even know what he was talking about. It could’ve been some method or principle, but that wasn’t what stood out.
It was his presence—his way of being that stood out.
Maybe it’s because the swedes are so humble and unlikely to try to sell you on some method they made up. It was also obvious that he had all the principles, methods, and techniques at his fingertips, but didn’t flaunt it.
That night as I laid down to sleep my mind flipped through the catalog of coaches and athletes I had interviewed over the years. The greats all had the principles. But that’s not what set them apart. It was how they carried themselves. It’s how they communicated. It was how they were being. And I had been soaking it up.
In that moment I realized how fortunate I was. To spend hours or days with the greatest on the planet. I was receiving transmissions that could only be received “in person” and outside of the interview as we shared a meal.
My being shifted during this process of interviewing the greats. It leveled me up. It changed how I showed up, thought, felt, and communicated.
This was mastery.
18 years after picking up that first magazine the transmission reached a new level of understanding.
The greatest coaches and leaders I’ve encountered share this quality. They embody their mastery. It’s not just what they know or do; it’s how they are. Being is mastery in its fullest expression.
Being Is Your Superpower
So why do I tell this story? Because you are somewhere on the path to mastery, and I am too. The further down the path you go, the broader the application becomes.
A method is narrow. It delivers a specific result in a small area of your life. Principles are broader; they can be applied to diverse scenarios. But being? Being transforms everything.
When you reach the depth of being in any category, you can cross over into others with speed and grace. You’ll move faster, act with more confidence, and integrate lessons more deeply.
Do you need to go through methods and principles to get to being? I think so. But once you’re aware of the path, you can move swiftly.
The Foundation of Your Being
At our core is pure consciousness. The seat of awareness. You may have visited that place as I have, but only a few have attained the ability to hold it and stabilize it.
To be there is to be enlightened. To be free of the shackles of belief, identity, and duality.
I’m not asking you to be that. And I’m not claiming to be that either. In fact, I don’t desire to attain it. From the few I have read that claim to be there, it doesn’t sound that fun. But it’s good to recognize that it’s the foundation of who we are and all that is.
There are no words for it. It’s everything and nothing. It’s formless.
When consciousness enters the body, the layers of perspective begin to accumulate. Our being starts to shape to the nervous system, organs, fascia, and everything else of the body. Those things that bring us distinction, that define the infinite.
We can think of our perspective as a language. A way that we make sense of everything by dividing it up into categories. Creating preferences and desires.
Our body carries the story of our ancestors. Your parents pass down their DNA to you, which they inherited from their parents, and so on. Their being is passed on to you. It’s inherited.
What choice do you have now about your ancestry? About the experiences you have accumulated up until now? You cannot change the reality of the past, but you do have a choice about how you interpret it. You can choose now what will shape the experiences you have moving forward.
Speaking of reality. Do you believe that your perception of the past or the present is in alignment with the truth? Or do you realize that you are filtering everything through your lens?
This lens is shaping your being.
Thoughts and feelings. Dictating your behavior.
Emotion: Your First Language
I love asking people “what’s your first language?”. Most say English and the occasional Spanish, French, etc. But none of the answers are true.
Your first language is emotion.
The etymology of emotion comes from the Latin word “emovere”: to move out. This references the energy in motion within us that seeks expression or resolution. To be useful for this conversation, think of emotion as “energy in motion.” Never static.
This is the first layer of your being, your perspective.
You were born, and for several years, you lived through energy. You experienced, expressed, and received life through it. You felt hungry and cried while grabbing at your mother’s breasts. You giggled as your father made funny faces at you.
You also sensed when someone was angry, happy, sad, or anxious. You learned that some situations required specific energetic responses. You also began adopting preferences for emotional stimuli.
The energy needed to go somewhere, and you learned how to direct it.
In “The Five Personality Patterns,” Steven Kessler describes how unmet needs shape our personalities. They create specific energetic patterns. The energy in the body is literally directed in a way that makes us feel safe.
“the stream of life energy and awareness habitually moves through the body, especially in times of distress. […] the flow of energy through the body can be shaped in an attempt to cope with the distress. The flow can habitually: move away from others move toward others move in and down move up and out be constricted These patterns of energy flow influence how a person perceives the world and, therefore, what he experiences, thinks, and feels.” – The Five Personality Patterns by Steven Kessler
Your emotional patterns are unique to you. Steven Kessler has found 5 patterns, plus backups. Remember, they are generalizations. Reading his book is a great starting point, but if you choose to go deeper, you will discover the uniqueness of your own emotional body.
Mindset is Built Upon Emotional Patterns
Let’s dive into your second language. The language of thought.
Is that voice in your head really yours?
I thought my thoughts were mine. But the truth is I’m a synthesizer.
The voices of my mother and father ring through my mind constantly. Consciously and unconsciously.
Yes, there are thoughts running through your mind of which you are completely unaware. Meditation, journaling, coaching, bodywork, yoga, and plant medicines can expand your awareness. Bringing the unconscious into your awareness.
As your energetic patterns were forming as a child, you were also learning new words. You associated those words with people, objects, and behaviors. They were also associated with feelings.
Your mom didn’t sit you down with a dictionary and teach you the meaning of each word in a systematic way. Sesame Street tried. But you learned words in a different order than others. Each word held a distinct emotional significance.
We have all had the experience as children growing up believing that we knew the meaning of a word or phrase. Or thought that a phrase was a word. We ultimately recognize that our understanding differs from the definitions provided by the dictionary and society. It can be an embarrassing moment, but we’ve all had it.
That’s how unique our minds can be. Words form our thoughts. They can have different meanings, associations, and emotions.
Your mental landscape is unique. And it rests upon your emotional landscape… which is also unique. What a snowflake you are! You are special… and so is everyone else.
The Problem
Your uniqueness is inherent, not a result of conscious choice.
Early childhood experiences and choices you made out of fear dictated your psycho-emotional makeup. As you moved through life, the language became more sophisticated. You figured out how to minimize the expression of your emotions.
I know this is true. If you’ve read this far, you’re likely “high functioning.” Which means you’re getting along in the world better than most. But it doesn’t mean that you’re fully optimized and aligned with your life’s mission.
The world is run by overripe children. The body has aged. The mind has developed strategies. But when overwhelm strikes, tunnel vision ensues, and patterned responses take over.
Have you seen grown men throw fits like a 4-year-old? I know I have. I’ve been that grown man.
Has your partner abandoned logic to seek comfort from you or someone else? Women I’ve dated have done this. I’ve either come to the rescue, and if I don’t, she calls her girlfriend, who will validate her experience. Normalizing the chaos. Soothing from the outside world.
Childlike behavior. Unable to give it to themselves.
I name this example not to pick on women, but because our society has normalized it. Watch a TV show where there’s any drama in a relationship, and the example is displayed over and over again.
The Solution
We get a hold of ourselves. You get to become the parent to yourself that you needed as a child. You will likely be the first person in your entire lineage to do this. Yes, we are living in a world of children that were raised by children who were raised by children…
Practicing acceptance of every feeling without judgment. Noticing the thoughts that arise with those feelings. Noticing your breath and the tension in your body throughout the day.
Presence. It’s a gift you give yourself. Being curious about each moment.
Can you be tender with those parts of yourself in each moment? Like you would be with a child. It can seem like a lot of work, and it is. But it is completely worth it.
Each moment holds infinite possibilities. Each moment is life or death. To be unconscious in a moment is to choose a pattern of survival. To choose consciousness is to choose creation and life.
Each moment is your eternity. Your heaven or hell.
I have much more to say about how to approach our conditioning. More than I can say in the context of this newsletter. I’ll be building this out more in the future for you and me.
3 Approaches
There are three approaches I’ve taken to creating the life I desire.
Presence. Practicing presence and consciousness in each moment of the day. This weakens the patterns’ grip on my subconscious and ultimately my behavior. The more I focus on the present, the easier it is to stay aware. Like physical training, repetition works.
Reprogramming the subconscious mind through the superconscious. Accessing states of pure consciousness that allow me to access my heart’s true desires. In my experience, this requires heavy intervention. A few examples: sitting with ayahuasca, 10 day Vipassana meditation retreats, Body Electronics retreats. Each requires a large commitment of time and intensity to let go of our conditioning and experience our superconscious mind (pure consciousness).
Programming the subconscious mind with the conscious mind. Even though this is the slowest, it still has an impact. Researchers estimate that the subconscious mind is 200,000 to 2,000,000 times faster than the conscious mind at processing information. This is the level at which most personal development programs are operating. This is also why you won’t be reading typical advice coming from me.
I use all 3 approaches. 1 and 2 complement each other. They’re also used to make quantum leaps.
Number 3 is for making improvements to your current life and perspective. If you’ve yet to experience quantum leaps, #3 will still seem quite magical.
Number 3 is also something I can deliver to you through this beautiful medium we call the internet.
Clearing the Field for New Growth
Creating goals and establishing new habits on the rocky soil of patterned beliefs isn’t the best way to move forward. You need fertile ground.
Here’s how I clear my mental and emotional field each morning:
- Anapana Meditation – 20 minutes
- Sit comfortably with a straight back.
- Close your eyes and focus on the natural flow of breath at the nostrils.
- Observe the breath without altering it. When the mind wanders, gently bring it back.
- Breathwork
- 12 breaths: in through the nose, out through the mouth.
- On the last inhale, pause as long as feels comfortable. Exhale and normalize.
- Repeat for 2-3 cycles.
- Personalized Visualization
- After breathwork, I play a prerecorded visualization in my voice. With the field cleared, I plant the seeds of my desires for the day.
You don’t need to start with the full routine. Even adopting a small part of it can make a difference. What matters is consistency and intention.
Click here to create your own pre-recorded visualization
Shift Your Being
Your being has created the results of your life up until this point. If you shift your being, the methods and principles that used to define you will no longer fit—or they’ll be applied differently. This is where true transformation begins.
Each moment is an opportunity. Each moment is life or death for your dreams. Choose consciousness. Choose creation.
Are you ready to step into the ultimate mindset hack? Let’s move forward together.
Imagine what your 2025 could look like if you started today. Your mindset is the first domino. Tip it.
– Mike Bledsoe