
This is the sixth article in our "True Power" series. If you haven't been following the series, visit The ARTrepreneur to read the foundational material on beliefs before continuing.
All people live a structured existence that is entirely make-believe. For example, though we act as if it's true, there is no such thing as days of the week or hours in a day. These things are completely fabricated conventions. If an alien were to visit New York, and someone said, "Well it's Monday morning, everyone's off to work," the alien would nod politely and think, "How quaint. They regulate their lives into compartments." The alien would in no way mistake the custom for reality. He would recognize the custom as an idea. We pretend it's real, but we could pretend other customs just as easily.
There is no such thing as time really ? no minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months. We pretend they exist, and structure our lives accordingly, but we could just as easily do it a different way. The day could be split in half and called "up" and "down." Someone named some cycles. There are other cycles and other names. Musicians, for example, often operate in a no-time zone. Lots of writers have inverted or highly individualistic work schedules. Many artists have made successful careers by following their own personal rhythms and beliefs. They never fell for, "That's the way it is," because they knew it was all pretend, and they could pretend their own structure just as easily as following someone else's.
If someone says to you, "the music business is brutal," refuse to believe it. If they want to pretend it's brutal, then they'll get that result. You won't be so easily deceived. There are actors who have made careers quickly in Hollywood because they didn't realize it was supposed to be hard. They weren't aware of the convention. Realize that all conventions that we call modern society are just ideas. Ideas are mobile. You can use them, discard them, and invent new ideas. In reality, there is no movie industry or art industry. In reality, there are never "Seven Steps to Anything." There are only ideas, and your ideas are as valid as anyone's, and certainly more valid for you.
Pretending Your Life As You Want It Exercise
There are two ways to do this exercise. Choose a time everyday, and pretend your life just the way you want it. See yourself in your mind doing the things you want to do the way you want to do them. This is much like the internal visualization exercises. You try to trick your mind into believing you're experiencing the ideal now.
If you are bolder, you can pick a day or even a longer period of time, and while you go about your day-to-day life, pretend that what you really want is happening. Have imaginary meetings, imaginary bank deposits, imaginary shows, imaginary dinners out. Physically, you may be doing the dishes, but mentally you're making your subconscious become accustomed to the ideal. The minute you do this, it starts to create the circumstances to make it happen. The less you negate the ideal, the less you say to yourself, "That's not realistic. I can't have it," the easier and faster it will be produced. By thinking freely about the ideal, you begin to whittle away at doubts. At some point you'll accept the ideal, and the pretend world and the actual world will begin to mesh.
Every successful person ignored the pretend circumstances outside themselves, and pretended, instead, to be who they wanted to be and live how they wanted to live. Pretending, then, is the essence of experience and, therefore, an essential quality. Your life is a masterpiece composed of ideas that motivate you to act. Be the creator of those ideas. Be moved by your own impulses and desires. Pretend your existence into what you want it to be. That's all anyone's doing anyways.
Next: Question Yourself Exercise - The best advice you'll ever receive is from yourself.
S.C. Giles is a contributing author of the ARTrepreneur E-Zine showcasing the full True Power Series that focuses on proven techniques to accomplish any goal.
The ARTrepreneur offers articles helping artists focus on proven techniques to accomplish any goal. Read More: http://www.theartrepreneur.com
Copyright © 2005 Arctic Mouse, Inc. All rights reserved.
AP - President-elect Barack Obama warned of dire and long-lasting consequences if Congress doesn't pump unprecedented dollars into the national economy, making an urgent pitch Thursday for his mammoth spending proposal in his first speech since the election.
AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs.
AP - The U.N. and the Red Cross curtailed aid shipments in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after accusing Israeli forces of firing on their drivers, killing one. The threat of a wider conflict arose when militants in Lebanon fired two rockets into northern Israel.
AP - Retailers reported dismal sales figures for December on Thursday as even Wal-Mart Stores Inc., one of the bright spots in the industry, finally buckled under the pressures of the deteriorating economy.
AP - Barack Obama is officially the next president of the United States, Congress declared Thursday in fulfilling its centuries-old constitutional duty to certify and tally the electoral college vote from each state.
AP - Prosecutors said Thursday that investigators found 100 signed checks worth $173 million in Bernard Madoff's office desk that he was ready to send out to his closest family and friends at the time of his arrest last month.
AP - John Travolta and his family were expected to host a private memorial service Thursday for their son, 16-year-old Jett Travolta, at their home in a central Florida gated community.
AP - After more than two decades with the Braves, John Smoltz appears likely to finish his stellar career wearing a different uniform. In a stunning end to one of baseball's longest runs, Smoltz reached preliminary agreement on a contract with the Boston Red Sox after failing to work out a deal to return for his 22nd season with the Braves.
Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama warned on Thursday that the U.S. economy could stay mired in recession for years without bold action and he urged lawmakers to work day and night to pass a massive stimulus plan.
Reuters - Palestinians faced even grimmer conditions in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a U.N. aid agency halted work, saying its staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants, after two drivers were killed.
Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other top U.S. retailers delivered disappointing December same-store sales and profit warnings on Thursday, sparking fresh recession concerns that hit stock and currency markets.
Reuters - A search of accused swindler Bernard Madoff's office desk revealed he had signed checks totaling more than $173 million ready to be sent, U.S. prosecutors said in court papers on Thursday asking a judge to jail him.
Reuters - Russia said on Thursday it would restore gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine once international monitors were in place, but Moscow and Kiev remained at odds over the terms of any supervision.
Reuters - Economic weakness in Europe worsened and disappointing sales from Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, knocked financial markets lower on Thursday, strengthening the case for government stimulus and new rate cuts.
Reuters - India's Satyam Computer faces a crisis of "unimaginable proportions," its interim chief executive said a day after the chairman revealed profits had been falsely inflated for years.
AFP - The main UN Palestinian relief agency halted work in Gaza on Thursday after a driver was killed and the death toll from Israel's war on Hamas rose to more than 760 after dozens of bodies were found in the rubble.
AFP - EU-sponsored talks collapsed Thursday between Russia and Ukraine on resolving a gas dispute that has cut supplies to Europe in the midst of a bitterly cold winter, with Moscow blamed for the failure.
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