Erik Elsea

Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want by James Arthur Ray

This book is not only a must read: it should be kept and referred to daily. If you want to become wealthy-I mean truly wealthy-then this book can show you practical ways to do so. Harmonic Wealth will help you achieve real wealth in the "five pillars": financial, relational, mental, physical and spiritual. This book helps make clear that true wealth will never be attained without success in all five areas.

James Arthur Ray combines teachings from some of the world's premiere spiritual leaders with theories from top physicists and scientists to explain the Law of Attraction and how to create for yourself the life you have always desired. As a featured expert in the book The Secret, Ray knows the keys to getting what you want by unlocking the powers of the universe.

Harmonic Wealth is not some feel-good, motivational book filled with pie-in-the-sky fantasies. It encourages you to get real and be creative in identifying and living the intentions you have for your life.

If you want to break through personal limitations and acquire true financial, relational, mental, physical and spiritual wealth, start by reading this book. Then Live It!

You can find this book at www.erikelsea.com/books/

Do You Have a Balanced Life?

I just finished reading the book Harmonic Wealth by James Arthur Ray, which talks about harmony in different areas of one's life. My review of that book will be posted later this week. A lot of the books I have read recently agree that a person cannot achieve perfect balance in his life, so he should not stress about not attaining it.

This past weekend's NASCAR race at Pocono is a good example of how a driver must compromise to go faster. Pocono is probably the most uniquely shaped track on the circuit. It is roughly a triangle with three completely different turns. In order to be fast around the track, a driver sets up his car to be decent in all the turns but not great in any of them. If he has the perfect set-up for handling turn 1, he will be horrible in turn 3. If he is super fast in turn 2, he will be holding on for dear life in turn 1. The key to being fast around the entire track is to compromise a little here and a little there in the handling of his car.

If you focus on just one aspect of your life, then the other aspects are certain to suffer. This is not always a bad thing: your current priorities dictate that you make sacrifices in one area to succeed in another. Realize that the priorities of the moment will affect your overall balance, and don't beat yourself up about it. For instance, when I made up my mind that I was going to be sober, I had to focus completely on that. For awhile my career and relationships suffered because I was totally committed to going to twelve-step meetings, praying, meditating and reading about addictions. At that point in my life nothing was more important to me than my sobriety, and I did not mind sacrificing other areas of my life for it.

Likewise, if your career is your priority right now, family and relationships may suffer. You may make it to the gym less often or find yourself rushing through a drive-through for lunch so that you can get back to work. The key, however, is to compromise: focus on one area but contribute to all. Try to be at least decent in all areas. For example, if you cannot eat a healthy lunch because you are working hard at your job, eat a well-balanced breakfast and dinner. Take proper supplements and drink plenty of water. If you cannot make it to the gym because you have so much work, take a brisk walk after work. I personally cannot sit still while I am on the phone. I probably walk 5 miles a day around the office or outside while making phone calls. I get exercise and business done at the same time.

Try to maintain some semblance of balance in your life, but recognize when demands in one area outweigh those in others. Compromise for the time being. If you are extremely disciplined and can hold it all together, that's great. However, if you are concerned about staying in the fast lane to success, consider hiring a life coach.

Erik Elsea

www.erikelsea.com

Quote of the Day!-"Not everything that can be counted, counts and not everything that counts can be counted."-Albert Einstein

This past weekend's NASCAR race in Dover, Delaware was absolutely dominated by Jimmie Johnson and the Number 48 Team. Johnson led 289 of the 400 laps. He was the class of the field all afternoon, but with a late wreck bringing out the caution flag, everyone came in to pit. Different strategies played out: some teams took four tires, and others took just two, getting out of the pit faster with a better starting position when the race restarted.

The 48 Team, which had been perfect all day in the pit, had an extremely slow stop: Jimmie Johnson came into his pit in first place and came out running eighth. The problem was a different system for the pit stop than the one they had used all day long to try and save time. I interpreted it as their trying to be cute in the pits. This threw off their rhythm, and it looked like they would succeed at losing. Fortunately, Jimmie, with his four fresh tires, was able to catch up to the leaders and eventually pass them with only a few laps remaining, but that poor pit stop could have cost him the race.

The moral of this narration is to avoid beating yourself. Do not do things that open up the possibility of failure. If you are battling an addiction, do not put yourself in positions where you might use or be around people who do. If you have had a string of bad relationships, do not pursue a partner with the same characteristics. If you have found a technique in business that works for you, stick to it. I have seen many people who were on the right track, who beat themselves by getting off it and then failing. Unfortunately, you can be your own worst enemy. You need to work on being your own best friend.

Erik Elsea

www.erikelsea.com

Paralysis by Analysis!

Being the huge racing fan I am, I consider Days of Thunder one of my favorite movies. In that movie Cole Trickle, played by Tom Cruise, is advised to head right toward the smoke during any crash in front of him; by the time he gets there, the spinning cars involved in the wreck should have slid down the track and out of the way. At 180 miles per hour, a driver does not have the luxury of time to analyze all of the information thrust at him in a crash situation. If Cole had had to hit the brakes to slow down to make a decision whether to go high or low on the track, odds are that he would have been hit from behind, sending him spinning and probably wrecking himself.

Instead, there was a plan in place before that set of circumstances ever arose. He knew to head right toward the smoke, without letting off the gas, without slowing down. He did not have to think in that situation because there was a plan in place beforehand. Because of the smoke, he would not know if the track were clear ahead of him or not. He could not be sure of the outcome. He just had to trust. He had to believe in the plan.

In life I see so many people who want to move forward but are not willing to make a plan. They dream of winning but do not trust in either themselves or the plan. Because they cannot see through the smoke, they are not willing to go charging in, even when they know that victory could be waiting for them on the other side.

We all need to decide what we really want in life. Then we need to ask ourselves, "What am I willing to do to get what I want?" Formulate a plan and go for it! Until you do, you will continue to be involved in life's wrecks with no shot at victory.

Erik Elsea

www.erikelsea.com

Quote of the Day!- "Your mind is like a parachute, it works best when its opened."

It Is Better to be Lucky than Good!

One of my former bosses used to say this on almost a daily basis. I am sure you could find many examples of this being correct. There is probably some element of luck involved in almost every success. In the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 this past weekend, David Reutimann won the rain-shortened race by staying out on the track during the caution for rain that ended up being the last caution of the race. There were 13 cars in front of David when the yellow flag was waved. All of them decided to come into the pits to get tires and fuel, expecting the sprinkles of rain to end soon and the race to get back under way. David's crew told him to stay out on the track. This was a huge gamble: if the race were restarted, he would either have to race on old tires, making him slower than the competition, or give up track position to come in and pit, putting him nearly in last place.

David's team had to determine if the risk was worth the reward. In this case it was: the rain never did let up and the race was called with David taking the victory, his first in NASCAR's premiere series. It was also the first win for Michael Waltrip Racing and for its crew chief. They rolled the dice and came home winners. They got lucky that it kept raining, but thirteen other teams had had the opportunity to make the same call and probably would have ended up winning. Yes, there was an element of luck, but only David's team had the guts to make the right call. It took the risk, and now it's the 50^th winner of the Coca-Cola 600.

All of us need to determine what risks we are willing to take to win. We need to decide whether the risks are worth the reward. Then once we take the risk, we must own it. Live with it no matter what the outcome. Remember, it could be our shot at victory.

Erik Elsea

www.erikelsea.com

Quote of the Day!- " Never get so busy making a living, that you forget to make a life."-unknown