I’ve already finished the book, “DO YOU! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success,” it’s a great solo read, but in my effort to ‘grow along with you,’ I thought it would be cool if we at least got through the first three chapters together. If nothing less, to render us that, “book club” feel. No – I’m not Oprah, but I am moving into my OWN, so let’s get to it.

Recap:

Law #1 See your vision and stick with it
Law #2 Always DO YOU

Chapter 3 reads,

LAW #3:  GET YOUR MIND RIGHT!

All the things that truly matter — beauty, love,
creativity, joy, inner peace arise from the mind.

–EKHART TOLLE

Russell Simmons starts the intro of this chapter off by saying, “I don’t belong to any particular religion or sect. But I owe much of my success to finding time for prayer and meditation in my life.”

Page 69] IT SEEMS THAT W H E N E V E R we turn on the TV, listen to the radio, or pick up a magazine, we’re bombarded by the message that our life will improve once we get our bodyin shape. It’s a potent message, witnessed by the millions of people who get up every day and trudge off to the gym, hoping to find happiness through getting their abs flat, their chest bigger, or their butt tighter. And while ti’s fine to get your body in shape, I would suggest that it’s more helpful to get your mind toned first. Remember, your mind is your most powerful muscle. A six-pack on your stomach won’t really make ou happy unless you’re also keeping your mind in shape through prayer, reflection, and self-study. How you look on the outside doesn’t really matter if you don’t have your spiritual self in shape first.

One of the best ways to get your mind in shape is through the practice of meditation. while physical exercise makes you stronger by building things up– like muscle or stamina — the mental workout that you get through meditation makes you stronger by clearing things away. It clears away the distractions of the world and gives you the clarity to see and the focus to pursue the God-given visions that will be the foundation to your success. Building up your body or your bank account will bring you short-time happiness, but you can’t take those things with you on your journey through life. No matter how many weights you lift, eventually your bod will sag. No matter how much money you make, eventually it will lose it’s value and its appeal. But a clear and focused mind will last a lifetime. Getting your mind in shape is nothing less than the key to sustainable success in the world.

Page 72] H E A R I N G THE GOD INSIDE OF YOU
Before I embraced meditation, I used to have a hard time falling asleep because there was so much noise in my head. And by noise I’m not talking about car alarms, policed sirens, or the dog next door barking too loud. No physical noise was keeping me awake. Instead, it was my emotions that wouldn’t let me sleep. It was the noise bouncing around in my own mind that kept me from being at peace.

You might have experienced it yourself. Even though all you want to do is fall asleep, you can’t seem to turn off the conversation s taking place inside of your head. And to make it worse, it’s usually trivial stuff that’s keeping you awake. You’ll replay something someone said to you at work. You’ll worry about whether you locked your car door. You’ll worry about whether your gaining weight. I spent many nights lying awake like that, worrying and stressing over a million different things coming in and out of my mind. Was my new record going to sell? Did I get the right deal for one of my artists? Was that girl I’d been sweating ever going to call me? It was like there was a soundtrack playing in my brain tha tI couldn’t turn off. Those are common examples, but there are also bigger terms that we can use to describe noise. Doubt is noise. Criticism is noise. Insecurity is noise. The past is noise, just like the future is noise too. These are the sounds that slow us down.

Indeed, I eventually realized that all the noise in my head was doing more than just keeping me awake at night. More importantly, it was drawing out the most important voice any of us has, which is the voice of God inside us. The truth is, when you can’t hear God inside of you, you’re always going to struggle in life. there might be stretches when things are going good and you feel like you’re happy. But without that connection to your higher self, that happiness can’t last. Sooner or later that noise will creep back into your mind and you’ll be listening to the world, instead of the God in you.

No LONG STORY SHORT, this book should be read in detail
Sometimes you have to DO YOU and shoot the rest to hell.

I mean it when I say, stay in concentrate and be strong,
the journey is not for the faint, and if you’re lucky – you’ll go long.

“Only the good die young” – Billy Joel said it in a song.
But I didn’t buy into the lyrics; ol’ Billy Joel is wrong.

Bound to the charge with skill, talent and integrity,
I’m Qui
Siding with Russell on this one. DO YOU and I’ll DO ME.