Hang around with individuals trying to upgrade their lives long enough, you’re bound to hear someone mention “The Secret.” They’re likely to talk about it as a mysterious force that brings you what you desire. “If you vision board hard enough it will fall in your lap.” I was today years old when I discovered it’s not a fantasy. It’s not a mystical or magical force. It’s a function of your brain: a natural product of something called the Reticular Activating System.
I know it sounds silly, but hear me out.
The “RAS”
The Reticular Activating System is a pinky-sized part of the brain near the top of the brain stem. All our senses except smell connect directly to it. It has a few jobs which all center around the senses. It’s responsible for sleep regulation, your flight or fight responses, focus, and perception. It manages this by sifting through your sensory data and narrowing it down to what’s relevant. Without this function, we’d likely go catatonic from sensory overload. You’d never sleep because your own heartbeat would keep you awake. Obviously, this is a very important function. You might be wondering to yourself though, “Who tells the RAS what’s important?” This question right here is the secret behind “The Secret.” There are two possible answers: you or everyone else.
Most people don’t take an active role in shaping their Reticular Activating System’s decisions. They leave the process up to the media surrounding them at all times. Their RAS is an unwitting proponent of whatever advertiser has paid for airspace. Their world is one big cavalcade of other people’s intentions. They notice the products they’re told to. They have the same opinions the people around them hold. They’re affected by whatever emotional state the last movie they watched put them in. Most disastrously they have the same ambitions as everyone around them. Have you ever heard the expression, “You are the average of the five people you interact with most?” This is why.
On the other hand, you can consciously direct your Reticular Activating System. You can choose what types of sensory input to bombard your senses with. If you surround yourself with negative individuals, you will see all the ways you can fail. Surround yourself with positive individuals and you’ll see the opposite. You’ll begin to see opportunity and abundance all around.
Test it Yourself
Want to perform an experiment to prove this? Load up your web browser and search for a random car model you’d enjoy owning. Spend a little time familiarizing yourself with it and commit it to memory. I suspect thereafter you’ll be surprised how many of them you see out in the wild on a daily basis. Prior to the experiment, it was just a part of the noise. It held no significance to you. Bringing the vehicle into your conscious thoughts has told your Reticular Activating System it’s important. This works with everything from purple beach balls to business opportunities. Start thinking about ways to grow your money all day and you’ll start seeing them around every corner.
Above all, why is this so important that we would be bringing it up here? Setting up an IBC policy is only part of the process. What good is having access to cash if you’re not going to be utilizing it to grow your wealth? Maintaining focus on available opportunities is necessary to unlock your money’s full potential. Your cash value, like money itself, is meaningless without a place to deploy it. Your must train your RAS to let in those killer prices on property. You must focus to see openings in the market for your next product. It’s nothing short of the gatekeeper to opportunity for your policy. Make sure he’s letting through as many opportunities as he can.
Take Action
Keep your financial growth in your conscious mind. Keep a post-it of your net worth on your monitor. Spend your time researching types of investments other than your 401(k). Actively focus on these and you’ll begin to feel solutions and opportunities being drawn to you. And that’s not magic; it’s science.
When you are ready to take back control of your financial future, let’s talk.