Meditation for Elite Performers vol2

[Music] welcome to meditation for elite performers Volume 2. It's a true joy to be here with you on this audio learning program and offer you my three latest visualizations to help you play your best game as a human being.

Volume one of meditation for elite performers has helped many thousands of people around the world to become more focused, more passionate, more effective, and more fulfilled in their lives. If you have already invested in volume one and have gone through those first three visualizations, you know from the introduction of that program that I first arrived at the idea to create a program on meditation from my work with my executive coaching clients.

Each year, I have the privilege of working as the success coach to a number of leading CEOs and world-class entrepreneurs. I consistently received requests from them to help them learn more about the tool of meditation, to help them discover all new levels of success in their professional lives, in their personal lives, and even in their spiritual lives. As a result of their requests, I developed those first three meditations that you heard on the first volume, and I would take them through those visualizations on a regular basis to put them into peak state and to allow them to awaken their highest potential.

Those three meditations became volume one for meditation for elite performers, and from the comments I heard from people worldwide, those three meditations were nothing more than transformational. I received an email from a CEO in Israel who said that one of the meditations on volume one allowed him to find a place of peace within himself that he had never been able to find in his entire life, despite all the inner work he had done and all the retreats he had attended. I received a letter from a young woman in Russia who said that because of the focus she had been able to build within her mind, the annual sales of her business increased nine times over what they were the previous year. I received an email from a student in India who said that meditation from elite performers volume one changed his life by introducing him to how powerful he truly was, helping him find his authentic self and showing him that he had so many more choices than he had previously been able to see. Other people said that that first volume helped them become more peaceful and kinder and better parents. For others, it led to better health and greater levels of self-esteem.

Remember, lifting your life into its highest realm isn't complicated. Success is really all about the repetition of a few powerful practices over the course of a lifetime. It's all about the little things you do each day as you live your days, so you craft your life. All too often, we think that success is so complicated. We think that personal transformation means we need to go out there and do something huge, and that's not the case at all. Sustained success is really about performing simple disciplines each and every day. And yet, the days slip into weeks, the weeks slip into months, the months slip into years, and before you know it, those simple disciplines lead to massive results. An extraordinary life, in so many ways, is all about the 1% wins.

If each day you meditate and you follow this simple practice with great discipline, and if you were to only improve the quality of your thinking 1% and the quality of the way you feel 1% each and every day, over one month, that would be a 30% improvement. Over one year, that would be a 365% improvement. As a matter of fact, it would amount to much more than that because of the power of compound interest, because of the power of momentum. So, just trust that the discipline of meditation will yield wonderful results in your life. Stay with it daily. Improve your mind, your body, your character, your spirit 1% each day. Don't bite off more than you can chew, and over time, I promise you, you will see some spectacular results manifest in all areas of your life.

Now, you might be wondering, why meditation for elite performers volume two? Well, I listen to my clients. As a matter of fact, I truly believe that my clients are my bosses. And as I travel the world giving speeches, or delivering the Awakening Best Self 2-day personal transformation workshop, or giving the EPS leadership workshop, or coaching various executives, I kept on hearing that people wanted more. They wanted some more visualizations that they could go through every morning to put them into their best state, so they could walk out in the world and play their highest games. And so, I started the testing process at the Awakening Best Self weekend. I started playing with various new meditations at the elite performer series. I tried other visualizations that would help the business executives and the entrepreneurs present feel better, feel stronger, feel more focused, become more creative. And over time, and through the testing process, I came up with the three new meditations that you're about to experience. And I'll tell you one thing: they work. If you have an open mind, engage in them fully, and go deep, you will see spectacular results over the coming weeks, months, and years.

But like any other tool for personal leadership and individual excellence, the choice is yours. I was on an airplane recently, and the gentleman said to me, "You know, Robin, we're not dogs. Human beings have choice." The more I thought about that, the more I realized this man was speaking some truth. The highest human power is our ability to choose. Our highest human freedom is the ability to make a certain choice given a certain set of circumstances. So, I can offer you this tool and tell you that it works, and encourage you to follow through on these meditations on a consistent basis. And please remember, in so many ways, success is about consistency. But it's up to you to apply them. Great businesses are masterful at executing around a good idea. Great human beings are masterful at executing around a great idea. And remember, ideation without execution is nothing more than delusion. In other words, a great idea without any action to bring it forward is really nothing more than a hallucination or a delusion. Let me put it this way: success favors the devoted.

Okay, three more things before we get into the heart of this audio learning program. First, I really have to express how grateful I am that you are here with me right now. As I said before, I've always felt that my clients are my bosses. I write my books for you. I give my speeches for you. Everything I do is driven primarily by this need to serve and add value to other people. In my presentations, I say, "The secret of passion is purpose." And all of my passion comes from the purpose of going out into the world and doing whatever I can to help people live their best lives. And but for you, I wouldn't be able to have the privilege and the joy of going out there and following my heart's calling. So, I want to thank you for believing in me, and I want to thank you for investing in meditation for elite performers Volume 2, and also congratulate you on making the decision to learn these three new meditations and integrate them into your life.

You know what the world really needs more than any other time in the history of our civilization are people who are leaders. People who, rather than cursing the darkness, light the candle. The world needs more lights. And the very fact that you're here with me right now shows me that you're the kind of person dedicated to improving yourself, to elevating the way you live, to enriching the way you think, and to playing a higher game as a human being. And I want to congratulate you for that.

Secondly, you might be wondering, when is the best time to use these meditations? And I should mention that you don't have to go through all three of them each day. As a matter of fact, what I encourage you to do is to pick one every morning and go through that. The first meditation you're about to learn is one that will get you into a peak state, ready for high performance. You might want to use this one before the big presentation, or before an important meeting, or at the beginning of your week. This one will be so valuable for you when you need to access high levels of confidence and special levels of enthusiasm.

The second meditation is designed to help you create greater levels of happiness. Of course, we all want to be happy all the time. And of course, we know that no human being can be happy all the time. Having said that, the second meditation is great to use first thing in the morning to lock you into a state of heightened joy. We all want to start off our day well. As a matter of fact, the first 60 minutes of your day determines, in so many ways, the way your day unfolds. So, you want to prepare yourself for a big day, just like an athlete prepares himself or herself before the big game.

And then, the final meditation is designed to help you create an internal template of your ideal day. Remember, remember the builder rule: all things are created twice. First in the imagination and in our inner world, and then they appear in reality. You can use these three meditations anytime you want during the day, but I do suggest that when it comes to the final meditation, the one where you create your ideal day, you do that first thing in the morning.

In my own life, I often meditate just after I get up. I try to get up very early in the morning. I used to get up at 5:00. Now I try to get up at 4:00 a.m., and I go into my sanctuary. And this is nothing more than a quiet place in my home where I have candles and other symbols that draw me into a deep state of reflection and introspection. I'll often meditate for 60 minutes, and that simple practice helps me become so much more focused. It helps me become so much calmer, and it helps me make better choices as I live through the hours of my day.

You know, we'd all laugh if we heard of an elite athlete who went out the night before a big event, had too much alcohol, got very little sleep, and yet hoped to perform at their best. A top athlete will practice on a consistent basis in order to get into the proper condition and the right frame of mind and the right inner space to play their best game. A little while ago, I was in Russia for a series of speeches. I went down to the hotel gym at 6:00 in the morning, and I saw Mary Pierce, the tennis star. And as I observed her, I noticed that she was going through her practices, she was going through her rituals, she was getting ready for the big game. And it reminded me that a great athlete prepares themselves for success. An elite athlete goes through their success rituals to create elite results. Actions have consequences, and you are an elite athlete on the playing field of life.

And so, my invitation to you is to commit yourself to the practice of meditation each and every morning so you can live the professional life and the personal life that you know in your heart is available to you. If you don't already do this, take one hour for yourself at the beginning of your day and call it your holy hour. And during that personal time for yourself, do your inner work. Go through one of these meditations to lock yourself into your best day. And after you've done that, because most of the meditations won't take more than 20 minutes, take some time to read from the wisdom literature, or write in a journal, or get on the treadmill and do some exercise. Because I found in my own life, more than ever, that your health truly is your wealth. Nothing is more important than your health, and yet most of us take our health for granted until we lose it. And then, once we do lose it, we spend all of our waking hours trying to get it back.

It reminds me of the old Hebrew saying: "When we are young, we would sacrifice all of our health for wealth. And yet, when we get old and figure out what life is all about, we are willing to sacrifice every penny of our wealth for one day of good health." What else can you do during this holy hour at the front end of your day? Well, you might review your philosophy statement, which is really a one-page statement articulating what you want your life to stand for. And remember, if you don't live your life by your philosophy, you'll end up living your life by someone else's philosophy. And I believe the number one crime a human being can commit is the crime of self-betrayal, the crime of not living life on your own terms. I truly believe that success is all about knowing what you want to stand for, knowing what your most important values are, and then walking out into the world and making sure that you live those values.

In my work with one-on-one coaching clients, one of the first things I do is I ask them, "What are your highest priorities?" I ask them to clearly identify what's most important to them, what their true convictions are. And then I look at their schedule, because the evidence doesn't lie. And I notice where there are gaps between their convictions and their daily commitments. And here's the big idea: the greater the gap between your highest priorities and your daily activities, the less your life is going to work. Why is that? It's because you're out of integrity. It's because you're not living your truth. So, it's so important to articulate your own philosophy and review it on a consistent basis. It's also important to look at your goals on a consistent basis.

Most people have what I call a predictable future. You can tell what their lives are going to look like by the actions they perform every day. As I said earlier, as you live your days, so you craft your life. Your days are really your life in miniature. It's like what Peter Drucker, the management consultant, once said: "The best way to predict the future is to create it." And in our days, we are actually creating our future. And what I find is most people are waiting for some moment in the future to visit them that will somehow take their lives to the place they've always dreamed of it being. Psychologists call this magical thinking. A great life is created, and it's created by the little things you do each and every day. It's those 1% wins that you perform over the course of a lifetime that amount to true personal greatness.

But if you do the same things each day, you're going to get the same results each day. And I know you know Einstein's definition of insanity: it's doing the same things and expecting different results. If you do the same things each day, and I'm going to repeat this again, you're going to get the same results each day. In other words, for your life to change, you must change. To see new results in your life, you need to take new actions. Anything less than expecting to see new things and new results in your life without taking those new actions truly is insanity. And yet, most people refuse to make even the smallest of changes. And behind that behavior is fear: fear of failure, fear of success, fear of being different, fear of being laughed at, fear of not following the crowd. And yet, most fears are illogical. Most people let their fears rule them their whole lives, and then in the twilight of their lives, realize that most of their fears were nothing more than delusions.

So, take that holy hour every single morning for yourself. Use it to do these meditations. Use it to write in a journal. Use it to work on yourself. Use it to create and craft the life that you want to live. It'll be a great source of power and a wonderful way to take your personal leadership to a whole new level.

Here's a metaphor that I want to share with you to bring this point home. If you get on an airplane, one of the first things a flight attendant will say to you is that in the event of an emergency, oxygen masks will come down from the ceiling. Put the oxygen mask on your mouth first before you help your children and all those around you. Why does the flight attendant say that? Because if you don't have any oxygen and you can't breathe and you're not fully functioning, you can't be of service to anyone else. Similarly, if you don't take the time to nourish your inner world, and if you don't take the time to renew and care for yourself, how can you be of service to those around you?

If you wake up every morning and you're feeling full of stress, or you're frustrated, or you're irritable, or you're in a negative mood because you haven't done the inner work for yourself and you haven't done any self-renewal and any self-management, how will you be for your family? How will you be for the people at the office? You'll take your frustrations out on them. Your negative mood will impact on your family life and your home culture and your work culture. Your irritation will influence your customers. I mean, let me ask you, can you really do good at work if you don't feel good? So, take the time for your holy hour. Create a series of rituals that will lock you into your best state, and realize that you are just like an elite athlete, and it's important to condition yourself on a daily basis so that you operate at your highest levels.

Okay, we're ready to get into the first of the three meditations. And don't get hung up on the word meditation. If you've never experienced this practice before, many people who have never experienced meditation wonder if meditation is all about a religious practice or some new-age ritual. Meditation is simply a tool to focus and steer your mind. It's been used for over 5,000 years in the East by some of the wisest human beings among us. It simply helps you become more concentrated, more focused, and prevents your mind from being like an unchained puppy, moving from place to place like a leaf in the fall wind.

Now, I know if you're like most people, you haven't spent much time building mental concentration. I don't know why they don't teach us this skill in school. Most people's minds scatter from place to place, and they can't stay focused on a task for more than a few minutes. And that affects their relationships, their creativity, it affects their effectiveness at work, it affects their ability to be in the present moment and to enjoy the beautiful journey of life. Meditation will help you develop a laser-like focus so that when you're having a conversation with someone, you'll be fully present with them. When you are reading, 100% of your mind's power will be focused on the material. When you're walking through the woods, communing with nature, you'll be fully in that scene rather than worrying about what someone said to you at the office or the next bill to pay. Again, meditation is nothing more than a tool, and a very practical one, that you, as an elite performer on the playing field of life, can use to play your best game as a human being.

Meditation number one. This meditation is called the treasure box. And as I mentioned earlier, it's one that you can use to access a peak state so that you can realize high performance. And the more you use it, the more you will be able to condition your mind to play at your best whenever you want it to. I want you to find a place where you can be undisturbed and sit in silence and feel comfortable. You might also want to light a candle to set the stage for what you are about to experience and to inspire you to go deep. The deeper you go in this meditation, the more powerful the results that will be available to you.

Now, close your eyes. Focus on your breathing. The sages of the East say that to breathe properly is to live properly. And the more deeply you breathe, the more deeply you will live. Meditation number one. Breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Through your exhalation, let go of any stress or tension you might be carrying. Breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Put one hand on your belly, and as you inhale, I'd like you to feel your belly expanding. Keep on doing this for the next few moments, still breathing in through your nose and exhaling through your [Music] mouth. Breathing in through your nose and letting go of any tension or stress that you may be [Music] carrying.

Now, imagine that there are two silver cables running from your feet down through the floor, through the center of the earth to its core. These wire cables ground you and they anchor you. I want you to imagine that there is a heaviness inside of your feet. You might even feel some tingling in your feet right now. Focus on how heavy your feet are becoming. That heaviness begins to move up through your ankles, through your calves, through your knees, and into your [Music] thighs. Your leg muscles are relaxing. Please keep breathing deeply. Breathe in through your nose. Breathe out through your mouth. Breathe in through your nose. Breathe out through your mouth. This heavy and peaceful feeling is now moving up through your groin region and into your stomach. You feel your stomach muscles relaxing and opening up. The heaviness now moves through your chest, and you notice your chest muscles [Music] relaxing. The heaviness moves down through your arms and into your [Music] hands. There's a wonderful feeling of peacefulness and relaxation emerging throughout your body.

Now, I want you to imagine that the level of relaxation you are currently at can be reflected on a dial. And what I want you to do is to turn the dial up to a nine. And now, turn it up to a 10. You're feeling more relaxed than you have ever [Music] felt. Heaviness is moving through your shoulders and down your back. Any tension or stress that you are carrying in the shoulders is literally melting [Music] away. Now, imagine a wave of peace washing over you from your shoulders right down to your feet. This heaviness moves up through your neck, up the back of your head, and over the crown of your head. It then moves down your forehead. Any lines of tension that were on your forehead literally melt away. You feel the weight of your eyeballs. You feel the weight of your jaw. You are now in a state of deep relaxation. I want you to let it all go. I want you to lock into this feeling. You know it was always available to you. We all have a beautiful well of peace that resides within us, just waiting for us to tap it whenever we want it during our days.

Now, in your mind's eye, and with as much color and emotional engagement as possible, imagine that you are standing on a beautiful beach. And I really want you to feel this scene. I really want you to bring your emotions into this picture. Look at the colors, smell the smells of the ocean, feel the breeze on your face, and what the sun feels like as it warms your [Music] body. Now, feel the sand on your feet. You are feeling wonderfully relaxed. You feel like you're on an endless vacation. Your life is working, and you don't have a worry in the [Music] world. Start to walk down the beach, fully engaged in the [Music] moment. Keep walking down the beach, experiencing the beautiful sights, the wonderful smells of the sea, and the flowers that are all over, completely enjoying this slice of heaven. At the edge of the beach, off in the distance, you're surprised to see a small wooden structure. As you draw nearer to it, you realize that it's a small schoolhouse, and as you draw yet nearer, you notice its white shutters and a silver bell on top of it. With great curiosity, you push the front door open and walk into a small room. The room is filled with flowers that give off the most beautiful fragrance you have ever smelled. No one is inside the schoolhouse, but you notice a few desks with papers and crayons on [Music] them. The scene is almost surreal, but you don't feel even the slightest amount of fear. Instead, you're feeling a deep peace and feeling very good about [Music] yourself.

As you look at one wall in the room, you see something that you can't believe. A large plasma TV screen is hung on the wall, and it instantly comes to life. You sit down in one of the desks and begin to view the TV screen, which has such vivid color and such perfect sound. As you view the screen, you notice a scene being projected onto the screen, and interestingly, the images are of you at an earlier time in your history. As a matter of fact, the scenes are of you engaging in one of your magic moments. A magic moment is simply a time in your past when you were playing at your best. It's a time when you modeled excellence and were accessing the greatest part of who you are. It might have been a time when you were on a family vacation and you didn't have a care in the world, you were fully engaged in the moment, and you were loving life. Or it might have been during a romantic dinner with your significant other when every ounce of your attention and every bit of your heart was fully invested in that person in front of you. I want you to pay attention to that magic moment that appears on the screen right now. Go deep into it, and don't just view it from the head, engage it from the heart. I truly want you to feel this scene in front of you. I'm going to give you 10 seconds to do [Music] this.

Now, I want you to reach up with both hands and imagine your hands actually going into the plasma TV screen and bringing that colorful magic moment together and collapsing it like you'd collapse a piece of paper into a little ball, and then make it even smaller so that it fits in the palm of one of your hands. Now, imagine yourself walking into the next room of the little schoolhouse, and as you walk into that room, you see in the center of the room a table that is covered in red roses, and in the center of those red roses is a treasure [Music] box. As you draw closer to the treasure box, you notice that it's made of pure gold. I want you to take that first magic moment that you've captured in the palm of your hand and put it gently inside the treasure box.

Now, go back to the main room and sit at the [Music] desk and view the second magic moment that you can think of. Wait till it surfaces in your mind's eye. See it in vivid color, and then feel that magic moment when you were playing your best game, when your life was working, when you were operating as the highest version of your highest [Music] self. Okay, wonderful. Now, take that second magic moment and walk into the next room and gently place it inside the treasure box.

Now, go back into the main room and access your third magic [Music] moment. [Music] [Music] Excellent. Now, walk into the second room and put the magic moment gently into the treasure box. Now, go back into the main room and find your fourth magic moment. I'm going to give you 2 minutes to do [Music] that. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Great. Now, go into the second room and put that magic moment into your treasure [Music] box.

Wonderful. Now, go back into the main room and find your fifth and final magic moment. I'm going to give you another 2 minutes to do that. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Great. Now, go to the second room and put that fifth and final magic moment into your treasure [Music] [Music] box. [Music]

Once you've done that, raise the treasure box with your two hands and holding it, walk out of the schoolhouse and onto the [Music] beach. The scene is spectacular. Notice the sun is radiating its light over you. There's not a cloud in the sky, and you feel extraordinarily powerful. You're feeling fully [Music] alive. It truly is a great day to be alive, and your life is [Music] beautiful. You smell the ocean breeze. You smell the flowers. You feel the sand on your feet. Now, you hold the treasure box up to the sun, and something almost miraculous happens. The treasure box begins to somehow move out of your hands, and it seems to be suspended in the air for a few moments. Then it slowly begins to float closer towards you. It moves closer and closer and [Music] closer. Then enters your body and moves directly into your [Music] heart.

I want you to lock into the feeling of what it's like to have the treasure box with those five magic moments living within your heart, beating within your heart, available to you anytime you need them to put you in a peak state. The feeling, the experiences, and the feelings associated with those five magic moments are available to you during your days whenever you need to access them. Remember, you're the one who achieved those victories. No one else did. You're the one who created the results. No one else did. Whenever you need to be at your best, simply go into your heart and access one of those magic moments. The more often you do this, the more you'll be anchored into peak state. The very second you go into your [Music] heart.

You now walk down the beach and you return to the place where you first started. You're feeling fantastic, fully alive, deeply engaged with the present moment. You're feeling very good about yourself. You're feeling very good about what your life is growing into. You're feeling excellent about what you stand for. You're a leader on the planet, and life is [Music] good. Now, I want you to wiggle your toes, wiggle your fingers a little bit, and whenever you're ready, open your eyes and come back to the room that you are now in. This is the end of meditation number one. Have a brilliant [Music] day.

Meditation number two. Welcome to the second meditation, which is a happiness visualization. You can use this meditation on a daily basis to elevate your joy levels and to help you experience a much happier life. This meditation is based on a simple yet powerful idea: most of us do not do the things that we are happiest doing. Most of us do not pursue our passions on a consistent basis. Here's what I mean: most of us had certain things we did when we were children that would put us into a heightened state of joy, but as we've become adults, we have forgotten to do those very things that were so important to us when we were young. One psychologist has said that adults are nothing more than deteriorated children, and so much of creating a fulfilling life is getting back to that childlike sense of wonder that we once knew, but perhaps have forgotten.

I often ask my audiences at my business presentations, "What would the child you once were think of the adult that you've become?" It's such a powerful coaching question, and so many people have sent me emails saying that that one question touched them at such a deep level and moved them to make actions that have led them to a much richer life. In this meditation, you'll have the opportunity to reflect on the things that have made you happiest in your life. You will also walk into the state that those happy moments created within you, so that you can bring more of those feelings into each and every one of your days. Remember, as you live your days, so you craft your life. Just wake up every morning and worry about living great days, and a great life will take care of itself. I know you know this, but an extraordinary life is nothing more than a series of well-lived days strung together like a necklace of pearls.

Okay, before I go into this second meditation designed to awaken your highest levels of happiness, please make sure you have a piece of paper and a pen in front of you. And once you've done that, please get into a comfortable place. Meditation number two. Now, please close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Remember, to breathe deeply is to live [Music] deeply. To breathe deeply is to live deeply. And as you breathe, feel your belly expand. Now, please exhale any stress or tension that you may be carrying. And again, breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Keep doing this for the next few moments, and then I'm going to come back to [Music] you.

Excellent. Now, imagine there are two silver blocks anchoring your feet to the ground. I want you not only to imagine these silver blocks in your mind's eye, but feel what your feet feel like as they are so deeply rooted to the [Music] Earth. You begin to feel a heaviness emerging within your feet. You also might feel a tingling in your feet as this heaviness begins to move up through your calves, up your knees, into your thighs. Your leg muscles are opening up and relaxing. Any stress or tension that you may have been carrying is being [Music] released. The heaviness then moves up through your groin area and deeply into your stomach. Your stomach muscles are feeling wonderfully relaxed, and you begin to feel like you're on an endless [Music] vacation. You feel more relaxed than you have felt in a long, long, long [Music] time. If your relaxation levels could have a dial placed on them, I'd like you to turn the dial up to a nine, and then turn it up to a 10. You notice the feeling of heaviness begins to move up through your chest. Your chest muscles are relaxing. You're feeling a great sense of serenity. You're feeling a beautiful sense of [Music] tranquility. The heaviness then moves down through your arms and across your hands. Literally feel your arms and hands being pulled toward the center of the Earth by the force of [Music] gravity. The heaviness then moves up your back and into your neck. You're experiencing a wave of peace washing over you, and your neck muscles begin to relax in the most wonderful of [Music] ways. You are accessing that well of peace that resides deep within you. It was always there. You may have just lost your connection to it. It awaits you each moment of every day. The heaviness then moves up the back of your head, over the crown of your head, and over your forehead. Any lines of tension that may have existed begin to wash [Music] away. Your forehead feels very relaxed. You feel the weight of your eyeballs. You feel the weight of your [Music] jaw. Any tension that your jaw was carrying melts [Music] away. Breathe in through your nose and exhale any remaining stress through your [Music] mouth. Keep on breathing deeply throughout this entire experience.

Excellent. Now, in your mind's eye, I want you to imagine that you're on a vacation at Costa Rica. You're at a five-star resort that is nestled into a cliff, surrounded by the rainforest. I not only want you to see this scene in your mind's eye, I want you to feel it. I want you to bring your emotions into this picture. You've been very fortunate to have a stunningly beautiful room that overlooks this stunningly beautiful scene. You see the rainforest surrounding you with its mountains and high hills, and on these mountains and hills are the most lush of trees. And right in front of you, the ocean looks magnificent. You're standing on your patio with nothing more than shorts and a t-shirt on. The sun is just coming up, and its rays are warming your body. And in front of you, right next to your patio, is a small swimming pool. Feel the sun's rays on your body, warming your tissues and infusing your organs. Smell the smells of the ocean and the tropical flowers. They are red and white and pink, and they surround the patio that you are on. And even though it's early morning, the small pool in front of you has candles lit all around it. It's a very sacred scene. You are feeling deeply still, gorgeously peaceful. You're not in a hurry to get anywhere. You've slowed [Music] down. You're fully present to this experience. You are living life. The pool in front of you is no ordinary pool. It's actually known as the happiness pool. This is a pool where, as you look into it in a heightened state of relaxation, you begin to see the happiest moments of your history.

I want you to walk over to the pool and sit down right before [Music] it. As you look into the pool, you actually begin to see the happiest moments of your life appearing in [Music] it. Many of these memories come from your childhood, and you're surprised that they are so simple. And then, deep in your heart, you realize that the most important things in life are the simplest things in life. You might observe and imagine yourself swimming on a summer's day in a lake when you were on a family vacation, or you may see yourself riding your favorite bicycle when you were a kid, the wind blowing in your hair and a giant smile on your face. Or you may see yourself dancing, or singing, or playing with crayons. Your images might be when you were a teenager and when you were laughing so hard tears came to your [Music] eyes. Or perhaps some of the images may be of your recent past as an adult, when you were surrounded by those you love and felt fully connected with every element of [Music] yourself.

I want you to begin to really pay attention to the first of the happiest moments that comes to your mind, and even more importantly, I want you to experience the state and the feelings that you first experienced when that happy moment visited you in your past. Here's what I'd like you to do: look into the pool and notice, what's the first happy moment that you see? Pay attention to the colors. Pay attention to the emotions. Walk into this [Music] scene. [Music] Notice what's going on within your body when you experience this first happy [Music] moment.

Excellent. Now, I want you to reach both hands into the pool and grasp that happy moment that you see in the pool, and pour that scene into a silver jug that's sitting at the edge of the patio. I want you to capture that happy moment and that precious scene in liquid [Music] [Laughter] [Music] form.

Now, go back to the pool and experience your second happy moment surfacing from the deepest place within you. Immerse yourself with it. Reconnect with the state, the emotions, and the sensations that you experienced when that scene first presented itself within your life. I want you to go deep into this second image and experience it for 60 seconds, then I'll come back to [Music] [Music] you. [Music] [Music] Great. Now, take that scene with all its color and glory, and with your two hands, pour it into the silver jug at the edge of the patio, capturing it again in liquid form.

Now, go back to the pool and see the third happy moment that comes to your mind. Feel the feelings, capture the emotions, and notice the sensations, and what's going on within your body as you experience that glorious moment. I'm going to give you another 60 seconds to do [Music] [Music] this. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Fantastic. Now, reach both hands into the pool and capture that happy moment in its liquid form, and then walk over to the jug and pour it into the jug. And if possible, I'd like you to actually move your hands as you do this. When you are done, go back to the pool and notice your fourth happy moment. Experience the emotions, the feelings, the sensations, and lock them into your body. I'm going to give you another 60 seconds to do this. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Excellent. Now, take that image and pour it into the silver [Music] vessel.

Once you were done, go back to the pool and see your fifth happy moment. Again, lock into the state you felt when you first experienced that wonderful time in your life. I'm going to give you one minute to do [Music] this. [Music] [Music] Great. Now, take that happy moment and pour it into the silver vessel.

Once you've done that, I'd like you to pick up the vessel. As you look over the beautiful blue ocean in front of you, I want you to hold the vessel up to the sky. I'd also like you to feel the sun's rays warming every aspect of your body, and I'd like you to feel the stillness that's going on within you. [Music] Here's what I'd like you to do now: gently bring the vessel to your lips and drink the images and the sensations and the emotions of your five happiest moments. I want you to actually feel the liquid moving through your body, into your heart, and into your mind. I want you to feel what's going on within your body right now as you drink this liquid. You're feeling the happiness that is infusing not only your consciousness but your very being. I'm going to give you one minute to lock into this happiness that is emerging within [Music] [Music] you. [Music] [Music]

Great. Welcome back. Now, move your fingers. Still keeping your eyes closed, wiggle your toes, and whenever you're ready, taking as much time as you need, gently open your eyes and come back into the room that you're sitting within. This is the end of meditation number two. Have a brilliant [Music] [Music] day.

You can use this happiness meditation to consistently access the happiness that you just felt. I know you know this, every single one of us has experienced happy moments in our lives. The more we can access these, the greater joy level we will experience. And here's another powerful idea: make the time to do more of the things that you love to do. Pursue your passions. If you love to play music as a child, do more of that as an adult. I had a gentleman show up at a recent Awakening Best Self weekend, and over the weekend, he learned more about his deepest values and what he wanted his life to stand for. And one of the things he realized was that his calling was to play music for other people. When he had been younger, he made music and played the guitar in a band, and that was the happiest part of his life. And his commitment was to get back to that passion.

A little while ago, I was looking at the community board at RobinSharma.com, and he'd actually shared the first song that he had written. And if you go there, you might still be able to read the words to that song, and it was unbelievably moving for me. And he shared that since he's got back into music, his levels of happiness have moved to a whole new level. If as a child you loved to swim in a lake on a summer's day, do more of that as an adult. If you loved to sing and dance as a child, do more of that as an adult. It's pretty logical: by doing more of the things that make you happiest, you'll experience more happiness in your life.

Each week, take the time for a micro-adventure. In other words, an adventure into something that you love doing. That might mean a walk to a bookstore. That might mean visiting a Vietnamese restaurant if you've never tried that type of food. That might mean taking your children out for a walk in the woods. Or it could be something as simple as pulling out that musical instrument you loved to play when you were younger and enjoying it for an hour or two. Life is meant to be an adventure, and the more micro-adventures you can inject within your life, the more you will appreciate the experience of living.

Now, before you get up, write those five happy moments on a piece of paper. Even better, pull out your journal and write as many pages as possible, and in as much detail as possible, about those five happy moments that you articulated, why they were important to you, and how you felt when you first experienced them. Then, record in your life what you can do on a consistent basis to bring more of these happy moments into your daily reality. Even more importantly, schedule this intelligence or this data that you've arrived at into your weekly schedule. I've realized in my own life that the things that get scheduled are the things that get done. And here's a powerful point: there can be no happiness if what's most important to you is not reflected in your daily schedule. In other words, where there's a gap between your highest priorities and your daily activities, you will feel unfulfilled, dispirited, and unenergized. So much of living a passionate life is all about closing the integrity gap between your convictions (in other words, what's truly important to you in terms of your values) and your commitments (in other words, the things you do each day). So...

Please don't forget that we become our schedule, okay? Before we end this piece, I want you to do one final exercise. I want you to come up with a one-line success statement. A success statement is simply a power phrase that you can use on a daily basis to remind you of the importance of living with joy and within the moment.

What you focus on in your life grows, and self-mastery is so much about ensuring that your focus remains on the philosophy that you want to live by. So often, we articulate what we want our lives to stand for. We want to be happier, we want to be passionate, we want to be healthier, we want to achieve great things, we want to find great love. And then we walk out into our days and react to the unimportant things, and we get off track.

And so, what I've realized, having worked with thousands of people around the world as a success coach, is that the people who live extraordinary lives are very intentional. They keep the things that matter most at the front of their consciousness. And because of their better awareness, they make better choices. And because of their better choices, they see better results.

So, this success statement will allow you to stay focused on what truly counts. Your power phrase might sound like this: "Every day and in every way, I am happier and happier, healthier and healthier." And you just repeat that over and over, maybe while you walk to work.

Many years ago, I was a lawyer. I was very frustrated, very unhappy in my life. And one of the simple yet powerful tools that I used each and every morning while I walked to my office was my success statement. And over and over, I would repeat under my breath: "Every day and in every way, I'm getting better and better, stronger and stronger." "Every day and in every way, I'm getting better and better, stronger and stronger."

And of course, that shifted my focus. And the things you focus on grow. What you think about expands. What we dwell on determines our destiny. And again, with better awareness, because we're shifting our focus from our problems to progress, we begin to make better choices. And with better choices, we see better results.

Another example of what your success statement might sound like is: "I am so very grateful for the joy that I will experience today." "I am so very grateful for the joy that I will experience today." Come up with the success statement that works for you, that feels right for you, that's authentic for you. And then repeat this power phrase over and over, at least a hundred times a day. Just keep remembering that your expectations and what you expect to get from the day creates your reality. Your expectations are a self-fulfilling prophecy. And what I've experienced in my own life is that we find what we're looking for in life.

Okay, that's the completion of the exercise around meditation number two. I wish you a fantastic day and encourage you to walk out in the world and play your biggest game. This is the end of CD number [Music] one.

Welcome to meditation number three of Meditation for Elite Performers, Volume Number Two. This third meditation on the program will help you craft your ideal day. Today, it's best to use this meditation during your holy hour, that 60-minute period at the front end of your day that you take for yourself while the rest of the world is asleep. Your holy hour is your sacred time to work on yourself, to renew your mind, take care of your body, to tend to your emotions, and to nourish your spirit. This is the time you do your daily practices, just like any elite athlete does her practices or his practices to stay at their best.

During your holy hour each morning, as part of your personal conditioning, I suggest you use this visualization and then write about what you experienced as you went through it in your personal journal. Remember, writing things down not only promotes mental clarity, which increases your awareness, and with better awareness, you can make better choices, and when you make better choices, you are definitely bound to see better results. But writing things down also deepens your conviction.

And before I go any further, I want to speak briefly about the value of taking your holy hour very early in the morning. It's really not that hard to develop the habit of early rising, and yet it'll be one of the best gifts that you give yourself. If you look at some of the greatest women and men who have walked the planet before us, one of the consistent habits that they enjoyed in their own life was the discipline of getting up early. And it's not that hard to develop the early rising habit.

The metaphor I want to offer you is the space shuttle. The space shuttle uses more fuel in the first 3 minutes after it lifts off than it uses during its entire circumference around the Earth. And that's because it has to overcome the pull of gravity. Similarly, when you're creating any new habit in your own life, you have to overcome the pull of your old habits, the pull of gravity, the pull of the safe harbor of the known that wants to keep you where you once were. But once you go through those first few weeks and move past the pull of the known, the pull of the familiar, the pull of gravity, things get easier, and the new habit replaces the old habit. So give the habit and the discipline of getting up early at least four to six weeks. You don't want to be like the person who goes to French class for a week and then leaves saying, "I took French lessons for seven full days. I didn't learn the language. I guess I can't learn it." Any new discipline, any new subject takes time. You want to practice it, you want to integrate the learning, you want to be patient.

And speaking about getting up early reminds me of what Ben Franklin once said: "Sleep is like a drug." And I definitely have to agree with that point of wisdom. It's so easy to get into the habit of sleeping too much, and if we do that, it's easy to sleep a whole life away.

Before we get into meditation number three, I want to give you some very practical tools to help you get up earlier. Number one: Don't eat after 8:00 the night before. Number two: As soon as your alarm clock goes off, and this is a simple little point, yet it works so well for me, just jump out of bed. If you stay under the covers, the excuses are going to take over. You're going to hear the chatter, and it might sound like this: "Oh, the bed feels so warm, and I deserve to sleep more today because I've been working so hard, and what if Robin's wrong, and it doesn't really make much sense to get up early?" You want to jump out of the bed, and as soon as you're out of the bed, it's so much easier to get on with your day.

Number three: Take the time to exercise on a consistent basis. I find in my own life that when I'm in really good physical condition, I have so much physical vitality that I just want to get up. And then finally, perhaps the best way to develop early rising discipline is to find your purpose, find the dream you want to chase. The secret of passion is really purpose. And when you articulate and connect from your heart as well as from your head with some kind of a wonderful purpose, whether it's raising a great family, or building a great business, or being an excellent leader at work, or championing other people. But when you connect with that kind of a purpose and you focus on it and you revisit it every day, you become flooded with a great sense of energy.

Meditation number three. Close your eyes and begin to focus on your breathing. Breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Breathe in through your nose, exhale through your [Music] mouth. Put one hand on your belly and feel your belly expand as you inhale. Now, please exhale any stress that you are carrying and release any tension. Your expectations create your results, and I want you to set the expectation as you go into this meditation that it will take you into one of the deepest states of peace and excellence that you have ever accessed. I'm going to leave you alone now for 30 seconds to allow you to simply focus on on you're [Music] [Music] [Music] breathing. As you know, to breathe deeply is to live deeply, and to breathe properly is to live [Music] properly.

Now, imagine two silver blocks attached to your feet, anchoring you to the Earth and grounding you. A heaviness begins to form within your feet. You may even feel a tingling. This heaviness moves up through your ankles, through your calves, through your knees, and into your thighs. The muscles in your legs begin to open up, and you begin to feel exceptionally [Music] relaxed. I want you to go deep into this and lock into the sensation of peace that is emerging within [Music] you.

The heaviness then moves up through your groin area and into your stomach muscles. Your stomach muscles begin to feel very relaxed. Any stress you may be carrying begins to melt away. Any tension you may be carrying begins to leave you. Keep on focusing on your breathing. In through your [Music] nose, out through your mouth. In through your nose, out through your mouth. The heaviness begins to move up through your chest and then down your [Music] arms and across your hands. A wave of peace washes over [Music] you.

If your relaxation levels could be measured on a dial, what would the number be from 1 to [Music] 10? Now, ever so gently, I want you to turn the dial up to a 10. I want you to go to the deepest place of relaxation you have ever experienced. I want you to know a beautiful sense of joy by connecting to the well of peace that always resides within [Music] you.

The heaviness now moves up your back and into your shoulders. Your shoulders begin to feel incredibly relaxed. There might even be a warmth moving up through your whole body. The heaviness now moves up your neck, over the back of your head, over your crown, and onto your forehead. Any lines of tension simply melt away. You feel the weight of your eyeballs, the weight of your jaw. Any stress that your jaw was carrying just evaporates. In your mind's eye, I want you to now imagine that you are climbing a mountain. And I don't just want you to visualize the scene with your intellect. Even more importantly, I want you to bring your heart into the picture. I want you to feel what it's like to stand in this scene. I want you to bring your emotions into this circumstance. You know that it's your emotions that are your powerhouse towards your best life. Often, the mind is the limiter, and it's the emotions that are the liberator.

As you begin to scale this mountain, you notice other peaks around you with snow on top of them. The sun is shining brightly. There's not a cloud in the sky. You can see the valley below with its lush vegetation and its stunningly beautiful flowers. You smell the smells, you experience the sights, and you can hear the children playing in the valley below and their dogs barking. The climb is not a hard climb. You move higher and higher and savor the crisp mountain [Music] breeze. You continue to notice the sun shining your face and warming every cell of your body. You're fully in the moment. You are in the flow state. You don't have a care in the world. Everything in your life is working. It's just clicking. You're feeling a beautiful sense of joy. With each step upward, you feel more confident and more powerful. You realize that your life is all about choices, and you have more choices as to how your life looks than you may have ever imagined. Often, it's so easy to get so used to making the same old choices each day that we become conditioned to them. We see the world through a series of blinders, and we forget about the many new choices that are available to us every moment of every hour of every day.

Once you get to the top of the mountain, you notice that there's a place to sit and relax. You take off your napsack and have some fruit as a [Music] snack. The scene is remarkable. It actually takes your breath away. For a mere instant, you feel fully alive. You begin to access the feeling of who you truly are and connect with the greatness that you have always been meant to be. I want you to spend a moment feeling what it feels like to be at the top of this mountain and to feel fully alive, connected with your best and your highest [Music] self.

[Music] Excellent. Now imagine that right in front of you, there appears a golden door. You stand up and push the golden door open, and you walk into the most bright light you have ever noticed in your life. Your whole body is immersed in the light. It makes you feel warm, loved, and happy. You also feel highly confident and extraordinarily powerful. You feel you can take on the world and do anything you have dreamed of doing. You feel you have greater courage, greater passion, greater authenticity, greater spirit.

In front of you, there appears a series of steps. You begin to walk up the steps, taking the first step and then moving higher onto the second step, and then onto the third step, and then onto the fourth step, and even higher onto the fifth step, and onto the sixth step, and onto the seventh step, and then on to the eighth step, then on to the ninth step, up onto the 10th step, and onto the 11th step, and onto the 12th step, and onto the 13th step, and onto the 14th step, and onto the 15th step, and onto the 16th step, and onto the 17th [Music] step, and onto the 18th [Music] step, and onto the 19th step, onto the 20th step, and finally, you reach the 21st step. You find yourself in a small room, and in the center of the room is a chair. You walk over to the chair and you sit down. You close your eyes and you begin to see the day that is about to unfold for you in vivid color and intense detail.

I want you to see your ideal day unfolding today in your mind's eye. I want you to envision what needs to happen today for you to feel that this was an ideal day. I want you to envision how you must show up today in order for you to feel that this has been a magnificent day. And again, don't just see it, feel [Music] it. What kind of food will you eat today? What kind of words will you express today? What kind of actions will you take today to play your best game and live the greatness that you know in your heart you're meant to be? What will you do today to be a source of positive energy and inspiration to everyone you meet? How will you develop your mind, even just a little bit? How will you nourish your body, even just a little bit? How will you tend to your emotions, even just a little bit today? And what will you do to cultivate your spirit, if even just a little [Music] bit?

Now, visualize what things you can do to model excellence at work and at home, and with strangers on the street. What will you do to show your commitment to creativity? I'm going to give you a few moments to really lock into the scene and go deep here. Then I'm going to come back to you. Remember, your expectations shape your realities, and you will see more in your life of what you most [Music] expect.

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Excellent. Now you see yourself standing up from the chair and walking back down the steps, closer and closer to the golden [Music] door. Now you see yourself back on the top of the mountain. You're feeling relaxed, rejuvenated, energized, focused, happy. You gently make your way down the mountain and go lower and lower and lower. You're feeling fully alive. You're locked into a powerful state. You're locked into your best [Music] self. You know with great clarity and precision what needs to happen today for you to have an extraordinary day.

As you move lower down the mountain, you begin to hear the children laughing and their dogs barking. You're full of energy. You're full of life, and you know that today you can create an extraordinarily special day. And you know in your heart that as you live your days, so you craft your life. There are no unimportant days. Every single day contributes to the whole, and what you do today could take your life into a whole new direction. You finally reach your starting place. I want you to take a breath or two and feel what it feels like today. You will play your best game as a human being. Today, you will be the authentic leader that you've always wanted to be. Today, you will be full of physical vitality and have a sparkle in your eye. Today, you will bring your sense of childlike wonder out into the world and make people better just by your very presence and by the example that you [Music] set.

Please wiggle your toes, wiggle your fingers, and whenever you're ready, taking as much time as you need, open your eyes and come back into the room that you're within. I wish you an extraordinary [Music] [Music] day.

This concludes Meditation for Elite Performers, Volume 2. I hope that you revisit at least one of these meditations on a daily basis. I know you know this: leadership and personal excellence is all about consistency. It's all about alignment between what's most important and what you do each day. As I mentioned earlier, the greater the gap between your convictions, in other words, your highest values and priorities, and your commitments, in other words, your daily schedule, the less your life will work. I teach this philosophy at our Awakening Best Self Weekend, and I call it the Integrity Gap. Stated simply, the greater the gap between who you truly are and the way you show up each day, the less your life will work.

The more often you experience these meditations, the more quickly you will be able to access the states of excellence, passion, and mastery that are available to you. I know from using these meditations in my various workshops that they work. They're powerful, they're practical, and they're great tools for you to bring into each one of your days. As you know, an elite athlete practices on a consistent basis to get better, to get into world-class condition. And I invite you to consider that you are an elite athlete on the playing field of life, and these meditations will help you get there.

I want to thank you so much for the opportunity that I've had to be here with you as your coach on these meditations. I know that they will bring you the results that you're looking for, and I encourage you to go out there and continue to let your light shine and stand for the excellence and leadership that I know you're dedicated to standing for. I also hope that if you've already not done so, you will visit RobinSharma.com and join the conversation of like-minded people at our community board. We've attracted some of the most interesting, wise, and passionate people, and they will support you as you continue to play your highest game as a human being.

And when you visit RobinSharma.com, please also be sure to download the free books, as well as the learning guide and the many articles that will help you achieve professional excellence and personal success. Yet another resource is our electronic newsletter, which you can sign up for at the website. You'll get it every 30 days, and it'll be full of rich ideas that will help you live your best life.

Finally, I hope to meet you one day, perhaps at one of my seminars, such as the Awakening Best Self Weekend, which is our two-day personal transformation process that will help so many people live their highest lives, or perhaps at the Elite Performers Series, which is our two-day leadership coaching program that helps business people and entrepreneurs become far more effective, not only in their careers but with themselves. And more than anything else, I want to congratulate you for having the courage to go deep with me on these meditations, to get to know more of your potential and the person you know in your heart you've always wanted to be. The world needs more people like you, and I truly believe we can improve our world one person at a time. But as you know, it all begins with you and the other kindred spirits like us doing our best to be our best. Thank you, and stay great. [Music] [Music]