“Misdirection is the art of initiating a train of thought in the mind of the spectator.”

Alan Alan, Escapologist and illusionist

“It seems as though you've been thinking your happiness, security and general OK-ness is dependent on you achieving your goals…”

“Yes… Obviously!” I replied. I'd just finished explaining to one of my mentors why it was so vitally important that I achieve a particular objective.

“That means you don't understand where your security and well-being come from,” he told me. “Your happiness, security and OK-ness don't come from outside you, so they're not vulnerable to anything outside you.”

I'd fallen for a trick that's been bedevilling people for thousands of years. I'd been fooled into thinking my happiness and well-being were dependent on my circumstances.

History is full of these illusions and false appearances:

• Flat earth vs. Spherical earth: People used to believe the earth was flat, because that's how it looked to them. But it was never flat; it was always spherical, with some bulging. It's spherical 100% of the time, even when it looks like it isn't.
• Geo-centric vs. Solar-centric: People used to believe the sun went round the earth, because that's how it looked to them. But the sun never went round the earth; the earth always went round the sun. The earth goes round the sun 100% of the time, even when it looks like it doesn't.

Our experience is being generated from the inside-out, 100% of the time, even when it looks like it isn't. There are two basic mistakes of attribution that people tend to make because of the outside-in misunderstanding:

Mistake #1 – We tend to mistakenly attribute our fulfilling, enjoyable experiences to something other than the principle of THOUGHT. But our fulfilling, enjoyable, desirable feelings are THOUGHT-generated; they only ever come from within us.

Examples:

• I'll be successful once I get the promotion.
• I'm secure because I've got money in the bank.
• I'll have a sense of freedom once I quit my job.
• I'm confident and outgoing because of my upbringing.

Our feelings, states and emotions can't possibly come from anywhere other than THOUGHT, because our experience is mind-made. We live in an “inside-out” world, and the experiences we enjoy only ever come from within us. Period.

Mistake #2 – We tend to mistakenly attribute our uneasy, unpleasant feelings to something other than the principle of THOUGHT taking form in the moment. Our uneasy, unpleasant, agitated feelings are THOUGHT-generated; they only ever come from within us.

Examples:

• I feel anxious about the job interview.
• I'd be devastated if you left me.
• I'm afraid of failure.
• I'm shy because of my upbringing.

As you can see, these two mistakes are the same misunderstanding. The outside-in misunderstanding is the source of contaminated thinking. I'm not saying that job interviews, promotions, money and upbringings don't exist; I'm just saying that none of our feelings come from them. 100% of our experience of interviews, promotions, money and upbringings comes from within us – we're always living in the experience of the principle of THOUGHT taking form, moment to moment.

Imagine a snow-globe that's been vigorously shaken. The snow fills the entire globe, obscuring everything else. But the moment you set the snow-globe down, the snow starts to settle, and the liquid clears. Contaminated thinking is like the snow in the snow-globe; plentiful and impenetrable, but with no meaningful substance.

Clarity is like the liquid in a snow-globe. It's always there, behind the scenes, ready to start emerging the moment you insightfully see the inside-out nature of reality; the realization that you're feeling the principle of THOUGHT taking form in the moment…

And that THOUGHT-generated experiential reality is “brought to life” by the principles behind clarity.

So what's the point of learning about principles?

Principles are a source of massive leverage. When you understand the principles behind something, it increases your power exponentially. For example…

The principles of flight

For thousands of years, people struggled with the mystery of flight. While people saw birds and insects flying, they didn't understand the principles that made flight possible. Then, the Wright brothers discovered the principles of aeronautics. In December 1903 they achieved the first manned, machine-powered flight. In the century since, the world of aeronautics has achieved extraordinary feats. Discovering the principles of aeronautics gave people massive leverage to create things that couldn't even be dreamt of previously.

Even a rudimentary awareness of principles has implications for your behaviour. While you may only have a basic understanding of germ theory, it's likely that you've learned to wash your hands regularly, cover your mouth when you cough and are careful when handling anything you think is a significant source of germs and bacteria.

The CLARITY^® model is a business-friendly coding of the principles behind clarity, and the implications of those principles. As you continue getting a deeper understanding of these principles, you'll start experiencing a gentle yet powerful transformation, with more clarity, resilience and well-being. And why does insightful understanding of these principles make such an impact in people's lives?

Clarity of understanding leads to clarity of thought…

The outside-in misunderstanding – the false assumption that we're feeling something other than THOUGHT in the moment – is the only thing that ever keeps us from clarity. Clear up the misunderstanding, and the mind clears.

The factory settings

Clarity, resilience and peace of mind are the default setting for people; our true nature. They are our natural state when our minds are clear and free from contaminated thinking. As you continue deepening your understanding of these principles, you'll start experiencing the “default settings” more of the time. These default settings are the “deep drivers” behind individual and business success.

Deep Driver	What it drives…
Clarity: A clear mind, free from superstitious thinking, fully present and in the moment, with the levels of performance, satisfaction and enjoyment that brings.	High performance Effective leadership Presence Insight Confidence Timely decision making Detecting opportunities Competitive advantage Rapid response to change Dealing with complexity Productivity Reduced stress Increased focus
Direction: A sense of direction, purpose and motivation, free from urgency and undue pressure.	Authentic leadership Shared vision and purpose Focus of resources Employee engagement Strategic planning Brand clarity and passion Sustainability Resolves uncertainty Shared goals Motivation
Resilience: A strong sense of inner resilience, security and trust in yourself and your world.	Thriving through uncertainty Rapid recovery from setbacks Dealing with change Responsiveness and flexibility Confident delivery Agility and staying power Mental fitness/toughness
Creativity: A reliable source of creativity and insight for innovating and solving problems.	Soft and hard innovation Problem-solving Disruptive strategy Blue ocean strategy Product and service design Customer delight Market leadership Brand narrative Opportunity creation
Connection: Warm, genuine connections with other people, leading to stronger relationships with clients, colleagues, friends, family-members and lovers.	Understanding customer needs Service culture Employee engagement Effective meetings Productive, agile teams Collaborative solutions Contribution and caring Sustainability Social marketing Effective communication Effective listening Persuasion and influence Word of mouth/referrals Brand loyalty
Authenticity: The freedom to be who you are, speak your truth and do what you believe to be right.	Authentic leadership Integrity Transparency Customer loyalty Employee engagement Brand clarity and passion Trust and credibility Raving fans Differentiation
Intuition: Alignment with your intuition and inner wisdom, your internal guidance system.	Effective decision making Opportunity spotting Disruptive offerings Blue ocean strategy Market leadership Soft and hard innovation Product and service design Competitive advantage Sustainability
Presence: Present, aware and available to the moment, connected with your mind, your body and the world around you.	Influencing others Charismatic leadership Clear view of reality Enhanced awareness Enhanced forecasting Trend-detection Opportunity spotting Natural attractiveness Embodied learning

Context-sensitive

The mind is context-sensitive. The CLARITY^® model points to an extraordinary “intelligence” capable of giving you what you need when you need it. The mindset that's most practical and useful for a job interview isn't necessarily the one that will give you the richest experience of sharing a sunset with your lover. The mindset that's most effective when coming up with a solution to a serious business problem isn't necessarily the one that will help you deliver the goods when you're delivering an inspirational speech to rally the troops.

The more deeply you understand the principles behind clarity, the more you get to benefit from the implications of these principles.

Even when we know about them, we all sometimes lose sight of the fact that principles are creating our experience of life. We get caught up in our thinking and slip into the outside-in illusion. Fortunately, there's a brilliant system we've each got to let you know when that's happened, and point you back in the direction of clarity…