My Mind Is Not Always My Friend, A Guide For How To Not Get In Your Own Way

by Steven Jay Fogel

Your Friend or Foe? Your computer and your cell phone know what day it is. So why should your mind be living in the past? The greatest challenge we face is to rule our minds, lest they rule us without our even being aware of it. How do you become a conscious observer of your thoughts and stop past-based, self-defeating thinking from controlling your present? How do you make your mind your ally, your servant, and your best friend? Your mind is one of the most powerful tools you possess. Now you'll learn how to create the emotional life, the spiritual freedom, and the financial success you've always longed for. In this path-breaking new book, business leader Steven J. Fogel will teach you how to live "right here, right now," and how to live a fulfilling life as you reach new heights. "Fogel's guiding principles are right on target. Adopting them would have to improve your life." Larry King

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology

200 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

I am an author, entrepreneur, business owner, and professional real estate investor. My official bio, from my publisher:

Steven Jay Fogel set a goal of becoming a millionaire by the time he was 30. He achieved his objective and was proud of his success, living the lifestyle he’d always dreamed of. He had a talent for making and keeping money.

But his happiness was fleeting. He soon found that the old line “Money can’t buy happiness” was true—and the joke was on him!

At 26, he had a lovely home, a wife and, soon, kids. At 36, he came home every night to a Hollywood mansion, a picture-perfect family and all the things he’d thought he was supposed to have. He was outgoing, good at telling jokes and stories, and usually had a smile on his face.

But no matter how much he accomplished—how much he had—he never felt truly happy for long.

For the past 35 years, he’s been searching for answers to the psychological and spiritual mysteries of life. He engaged in every method for self-transformation that came across his path, hoping to find the antidote to his emotional pain. He became a painter and a writer; took up music, acting and standup comedy; and produced independent films, in addition to running his company.

What was missing was a sense of purpose to his life.

Then, after many years of searching for it, his purpose came to him: to share the self-transformation techniques he’d learned on his search in order to help others relieve their unnecessary pain and get out of their self-imposed straitjackets.

Steve Fogel is a principal and cofounder of Westwood Financial Corp., one of the largest owner-operators of retail properties in the United States with a portfolio of over 93 shopping centers in 23 metropolitan markets worth over one billion dollars. He is a licensed real estate broker and past chairman of the California Arts Council.

He is the author of My Mind Is Not Always My Friend: A Guide for How to Not Get in Your Own Way (Fresh River Press, 2010); The Yes-I-Can Guide to Mastering Real Estate (Times Books-Random House); and Your Mind Is What Your Brain Does for a Living: Learn How to Make it Work for You (Greenleaf Book Group Press, March 2014).

Reviews

[Barbara]

I am SO interested in reading this book.

[Marie Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book free in a goodreads giveaway. Although it was a short read, it made me think alot. i really enjoyed it and am gonna put a lot of the things i learned to use.

[Teri Temme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking, here's an example: "Since control is an illusion, we may not be able to create the exact circumstances we want, nor can we make people be the way we want them to be - but whatever our circumstances, we can always change our point of view, the tale we're telling ourselves, and give our experiences a new meaning, a different context."

Awesome - right?

[Sue Bridehead (A Pseudonym) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author shares with the reader, in simple, easy-to-follow layman's terms, the basics of Jungian psychology, and how to apply the tools of this type of therapy to your life. The ultimate goal: to stop self-defeating thinking and to live in the present.

This book could be subtitled, "Six years of therapy for $16.95."

There's some good stuff to be learned here, and a lot of practical exercises you can do at home to work on issues like:

* Getting in touch with your emotions so you can feel them, label them, deal with them, and move on
* Learning how to identify when you're reacting to your "programming" from childhood, instead of the actual situation at hand
* Gaining control of your mind and thoughts so you can react appropriately to situations that "activate" you
* Defusing and resolving conflict, and being present in relationships: work, family, friendship, romance