Mindset

“What if you started from the proposition that your past does not exist,” a best-selling mindset book challenges readers. “What if you treated memories as no more real than imagination?”

MSNBC’s top performing news anchor clearly read Gorilla Mindset, as she was able to survive a public relations blow that would have chopped the knees of of anyone else.

Through her life, Ms. Reid insulted gay people, Jewish people, Latino people, and everyone else. Sensing a brand pivot was in order, Ms. Reid became a spokeswoman for those same people she hated. Reid now limits her hatred to those you’re allowed to hate.

When confronted with her past writings, Ms. Reid claimed she never said what people accused her of saying.

And I believe her, because I wrote the book on her strategy.

The past isn’t real.

“The past” is collection of memories you choose to hold onto.

People love-to-hate holding onto the past because it offers an out. “I can’t do this, because of…..” Ms. Reid did not let her “past” stop her from living life on her terms.

Joy Reid should never be allowed to anchor a major cable news show. That is an objective fact. Her past remarks disqualify her.

But she didn’t allow what people claimed to be true about her past to stop her. She moved forward towards her vision, as Gorilla Mindset explains:

When a painful memory arises, remind yourself, This is not real. Instead of thinking about the past, visualize the future. Use your visualization skills that you have wasted on thinking about the past to dream about a better future. You’ll be surprised by what and who you attract into your life.

Low consciousness thinkers would claim these techniques mean you’ll “live in denial of the past,” and this shows they are science deniers.

Although memory can be hazy at times, it is often assumed that memories of violent or otherwise stressful events are so well-encoded that they are largely indelible and that confidently retrieved memories are likely to be accurate. However, findings from basic psychological research and neuroscience studies indicate that memory is a reconstructive process that is susceptible to distortion.

See, “The Neuroscience of Memory: Implications for the Courtroom.”

Human memory is provably biased. Here are 3 of over 38 biases that distort your memory:

1. Remembering the past as having been better than it really was, is an example of rosy retrospection bias.

2. Remember the path taken or choices made as being better than those you did not, this is called the Choice-supportive bias.

3. Mistaking a memory for something you imagined is a memory bias of cryptomnesia or a false memory. Fiction can be fun and we can all live in our heads a bit too much. This can equally work against us.

Maybe Ms. Reid wrote what people claimed, maybe she didn’t, the key is that she has chosen to live as if her past doesn’t exist.

Partisan people may not like or agree with what Ms. Reid does. Gorilla Mindset is a non-partisan, apolitical book. We don’t talk about politics, and in fact a lot of women have read it, too.

The powerful mindset techniques can be used by anyone. Read Gorilla Mindset today.

Why are people depressed and anxious?

Anxiety and other mental challenge have two components – physical and psychological. (This is a false dichotomy, as you’ll soon understand.)

The psychological components of anxiety come from cultural brainwashing. Most of the “problems” we have in the West were taught to us. For example people feel anxious about growing old. In other cultures age and wisdom are celebrated. Some people obsess over their looks, becoming depressed when they lose them, and fail to build character.

Shame is the only sin in the modern West.

We are also taught to let haters control us. For example, any article about a supplement – even one that is clinically proven – will be met with nasty comments.

• “Hey gorilla man is selling supplements.” (I don’t sell N-A-C.)
• “There’s no such things as toxins!” (False. Run a PubMed search for “oxidative stress,” and its causes.)
• “Snake oil!” (N-A-C is well-studied, and is the opposite of an unproven or ineffective product.)

People often refuse to take action because they are afraid of what haters will say. When you refuse to take action to improve your life, you continue the spiral of depression and anxiety, because you’re not living the life YOU want to live.

Mindset training gets you past the societal bullsh-t, but there is an actual physiological basis for many depressive mental conditions.

Could mental illness be caused by oxidative stress?

Top clinicians and researchers are exploring the role role oxidative stress plays in mental illness. There are several studies to peruse on PubMed.

A Meta-Analysis of Oxidative Stress Markers in Depression (PubMed):

Studies have suggested that depression was accompanied by oxidative stress dysregulation, including abnormal total antioxidant capacity (TAC), antioxidants, free radicals, oxidative damage and autoimmune response products. This meta-analysis aims to analyse the clinical data quantitatively by comparing the oxidative stress markers between depressed patients and healthy controls.

There’s more.

See, Is depression associated with increased oxidative stress?

A systematic review and meta-analysis. (“This meta-analysis finds that oxidative stress, as measured by 8-OHdG and F2-isoprostanes, is increased in depression. Larger-scale studies are needed to extend the evidence on oxidative stress in depression, and examine the potential impact of treatment.”)

And, The efficacy of adjunctive N-acetylcysteine in major depressive disorder: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (PubMed.)

“These data implicate the pathways influenced by NAC in depression pathogenesis, principally oxidative and inflammatory stress and glutamate, although definitive confirmation remains necessary.”)

See also, The Glutathione System: A New Drug Target in Neuroimmune Disorders (PudMed.)

Glutathione depletion and concomitant increase in oxidative and neurological stress and mitochondrial dysfunctions play a role in the pathophysiology of diverse neuroimmune disorders, including depression, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and Parkinson’s disease, suggesting that depleted GSH is an integral part of these diseases.”

On and on it goes.

 Markers of Oxidative Stress and Neuroprogression in Depression Disorder (PubMed).

Oxidative stress plays significant role in pathophysiology of major depression via actions of free radicals, nonradical molecules, and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species

The research is ongoing, of course, but when I found it, the choice to try a $15 a month supplement was a no-brainer.

N-A-C changed my life. I haven’t had anything close to an “anxiety attack,” despite attacks on me that would crush 99.99% of other people, in over a decade.

N-Acetylcysteine (N-A-C) has been clinically proven to help treat symptoms of anxiety, depression, and bipolar.

N-Acetylcysteine is a powerful nootropic with still many unstudied benefits. N-A-C has been used by visionary doctors to help treat intractable depression and anxiety.

Why haven’t you heard about the magical effects of N-A-C? Simple. Go on Amazon and see how much a bottle of N-A-C costs. There’s no profit in this stuff, even though there is solid science supporting its use.

According to N-acetylcysteine in psychiatry: current therapeutic evidence and potential mechanisms of action (PubMed):

There is a growing body of literature exploring the use of NAC in the treatment of psychiatric illness. There is provisional evidence of the potential benefit of NAC in a wide range of disorders. Many of these disorders have limited treatment options or suboptimal outcomes with current treatments.

See, N-acetyl cysteine for depressive symptoms in bipolar disorder–a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial (“NAC appears a safe and effective augmentation strategy for depressive symptoms in bipolar disorder.”) (PubMed.)

See also, N-acetyl cysteine as a glutathione precursor for schizophrenia–a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. (“These data suggest that adjunctive NAC has potential as a safe and moderately effective augmentation strategy for chronic schizophrenia.”) (PubMed.)

Why does N-A-C help treat depression?

Acetylcysteine is a glutathione precursor, which means acetylcysteine is converted into glutathione.

Glutathione is an antioxidant that used by your to reduce oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is associated with depression, anxiety, and other more severe conditions.

See, Invivo antioxidant status: a putative target of antidepressant action (PubMed):

Oxidative stress is a critical route of damage in various psychological stress-induced disorders, such as depression.

How much N-A-C should you take?

That would be medical advice, which I don’t give. However, participants in the studies usually used between 1 and 2 grams daily.

I personally take 2 grams a day of time-released NAC

What brand of N-A-C is best?

I personally use Jarrow’s form of N-A-C Sustain, which is time released.

Do you sell N-A-C?

No. Although N-A-C is a must-have product for me, it’s inexpensive. It’d cost me more to private label and deal with the logistics of selling it than it would bring in profit.

Also, Gorilla Mind is a separate company that I invested in. Gorilla Mind has fantastic products, but this isn’t a plug for any of them.

This is a plug for N-A-C.

And if you do like this article, sign up to receive more like it for free.

Professional boxer Ed Latimore and fitness and movement expert Alexander Cortes will be joining me for the New York mindset seminar. They will be covering their own material, which means in one day you’ll have access to

• A complete mindset model to change how you life,
• Expert fitness and health advice,
• Mental coaching for athletes and students.

A lot of people have questions about building your own online businesses and brands, and although that won’t be the focus of the seminar, you are welcome to ask any question you might have about branding during the Q&A.

The invitation-only seminar is June 23rd in New York, and will most likely be my last East Coast seminar of the year.

Request an invitation here.

What can you expect at a Gorilla Mindset seminar?

First, you’ll meet some of the best people of your life. Everyone there, regardless of background, shares a commitment to living their best life.

Second, we start off by focusing on the Gorilla Mindset model:

• Each chapter of Gorilla Mindset is separate yet connected,
• Self-talk and language patterns,
• How metaphors embedded in language shape how you view yourself and the world,
• Proper posture in standing, walking, and working.
• How to re-write your past to create a new future.

From there we cover story-telling, memories, reality creation, and whatever else is on your mind.

We always have a lengthy question-and-answer.

BEWARE: Our mindset seminars are intense. One complaint I got recently was that I don’t coddle people enough. We don’t sit around crying about the unfairness of life. We identity issues, focus on solutions, and take action.

We do not discuss politics at all.

As anyone who has read Gorilla Mindset knows, it’s an apolitical book. Our only focus is to help people from all over the world live the best life possible.

Besides, I am beyond bored with politics and have been focusing on my mindset work more.

What if you can’t attend a seminar?

No big deal! I have filmed two seminars, and both are available for free viewing here.

I am also going to release my Mindset “Master Class” this Summer.

That said, I only have a few regrets. Two stand out.

When Gerry Spence was trying his last case, the defense of Geoffrey Fieger, a friend of mine flew out to watch it. He had a hotel room for me to stay at. I didn’t want to spend the $298 on a plane ticket. Missing out on watching one of the greatest trial lawyers in history to save a few bucks showed how defective my mindset was.

I used to only look at costs, not benefits. Oscar Wilde defined a cynic, “A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.” The one exception to this rule was buying books. I always spent “way too much money” on books, and that “bad habit” paid off for me, even if half of my books aren’t fully read yet.

Another regret is that I never watched Dr. Gene Scott preach live at the University Cathedral. I took it for granted that he’d always be alive. Probably more than anyone, Dr. Gene Scott influences my presentation style.

Dr. Scott would go on long diatribes about books, history, philosophy, and religion. He’d rant at his own audience for some perceived slight. For over five years I lived within an hour of his church, and never took the trip down there. Why?

I took opportunities for granted and assumed the world I desired would magically always be there for me.

Contact me to request an invitation.

“If you’re going through hell, keep going,” takes on new meaning when your body randomly breaks out into first and second degree burns. After years of taking medications my doctors prescribed for eczema, I was finally diagnosed with Red Skin Syndrome, an iatrogenic condition caused by the very medications doctors prescribed. The only cure was to stop taking all topical corticosteroids. Cold turkey. That’s when the Hell sets it. My face swelled and my eyes closed shut.

• Hi. There is a 0% chance you know something about my skin condition that I don’t know. Keep those, “Have you tried…” tips to yourself.  :^)

I’m not sunburned in this picture, this is what’s known as a flare. If you look at my hand, you can see some non-fire skin. I’m not squinting in the image. My eyes had swollen shut and I had to eye them and pry them open to go out to dinner with friends.

How to Survive Hell? Live your Life.

Sometimes life sucks, there’s no way to spin it, you’re in pain and life sucks. This is what my face looked like for 8 weeks. I had lost a bunch of hair and my eyes sealed shut due to edema and swelling in my face.

Once you accept the underlying circumstance of, you have a choice.  Let life suck on its term, or live life on your terms?

I could have stayed home and hid. I could have wondered if people thought I looked like a hideous freak. I could have let shame and a fear of judgment put me on house arrest.

Or I could have gone on with my life, to the extent possible.

I choose to live my life normally.

I even went to the gym, which offered varying levels of pain.

Lacking moisture, my skin was a delicate as a butterfly’s wings. My would pull off from the flexion of normal movement. This is what my neck looked like on a normal Tuesday.

Have you ever heard the expression about putting salt into a wound?

When most of your body is an open wound, every drop of sweat stings.

Imagine tearing skin with each reputation at the gym as a salt drip of sweat covered the open wounds. I never cried, but there were whimpers of agony at times.

I also swam in the Dead Sea after a bad skin flare. Here’s what my arms looked like before diving in. (Well you don’t dive into the Dead Sea, as the saline content keeps your body in a state of floatation.)

“Low point” takes on a literal meaning when you’re salting wounds over your entire body.

 

How to survive hell? Keep a gratitude journal.

Each day I said, “You are so lucky that you can afford to work for home. Imagine what it must be like to have a job to go to.” Whenever I couldn’t move, I expressed gratitude that one day I would be able to move.

I was grateful for friends, who wanted to hang out.

I was grateful for Shauna, who stood by me.

And I sought beauty wherever possible.

After floating in what felt like an acid bath, I enjoyed a sunset over the Dead Sea.

 

How to Survive Hell? Focus on the Spirit.

“Spiritual growth is physically painful” became my mantra. I’d reflect on what a gift this suffering was, because my own life had become vainglorious. I only cared about money, sex, and partying. I had become superficial and lacking in empathy.

The physical pain, and frankly, the physical ugliness of myself, humbled it. The experience put me in touch with the human condition.

How can I act fearless? Because I’ve faced my fears. My body has been in Hell.

How to Survive Hell? Have a Vision for Your Future.

Like all people, I let shame and judgment control me. Don’t take risks, people might laugh at you, people might mock you, people might….

While going through Hell, I focused on how strong my spirit would be. I treated the experience like a training experience sent to me from the Universe. I was shown what I was capable of overcoming, in order to accomplish more. To stop letting excuses about being introverted stop me from leading.

Today people wonder how I keep moving forward despite being attacked by powerful media companies, being lied about, being slandered, being stalked….What I face daily is nothing because pain is subjective. What you feel today is measured and defined by what you’ve overcome.

All of my life I wanted to write a book that people would find decades after I had died, a legacy work.

Although I didn’t know it at the time, great work is born out of great suffering.

Gorilla Mindset wasn’t a book of theory. It wasn’t a collection of “scientific studies” conducted using college kids. It was a book born out of suffering.

Hell is Coming for You.

My worldview is paradoxical to those with a superficial understanding of Western “logic.” I’m simultaneously the most optimistic and pessimistic person you’ll ever meet.

Hell is coming for you, or maybe it’s found you.

And you can get through.

How?

Keep moving.

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Stay updated here:

Gorilla Mindset returns to New York City on June 23, 2018.

On June 23rd I’ll be returning to New York for my last East Coast seminar of the year.

If you already know what my mindset work is about, email me here to request an invitation. If you aren’t sure about attending a mindset seminar, skip below the form and read more.

 

 

 

Each Gorilla Mindset seminar is different,
which is why some people attend all of them.

I’ve given seminars across the world, and usually only do 2-3 a year. In 2017 I only held one seminar, and this upcoming seminar in New York will be my last East Coast mindset event of the year.

What can you expect at a Gorilla Mindset seminar?

First, you’ll meet some of the best people of your life. Everyone there, regardless of background, shares a commitment to becoming the best versions of themselves and to living the best life.

Second, we start off by focusing on the Gorilla Mindset model:

• Each chapter of Gorilla Mindset is separate yet connected,
• Self-talk and language patterns,
• How metaphors embedded in language shape how you view yourself and the world,
• Proper posture in standing, walking, and working.
• How to re-write your past to create a new future.

We always have a lengthy question-and-answer.

From there we cover story-telling, memories, reality creation, and whatever else is on your mind.

Is everyone invited to Gorilla Mindset seminars?

Yes, we do not discuss politics at all. As anyone who has read Gorilla Mindset knows, it’s an apolitical book. Our only focus is to help people from all over the world live the best life possible.

Gorilla Mindset isn’t political, and there are always people from all backgrounds and genders in attendance.

What if you can’t attend a seminar?

No big deal! I have filmed two seminars, and both are available for free viewing here.

During this seminar my skin was in a terrible flare due to an auto-immune condition. Did that stop me? No, and that’s what Gorilla Mindset is all about. Do not let life’s challenges stop you.

This Gorilla Mindset seminar is from July, 2017, and was filmed in Los Angeles.

 

How can you attend a Gorilla Mindset seminar?

You can email me to request an invitation here.