Controversial Legacy

Subliminal messaging has experienced a controversial past. It was in the late fifties that market researchers such as Vance Packard and James Vicary popularized the concept of psychological, “hidden persuasion” tactics adopted by marketers; the former through his pop sociology book and the latter by claiming an experiment that he conducted on almost fifty thousand moviegoers. (An interesting account of Vicary’s experiment is available on my blog.) Ever since, research after research and author after author has focused on the concept of subliminality from the point of view of how it is being commercially exploited by self-centered businesses to sell their wares. They may have debunked the notion of subliminality itself, or may have been its ardent exponents, but the “advertising” angle remained.

News from totalitarian regimes that employ “thought police” who brainwash its citizenry into believing whatever they want it to believe, have added to the dark, somber ambience surrounding this otherwise very interesting subject.

A Double-Edged Sword

A knife or a sword can save; and it can kill, too. The same is the case with subliminal messaging. Forget advertising; when we look around us, we find our attitudes and ideas being shaped by a host of cultural symbols and artifacts that continuously bomb us day in and day out.

A case in point is a gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/hr_racialstereotypes.shtml” target=”_blank study conducted in 2004 by Professor Brian Lowery, social psychologist, researcher and Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty. Participants in the study were senior and probationary officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, and the study focused on their attitude towards racial stereotypes.

One group of participants was subjected to visual subliminal messaging (or “priming”, as the researchers call them). The messages – words that one normally associates with African Americans (”ghetto”, “homeboy”, “dreadlocks”, and the like) – were flashed at them on the computer screen rapidly, such that the conscious eye could not decipher what was being transmitted. The second group was not subjected to any subliminal communication.

Immediately thereafter, the two groups were presented with the case of a hypothetical adolescent, who was alleged to have committed some minor offense (shoplifting, peer assault). “What punishment would you advocate for this crime?” the participants were asked. The racial identity of the person involved was not disclosed.

The result? The group that was given the subliminal priming treatment endorsed harsher punishment to the hypothetical transgressor, than did the group that was not treated thus. Many members of the first group were African Americans themselves. Quite a few of them also believed that they were not biased towards non-whites.

This finding reveals two interesting aspects about our psyche:

1. Subliminal messaging – when received over a sustained period of time from the environment we live in – shape our attitudes and judgment. These messages are symbols, words and thought patterns that collectively form a stereotype, and which everybody around us associates with.

2. When we are strongly subjected to the same set of subliminal symbols for a few moments, our thought patterns and attitudes associated with those symbols emerge from the subconscious into our conscious mind, and color our judgment.

Subliminal messaging is also deployed as an effective tool by detective agencies, hired by people / organizations with an interest in a person, to get that person to behave and act in a manner that is favorable to the hirers. So the sword is double-edged, indeed.

Academic Performance And Subliminal Messaging

Another gsbapps.stanford.edu/researchpapers/library/RP1946.pdf” target=”_blank study conducted by Prof. Lowery, this time in 2006, focuses on the long-term effects of subliminal messaging on academic performance. This study was conducted to make observations at two levels – first, whether the students are able to perform better one, three or four days after they were subjected to subliminal priming; and second, whether it made any difference to the students’ performance if they were told of the potential impact of the priming experience on them.

In one experiment, seventy undergraduate students were divided into two batches: one was subjected to intelligence words (”smart”, “brilliant”, “clever”, etc) and the other was subjected to neutral words (”tale”, “grass”, “lane”, etc) on a computer screen. Within each batch, a group of students were told after the experience that the subjection was designed to improve performance in the test, while to the others within the group, this link was not disclosed. Immediately after the priming activity, a practice test was taken, followed by the actual course exam one, three, or four days later.

It was found that students who absorbed intelligent words subliminally did quite well, as compared to their counterparts who received only neutral words. Further, those who were not informed about the purpose of subliminal primes performed better in the test. And this happened even after a gap of one, three or four days.

The second experiment was performed on seventy-eight students, but this time none of them were informed about the purpose of the priming activity. Again it was observed that students who were exposed to intelligent words performed better than those who subliminally received neutral words only.

All the observations took into account the prior academic performance of the students.

These experiments add to the growing evidence in favor of subliminal messaging softwares and CDs that do not have the restrictions of the laboratory stopwatch, but can be experienced for as much time as required.

Final Word

Evidence now corroborates what intuition knew all along – that our subconscious is filled with thoughts and emotions that it keeps receiving all the time. External stimuli, when received over sustained and long periods of time, become ingrained in our subconscious in the form of our attitudes and thought patterns. These attitudes and thought patterns drive our life.

Sanjay Agrawal is a Business Coach and self-development enthusiast. Browse through his

While we shouldn’t needlessly flatter we must make it a goal to encourage. Regrettably, we tend only to welcome results as opposed to effort. Several of us condemn much more than we eulogize, thereby dampening fervor and squelching confidence. One teacher who was counseled about his fifteen-year-old student, Matthew, exclaimed, “He never does anything right!”

Anything?? Now that’s Impossible!

Grownups do it to adults as well. Why do several of us so concentrate on another’s fiascos or disappointments? Oftentimes, it is because you want to establish that you are smarter than me, that you are superior. Or, you want to demonstrate that you were right and that I was mistaken. Or, you want to express how much more honor you have than I do.

There is yet an additional reason some of us are very disparaging and intolerant. Unhappy people vent their disappointment and resentments at handy targets. Condemnation often serves as a ready made avenue for the articulation of your rage and your sense that the world has dealt you an inequitable hand. Furthermore, when you condemn, you don’t have to accept your reservoir of anger. You can cloak your remarks in noble robes, for example: “I was only trying to help.”

Folks require guidance. We crave feedback designed to keep us moving in a vigorous, fruitful direction. I don’t want you merely to be my cheerleader – I want you to tell me when I am being excessive and unrealistic.

There is one type of criticism, however, whose outcome is solely negative. It is when you find lapse with something they can do zilch about. There is no point in ever permitting your brunette, hazel-eyed spouse to know that you prefer platinum locks and baby blue eyes. It is brutal to comment to your slim wife that you find bouncy breasts a real turn-on. It is tactless to go on and on about how eloquent and charming you find your male friend to be, when your husband is modest man of simple tastes.

Criticism, delivered correctly, can be helpful when transformation is within our grasp. Demanding a person to change what is already etched in stone will only compel them to feel worthless and indignant.

A critical change, nonetheless, requires that we simply shift some of our energies and become perceptive of somewhat different priorities. We educate our children to value the environment and set aside days for recycling in order to validate that respect. Adults dutifully segregate their garbage, putting aside paper, aluminum, glass, and plastic products so they can have another life. Why not then, proposition a globally recognized day each year on which we are remarkably mindful of treating others with dignity, when we associate with others as humans not objects, as equals not inferiors, as people who goad on and not criticize, as people with the same desires for appreciation?

Joseph Plazo is a renowned success coach. He teaches
xtrememind.com NLP techniques and powerconsultants.net negotiation skills while helping people find great jobcentralasia.com jobs in the Philippines.

I was an avid reader growing up. I’ve read the Little House on the
Prairie series probably 30 times and an unknown number of Black Beauty and
Nancy Drew novels. I remember sitting for hours at a time, in the corner of
our living room in my daddy’s favorite recliner, absorbed in the stories. My
mother would come fuming into the living room occasionally, demanding, “Didn
’t you hear me call you??” I would look at her, confused, as I came back to
reality, and answer honestly, “No, mommy I didn’t.” And that was the
complete truth!

That level of concentration is very hard to achieve today. There are so
many things competing for our attention in the workplace, that it’s often
very difficult to concentrate. Do you have “half-done” projects all over
your office and your home? Do you get distracted easily and tend to blow
like the wind in a many different directions? Do you continually talk to
yourself about all the things you need to do (“I don’t know…do I talk to
myself?”)?

If so, this article is for you. There is a fine line between ineffective
distractedness and effective juggling. The former is created by Default, and
the latter is created by Design. I call the ineffective type the “Butterfly”
and the effective type the “Postage Stamp.” A Butterfly randomly flits from
task to task. A Stamp sticks to one thing until it gets there.

Let’s describe the Butterflies first, so it will be easy to distinguish
them from the Stamps. Here’s a sample scenario: “I’m going to go to the
grocery store. Wait, I should make a list. Put my keys down. Go through
pantry. Yikes, this place is a mess. Throw out some stale chips, combine
snacks, and put Oreos in a Ziploc bag. Whew, I’m hot. Take off coat. Okay,
milk, bread, eggs, ah, darn my pencil broke. Go to study to sharpen. Ooops,
this letter needed to go out today. I should stop by the mailbox on my way
to the grocery store. Sit at computer to get address of client. Notice that
I have seven unread messages. I wonder what’s in here? Here’s one from my
sister with a link to a site. Click. Click. Click. Cool. Wait, the address.
Write letter. Back to kitchen. What was I doing? Shoot! Pencil. Back to
study. I should just keep pens in the kitchen. Sort pencil holder to find
some spare pens. Back to kitchen. Put pens in drawer. Clean out old coupons.
Yikes, finish list. I’d better go to the bathroom first. Bathroom. Coat. You
know…if I ran the dishwasher, the dishes will be clean when I get back.
Dishes. Notice grime in cracks of tile, gross. Spray with cleaner. Scrub.
Scrub. Okay, I’m ready to go. Hey, where are my keys? Phone rings…I wonder
who that is? Oh it’s mom…I’d better make sure everything’s okay. Yack yack.
Hang up. Darn, it’s too late to go to the store now. I’ll do it first thing
tomorrow…”

This Butterfly flitted around from place to place and never made it to
the grocery store or mailed the letter, the two most important things at
that time. The dishes are clean, the grime is gone, and mom is happy, but
those things weren’t the true priorities of the moment. However, this
Butterfly has the sensation of having worked hard from being so busy. They
don’t stay focused and concentrate on what must get done. Butterflies
experience a “flurry of activity” from doing a lot but accomplishing little.

Stamps, on the other hand, are very purposeful in their activities and
can juggle many things. They get one thing started, and then purposely
switch to something else for a time. They know when and why to switch back
to the original task. Here’s a sample scenario: “Okay, in the next half
hour, I’ve got to book this airfare, review this report, and load this
software on the computer. Let’s see…start the install. Let that run. A new
email; let it go. Call the airline. Hold. Put on headphones so I can write.
Start reading report. Hello? Put sticky note where I left off. Make
reservations. Remember that I need to call to confirm my meeting for
tomorrow. Write it down and go back to task. Glance at computer and click
OK. Finish install and registration. Continue reading report. Co-worker
walks in with interruption. Listen. Low priority. Schedule phone appointment
for tomorrow at 3:20. Back to report, write comments. Check. Now, I’m going
to handle email…and…what was it? Good thing I wrote that reminder down.”
Stamps stick to the task at hand and don’t get distracted by a million
different things while working. They don’t let themselves get distracted by
brain traffic, emails, or interruptions. In the first scenario, a Stamp
would not have checked email, surfed the web, done the dishes, cleaned the
grime, or talked to mom.

Are you a Butterfly or a Stamp?

There are many benefits to being a Stamp:

• Output is increased. You simply get more done when you are 100% attuned
to your task. You’ll get more letters written and more projects completed.

• You perform optimally and do your best work. If you are giving your
total attention to something, the quality will be better. Isaac Newton said,
“If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to
patient attention than to any other talent.”

• The time invested in projects is decreased. If you don’t feel like
doing something in the first place (like paying bills), wouldn’t you rather
have it over in an hour instead of stretching it out over three?

• Less rework. Your focus reduces the time it would have taken you to
correct the mistakes and omissions that are a byproduct of inattention.

• Peace of mind is enhanced. There is an old legend about a man who
travels the world searching for the meaning of life. One day he climbs a
high mountain to a monastery to get the advice of a monk who is reputed to
be the wisest man on earth. When asked for the secret to happiness, the monk
replies simply, “DO whatever you’re doing.”

In other words, become totally immersed in whatever you are experiencing
or doing. I know some people who always seem to be “somewhere else.” Do you
know anyone like that? They may be with you physically, but their minds are
a million miles away, thinking about some meeting, worrying about that
errand, or trying to figure out what someone meant when they said… As a
result they often feel frazzled.

How do you become less of a Butterfly and more of a Stamp?

1. Practice. When you know you’re off task, get into the habit of
self-correction: “I really shouldn’t be doing this right now. Get back on
task!”

2. Write down distractions, but don’t follow them. If you think of
something that needs to be done while you’re working on a higher priority
task, write it down (paper or electronic) to remember it, then get back to
the task at hand.

3. Avoid your known distractions. Personally, I love to surf the net and
read the latest news. When I’m working on a high-priority project, I don’t
allow myself to launch my browser. I close Outlook so incoming email doesn’t
distract me. I make sure I’ve got a fresh cup of coffee before I begin so
that I don’t have an excuse to get up and go to the kitchen (where I might
find something “important” to do).

4. Defer interruptions. Resist the urge to check email that just came in.
Ask a friend who drops by if you can come by and visit at lunch, because you
’re right in the middle of something important.

5. Prioritize. Each day, ask yourself, “If I could only accomplish three
things today, what would they be?” or “What would I need to accomplish today
to feel good about the day when I leave?” Make sure to do those things
first.

Self-correct yourself with a quick reminder “flit-flit!” when you’re
being a butterfly. Try to imagine yourself, instead, with a postage stamp on
your head, focusing on priority tasks.

About The Author
Laura M. Stack, MBA, CSP, is “The Productivity Pro”® and
the author of Leave the Office Earlier. She presents keynotes and seminars
on time management, information overload, and personal productivity. Contact
her at 303-471-7401 or .

TheProductivityPro.com” target=”_new TheProductivityPro.com

C – Conceive the Idea of possibility.

“Our mind is like a parachute, it’s useless unless is opened!” How often we were approached by well intended friends and relative to look at a business opportunity, we instantly shut our mind and refuse to even listen a bit. We did not “give any chance or opportunity” for these people to share their opportunity with us to part away our hard earned money. So we thought.

Who are the one actually was not given the opportunity? Imagine you were in a plane three thousand feet above sea level prepared to parachute for an air show; half way in the air, you realized that the parachute could not be open! While this is fatal, many people have living their lives like having a parachute that never open.

One of the earliest motivation seminars I attended way back in 1987 was entitled “Perform In Excellence”. The speaker started by cracking a few jokes and linked them to the theme of the seminar, he was animated, funny and resourceful; how I wished at the time, and I would be like him one day! It looked like a very far fetch dream, not very realistic then. He then went into the main gist of the theme, he said and I can remember till toady quite vividly, “If your mind can conceive and believe; you can achieve!” Nonsense, I talked to my self, how could it be that SIMPLE!

However, conceiving the idea of talking in public had crept in my mind without me realizing it. It had triggered a quest on personal development in me. Four to five years after that seminar, I was able to speak in front of over four hundred delegates all over our country in a National Convention to make my campaign speech to contest for the National Vice President post of a youth organization.

It was after several years that I attended another seminar by Bob Procter “You Are Born Rich!” seminar that the concept of “Conceive, believe and Achieve “started to click! Our mind is like an auto pilot, it will find the things that we order it to look for. Ever wonder why every time you decided to buy a particular model and color of car; the next day, you will find lots of car with the same model and color on the road and you would said to yourself, “Gee, how come I never know there is so many car of these model and color around.” You see, immediately when you signal an idea to the mind, it went into auto pilot to look for the things that match your order.

Most people grown up in a negative environment where their parents, well intended; told them that they could not do this, they could not do that and they were not supposed to act like that! In school, if you were not among the favorites or so call “Blue Eyes” boys or girls, you would have a hard time living through school. The label of “you would be good for nothing,” “not amounting to any success” and so call “negative motivation” will be pouring onto you. No wonder many ventured into the society, fulfilling the prophecy of their teachers. Well, I have my fair share of such negative motivation, much more than any kids.

A friend of mine, a successful MLMer, once told me, “if the negative motivation works so well, the opposite (positive motivation) must work as well.” Starting today, behave like a winner, and act like a winner! We are all winner when we were born. And to cut the long story short, the motivation trainer on the first seminar I attended, concluded with this analog, “Many years ago, each and every one of us were competing with millions of competitors, swam through obstacles, reached the destination and hit the target first. That’s how we were all born into this world. We are all BORN WINNER!”

Get the idea or shall I say, can you conceive that Idea?

SK Wong is a Charter Marketer with a MBA in Finance providing Marketing and Risk Management training and services to his local business community. His online Business Resources for Soho and aspiring netrepreneurs can be view at clickabiznes.com clickabiznes.com