Life is like a large Monopoly game,
And everyone is living in the Monopoly game.
At a certain age,
People are consumed by the Monopoly game of life.
Once this happens,
Their feelings ride with a toss of the dice.
The dice own the player's feelings.
The flip of a card and the Monopoly player could be depressed for months.
The Monopoly game of life owns people's emotions,
Peace of mind,
And their relationship with other people.
People get caught up in their external relationship with life,
And when things are going their way,
Then they are happy.
When things are not going their way,
They are depressed,
And they stay depressed until something happens to make them feel better again.
Their emotions and mental contentment are at the mercy of ongoing events,
Situations,
Or someone else.
They are mentally bound,
Mentally trapped by the external environment.
They become an emotional slave to rank or status,
Or they let someone else determine if they are going to be nervous,
Upset,
Or happy.
They become mentally and emotionally consumed by labels,
Fads,
And events.
Instead of building inspiration,
Enthusiasm,
Personal poise,
And strength,
They attach themselves to things,
And then they are emotionally moved by those live.
It's the inner self that will give us the freedom from being controlled and dominated by our labels and external relationships.
We don't have to be a mental emotional slave to things.
We can triumph over the game of life.
We can learn to play the Monopoly game of life and not be consumed by it.
We can reach a point where we never betray ourselves by letting someone else take over our emotional calm or positive spirit.
We have the ability to be bigger than the game of life because we can learn the philosophical factors which are cultureless and timeless and build our lives on solid ground.
Then when fads and opinions change,
We stay mentally balanced.
The temporary differences that come and go.
And once we become bigger than the game of life,
We are neither Eastern or Western,
Southern or Northern.
We see the same thing in all things,
But we can fully participate with all things.
It's just that we are not disturbed or controlled by them.
And it's important to play the Monopoly game of life and not be consumed by it because we can win the Monopoly game and be a loser in life.
For example,
People can have material possessions,
Money,
Fame,
And still go through life depressed,
Nervous,
And upset.
It's not the external things that fulfill our mental and emotional needs.
It's the way that we think,
The values and philosophical concepts that we use in our daily lives that will give us mental and emotional fulfillment and control over our lives.
The secret of taking over our lives is to be totally involved with the external world,
But not of it.
To live through our creativity,
Not in the world of things.
And the most important rule for successful living is to use our creativity with the rules that enhance our own nature.
By doing this,
We strengthen our positive spirit and improve our insights and health.
As we move from the artificial world of things and differences toward ourselves,
We automatically move ourselves upward mentally,
Spiritually,
And physically.
And what values and philosophical concepts should be used in our lives so that we can take control over our lives?
Let's be scientific for a moment.
Many of the physicists now agree that the universe seems to operate toward the positive,
And they suggest that being positive is the only way to be in harmony with nature or the universe.
The greatest spiritual leaders throughout history said that love was the answer,
That with love we can be successful with everything that we do.
The wisest philosophers have said that being ethical is the way to be in harmony with reality,
And with ethical thinking and practices we cannot fail.
So from a scientific,
Spiritual,
And philosophical perspective,
We have a common denominator,
A way of looking at a reality that is timeless and cultureless.
With ethical behavior,
Love,
And positive actions,
We are able to complete ourselves in every way,
Regardless of the culture,
Customs,
Or fads.
Only with ethical positive qualities can we move towards self-conquest,
Inner peace,
And insight.
With ethics,
Love,
And positive actions,
We improve our mental and emotional health.
We automatically take control over our emotions.
We become calm and relaxed.
We are not bothered by things that happen.
And when ethical behavior,
Love,
And being positive becomes more important to us than the Monopoly game of life,
Then we are no longer consumed by the Monopoly game.
We are no longer threatened with our problems.
We are more effective with our relationships and we play a more courageous game of Monopoly.
This is an example of how I used to play the Monopoly Game of Life.
I used to sell self-improvement programs to businesses.
And when I walked into the business office to sell my program,
I could have completely been involved with my program,
Only interested in selling my program.
In other words,
I would have totally been involved with the Monopoly Game of Life.
But if I was only interested in making a sale,
I could be emotionally vulnerable if I lost the sale.
They might tell me that they didn't want my program,
Then I might get emotionally upset.
Or they might tell me that they would look the program over and call me later.
Then they might not call,
And I could possibly get depressed.
So instead of playing the Monopoly game,
Instead of totally giving my mental balance to my program,
I played a different kind of game,
A game that was ethical,
Loving,
And positive.
With an ethical,
Loving,
Positive approach,
I changed and improved my whole relationship with my customers and myself.
The reason why I was going to have a business meeting was not to just sell a program,
But to make a new friend or strengthen an old friendship.
The business meeting would give me a chance to be with someone who is special and unique,
And I could capture the uniqueness of the individual and have an experience that no one else could give me.
So 60% of the business transaction was based upon friendship and experiencing the moment,
And 40% was based upon selling the program.
Then with a positive frame of mind,
I was not emotionally vulnerable.
They couldn't emotionally upset me if they rejected my program.
I was completely experiencing the business session in a humanitarian way so I wasn't emotionally consumed by my program.
I could keep my mental balance and observe the business transaction transaction with more ease and be more objective.
And this was the best thing that I could do for myself.
It was the best thing that I could do for the other person,
And it was a good way to sell a program.
The moment was worth experiencing.
The individual who I was with was worth my time,
And I was adding to myself.
The whole is greater than the part.
The business transaction,
The Monopoly game,
Was only a part.
By adding respect,
Friendship and enthusiasm,
We were drawn together in a more holistic way.
Then trust and communication automatically improved.
We were automatically gaining in many ways because the quality of our relationship was included with the business transaction.
Each person or business is more than the Monopoly game they are playing because we create a psychological environment.
And within this environment,
We have an attitude,
A way of being,
A presence,
An image,
And this determines the outcome of our endeavors.
It's the psychological environment,
Our charisma,
That stimulates the spirit of harmony,
Friendship,
And success,
Even when we are faced with difficult problems.
And with an ethical,
Loving frame of mind,
We cultivate trust,
A spirit of support,
And build long-lasting friendships.
We are also setting things up so we can win and everyone else can win too.
Because of this,
We believe in ourselves and we get support from others.
Ethical thinking is good business.
Trust is good business.
Being positive is good business.
Caring,
Acceptance,
Respect,
And truth are a part of love.
So love is good business.
Everything goes according to the moral values of our own actions.
With each action we train our nervous system and emotions,
And if our actions and thoughts unite us with others in a positive way,
Then we strengthen ourselves.
We strengthen ourselves by improving our ability to grow with others.
It's very important to realize that with an ethical,
Loving,
Positive frame of mind,
We protect ourselves because it's with these qualities that we can take control over our emotions and determine the way we experience events.
And with these positive qualities,
We will build personal dignity,
Courage,
And enthusiasm because our way of life will be used to inspire others.
But the biggest advantage that we have by being ethical,
Loving,
And positive is that we can automatically screen negative information.
For example,
Imagine a television that is connected to a VCR unit.
When you put a tape into the VCR unit,
The information on the tape will appear on the television screen.
Now the picture that's on the television screen represents the picture of your life.
The picture on the television represents your attitude,
Your personality,
The way you talk,
The way you walk,
Dress,
And make decisions.
This picture of your life,
Where does it come from?
It comes from the tapes that are put into the VCR unit,
Because the VCR unit now represents your brain.
And the tapes that you put into your brain,
The information that you choose to put into your brain will be the information that you use to shape the picture of your life.
Most people have problems because they let someone else put negative tapes into their brain.
Most people are poor,
Not because they lack an education,
But because of the tapes that they are playing.
Most people are unhealthy because of the tapes that they are using.
So the picture of your life comes from the tapes,
The information that you use.
And once you accept information,
That's the information that you will become.
Once external information gets into your mental faculties,
That's the way you will act.
That's what you will do.
This is why it's important to develop a positive,
Ethical,
Loving frame of mind because this is how you can stay aware and keep negative information from getting into your brain.
A little bit of envy,
Jealousy,
Or resentment will poison your body,
Kill your family,
And kill your relationships with other people.
A little bit of swaggering,
A little bit of egotism will kill your business and ruin your chances of being promoted.
Having a negative attitude just once in a while will destroy your ability to see with insight.
A little bit of being clever or being tricky to get what you want at the expense of someone else will kill respect,
Loyalty,
Trust,
And your future relationship with that person.
Just a small amount of something that is negative will ruin your entire life.
And it doesn't make any difference who gives you a glass of poison.
It will kill you if you drink it.
It doesn't make any difference who gives you the poison of negative thinking.
The poisonous effects are just as dangerous to your life if you accept it.
And negative information is extremely contagious and almost everyone is exposed to negative information every day and everywhere.
So it's important to watch out for the information that's around you because it's negative information that keeps most people sick.
It's negative information that keeps most people depressed and sad.
It's negative information that ruins most people's lives and keeps them financially broke.
It's negative information that creates the criminal mind and fills our jails with juvenile delinquents.
It's negative information that causes drug abuse.
So watch out for the information that is given to you by music,
A fad,
A trend,
Or a friend.
Watch out for the information that other people are giving you.
Make sure that you stand guard over your brain let negative information take over your life.
Some people tell me that they don't want to be involved with self-improvement or philosophical concepts,
But they are already involved because life is a process of choosing information,
Making decisions,
And then testing that information with life.
Life is a training process where you gather information,
Then experience life with that information.
The question is this,
Are you going to take control over the training process that you are already in,
Going to inspired about those things which are positive,
So you automatically move away from the poison of negative thinking.
With an ethical,
Idealistic,
Positive approach,
We can live a better life because we can become a student of life and use life to teach us to become masters of ourselves.
We can observe life in such a way that we keep a mental distance as we look at each generation,
Fad,
Trend,
Or culture.
By doing this,
We can see through the eyes of others.
Then our awareness will grow because we will understand and see the world through many perspectives.
That's ways,
And uniquely using thoughts and concepts to establish a unique temporary way of life.
People like an outsider,
Or they try to fit into a new fad that they don't even like.
Or even worse,
They avoid or reject good information from a new cultural trend just because they are stuck into an old trend that is non-progressive.
Those who live within the framework of a trend live a limited life because they live without knowing or increasing themselves.
They are imitators,
Not creators of themselves.
They turn their lives over to chance because they act,
Think,
And follow any type of lifestyle that might accidentally occur.
Or they live their entire life in just one lifestyle that they happen to have been exposed to because of the area that they are living in.
But the student of life,
The ethical positive observer,
Is the one who takes the responsibility for creating themselves.
They don't turn their lives over to chance or automatically reject that which is new or different.
They gain from everything,
So everything has a value.
Their flexibility and wholesomeness to accept everything allows everything that happens to become their teacher.
And because they are always learning and increasing themselves,
They are never out of date,
Never old-fashioned,
Never lost in the changing Monopoly game of life.
And they are always multiplying their inner wisdom and personal worth because they take all of the positive things that they observe from each person,
Fad,
Culture,
Or trend,
And use the best of what they find to elevate their level of understanding life.
For your better future,
Become a student of life and live to learn.
Observe life in such a way that you are eager to add to yourself.
Keep yourself updated by observing each generation,
Trend,
Or cultural view of the world.
Gracefully accept all those things that are positive and beneficial,
And don't compete with people,
Fads,
Cultures,
Or differences.
Just create yourself in a better way.
Don't compete with differences.
Create yourself better.
Because of what you are learning from differences.
And instead of being overwhelmed and disappointed by change,
Make change your friend.
Accept change.
Look forward to change.
So ethical behavior,
Love and being positive,
Represents a positive reality that can give you a frame of mind that will give you freedom from the monopoly game of life.
And to the degree that you can set up your thinking in an ethical,
Loving,
Positive way,
Then you will have more meaningful contact with your own true nature.
Then you will become more effective in everything that you do.
Your mental and emotional well-being will steadily improve.
Your health will improve.
You will be mentally and emotionally calm and relaxed.
Your belief system will become more holistic,
So you will live in such a way that you will be elevating your level of understanding life.
You have to play the game of life anyway,
So why not play the game so you will win?
Why not take over your life and elevate your level of being and improve your quality of life so you will continually acquire new insights and enjoy a better self.
Whosoever wins the monopoly game of life and becomes the master of themselves must do so from within themselves with ethical thoughts,
Love,
And a positive frame of mind.
