Psycho-Cybernetics summary

You probably think of hypnosis as a stunt for an oddball circus act. But every human is hypnotized in one way or another.

After all, the power of hypnosis comes from belief, and you already know how powerful beliefs can be. Just consider a friend of the author, Dr. Alfred Adler, who did poorly at math in school, leading his teacher to believe he had no talent for the subject.

People have often theorized about the body as a machine – a concept that isn’t too far from the truth. While humans aren’t machines per se, we each have a machine that we can use when necessary.

The author calls this phenomenon psycho-cybernetics, a conception of the human brain and nervous system as a servo-mechanism or automatic response that processes negative feedback to guide its course. This theory operates according to the principles of cybernetics, the study of machines and mechanics.

Whether it’s writer’s block or a stalled brainstorming session, it’s common to hit obstacles when pursuing a creative project. Most creative practitioners know that when such a roadblock presents itself, the only thing they can do is relax and wait for inspiration to return.

This wisdom makes perfect sense since humans have a highly specific creative mechanism. It only activates when we become interested in solving a particular problem, consciously consider the dilemma and gather every piece of relevant information.

Success isn’t something you simply find any more than failure is something you “arrive at.” Rather, failure and success are the result of forces buried deep within your personality.

Both are produced by unique sets of elements. First up you’ll learn about SUCCESS, an acronym that explains the core elements of a successful personality.

The factors that lead to failure can be readily summed up by an acronym of the word FAILURE itself.

First comes Frustration, which arises when you feel you can’t realize an important goal. This produces a self-fulfilling prophecy as you think of yourself as incapable and are therefore more likely to fail.

When you incur a physical injury, your body forms a scar to protect the damaged area. In this way, scar tissue is nature’s way of preventing further injuries to the same place.

Similarly, people tend to form emotional scars to protect hurt feelings. However, such scars don’t just protect you from the person who initially hurt you; they can also separate you from all other people. After all, they construct an emotional wall that keeps out friends and foes alike.

Imagine you’re at home, quietly reading a novel. Your phone starts ringing, and you instinctively jump out of your favorite chair, rushing to answer the call.

In the blink of an eye, you went from a peaceful state of mind to one of unrest. And who can blame you? The ring tone is a signal that you’ve learned to obey. But the truth is, you don’t have to answer the phone; you could just as easily ignore it.