Day 205: Stephen Edwards

April 23, 2010 at 12:01 am, Category: Inspiration

“When we’re not scarce anymore and we have a sense of abundance, and when we’re not competing with people but we’re collaborating with people, then we start to see different results in our lives.”

.

.

Right click here to download…

.

Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Stephen, for agreeing to be part of this Project, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?

Stephen Edwards: Certainly.  I’m delighted to be here.  My name is Stephen Edwards, and I’m the author of Quantum Wealth:  The 7 Secrets to Peace and Prosperity.

Toni: Thank you, Stephen.  When you think of the word inspiration, who do you think you inspire, and how does that happen?

Stephen: Well, I inspire people who have perhaps lost their way a little bit in life and who are looking for a deeper meaning and purpose for their life and may be limited by things that they don’t even realize are limiting them – beliefs, ideas, cultural hypnosis, social hypnosis that is stopping them attaining the true freedom that they know that they deserve.

Toni: How do you inspire them, then?

Stephen: You know, some of it is from telling my own life story.  I grew up in sort of a lower middle class family where, you know, we had to make the pennies stretch a little bit, and so I went to school in school clothes that were kind of … my entire educational life, so I got teased at school and told I was stupid because I looked stupid.  And so I really know what it is to have tough circumstances.

I found a way to pull myself out of that, primarily beginning just by helping other people, and that became very fulfilling for me, helping other people who had problems and being able to make a few pennies out of doing that to save up to buy myself some clothes that I could wear without being laughed at.  So I guess I’ve always had an affinity with the underdog, with people who are going through tough times because I’ve been there myself, and I find it very fulfilling to be a catalyst in helping them experience their inner potential and the freedom that they know they deserve.

Toni: So you inspire others by setting the example, telling your story, and also how you started out with that little bit of helping along the way.

Stephen: Yeah, and I’ve also had the privilege to work with some of the most powerful influences in the area of personal and financial development.  I worked with Anthony Robbins for a number of years, because I recognized that if I was going to get myself out of these problems, I needed the help of someone who was getting the results that I wanted to get.  And you know, one of the things that Tony talked about was total immersion.  If you immerse yourself in something, then it becomes part of your environment.  It becomes part of who you are.  So I said “Well, okay, I’m going to take you at your word, so I’m going to go work for you.”  I went to work there for three years of my life, and that was an amazing transformation.

I began to realize that, you know, we have beliefs that stop us.  I call them transparent beliefs or “BBs” – bogus beliefs that hold us back from experiencing that inner potential.  When we have someone that can help us identify those together with the patterns of behavior that come from those belief systems and the fears that stand in our way, we can experience ourselves in profound ways.  And those three years with Tony really helped me do that.

I recognized the three key areas that it comes down to are our thoughts — what we think about, you know, beliefs or thoughts that are just groups of thoughts together.  Our thoughts, our imagination, which is part of our thoughts, the metaphors we use to describe things – all these things have become very powerful.  Our thoughts lead to our words, the things we say — which also is the second level of creation when we create our reality — and then the third thing is the things we do.

So, you know, I break it down into, you know, thoughts, words, and actions, and I help people identify areas in their thoughts, their words, and their actions that they can change and therefore create different results in their world.

Toni: So Stephen, when you inspire people by working with them or by setting that example of the work that can be done and you’re working with someone on their potential, can you give an example of how that inspiration can help somebody to explore their potential?

Stephen: You mean what the results would be?

Toni: Absolutely.  An example of how … what is the transformation that happens?  How do you help somebody tap into that potential?

Stephen: Well, first of all, you know, I think a lot of it is environment, so we like to get people, you know … like I said, I went through it for Tony for three years.  We like to get people in a room or one-on-one coaching where we can immerse themselves in these ideas that happiness is a choice.  Most people think they have to go do something to be happy, but then they go do something and they may be happy for a few moments, but then it wears off, and they’ve got to go do something else or get something else in the material world.

You know, my book is called Quantum Wealth, and I help people realize that at the quantum level – when we talk about quantum, we usually talk about physics – in the quantum world, the rules that govern the quantum world are different than the rules that we think govern the physical world.  A whole new set of rules apply in the physical world.

We’re taught to be afraid of people.  We’re taught that we’ve got to compete with people.  We’re taught that there is lack, that if we don’t have enough money that we’re going to have problems, the scarcity.  Whereas, at the quantum level there is this sense of … there is this unity that particles, that your waves of energy are all that exist at the very quantum level where everything emanates from, and when we start to use the same rules at the quantum level in the physical world, a whole new world begins to become apparent to us.  When we’re not scarce anymore and we have a sense of abundance, and when we’re not competing with people but we’re collaborating with people, then we start to see different results in our lives.

So it’s using the principles of really … if you want to think of it as creation instead of the principles of devastation in our lives, things start to change.  So we think of the world differently.  The world is not our enemy, the world is a reflection of who we are inside of ourselves.  And if we want things to look different outside of ourselves, then we’ve got to do the work inside.

You know, one of the things that I use as a quote by Barbra Streisand at the end of her last concert at Madison Square Garden, she said that “Everybody wants to change the world.”  Of course, the reality is the only person we can really change is ourselves.  The irony is that as soon as we do that, the world instantly becomes a better place.

So hopefully that goes some way to answering your question.  As my friend Bill Moore says “It’s an inside job first.”  We’ve got to work on the inside about how we see the world, what we believe about the world before we can really change the world itself.

Toni: The visual that came to my mind when you were describing this is opening doors – whether it’s opening doors inside your heart or inside your head, or opening doors that you’re going to walk through that are just different doors.  That’s the visual that you just conjured up in my head with your explanation there.

Stephen: That’s a beautiful metaphor; it’s a beautiful metaphor.  It’s exactly … opening up to new possibilities, opening up to new ways of living, opening up to new ways of thinking, and the challenge is that our beliefs give us certainty, and we need certainty.   You know, part of our … you know, one of our innate needs as a human being is to have a level of certainty in our lives.  If we didn’t have certainty, we couldn’t get out of bed in the morning because we wouldn’t be sure the ground was going to be there to meet us.

But at the same time it’s a paradox, because we need variety in our lives, too.  We need things to be a little bit different; we need a little bit of change.  But sometimes people become so fixed on “things have got to be the way I believe them to be,” that it becomes difficult for them to make changes.  And of course, you know, that’s becoming more and more difficult now as we’ve seen the speed of change now is so for many people overwhelming.  It’s so fast that it’s becoming more and more difficult for people to hold onto old ideas and beliefs and not opening those doors and being open to change, and that’s where we come in to help people like that that are having challenges.

Toni: So Stephen, what inspires you, and what do you need to be inspired?

Stephen: Yeah, that’s a great question.  What inspires me is seeing other people live up to more and more of their potential.  I don’t think there’s anything that fulfills us more that we know that something we’ve done, something we’ve said has impacted the life of somebody else.  You know, you can have all the material things in life, but if you’re not contributing, there’s no real sense of fulfillment.

If you’re not growing yourself, and I think that when you see other people going through their challenges and moving through them, it inspires you to continue to do the same, for you to move to the next level in your life.  And it gives you that sense that, you know, you’ve made a difference, which is fulfilling as well.

Toni: Are there tools, resources, things that you tend to reach for if you’re waking up one day and you go “Yeah, you know, I need a little inspiration today” – what do you tend to reach for?

Stephen: I tend to reach for the things I’m grateful for.  You know, my wife, the life I have, the abundance I have in my life, and re-associate to all the things that I have rather than focus on something I don’t have or I might not have.  So that’s the first thing.

And I like to spend some quiet time each morning so that I can really re-associate and you know, think about the day, almost envision the day.  I find that very often when I envision the day first it seems to work out that much better.  There’s some magic in that imagination that I think we don’t realize sometimes until we use it.

And you know, I read a lot of books.  I read a lot of books about other people.  I learn from other people.  And going to events, going to live events where you’re surrounded by other amazing people who are looking to learn and grow as well.  I think that’s always very humbling as well.

Toni: Now you stated that you started out with very humble beginnings, and that this has been a process for you, but with the Get Inspired! Project, one of the themes that is constantly revealing itself is that sense of passion and purpose, that people don’t know immediately what that is, but then something happens or it’s a process and they eventually get to that place of passion and purpose.

For you, it sounds like it might have been the process, but was there a moment where you went, you know, “I choose to live this way now.  I don’t choose to live the other way.”  What happened with you?  Where was that defining moment for you that inspired you to this sense of passion and purpose?

Stephen: That’s a great question.  For me it was a combination of both.  I think it was a period of incubation where I really wasn’t sure what my life was about or where I was going, but I was learning things that were preparing me for when I did become aware of it.

The defining moment happened for me actually in an apartment in Denver, Colorado.  One evening it was snowing outside.  I was in my apartment – actually in the bedroom of my apartment where my office desk was.  I was working in front of the speaker at the time, and I was sitting at this desk and I was doing a time management program actually, but part of the time management program said that every week you need to connect with your purpose.  And I thought “That’s going to be a problem, because I don’t have one!”

So I sat there, and I put on the music.  Actually it was Yanni – Dare To Dream – and I put on that music and I just sat there with a pen, and I just started to write about all the things I love to do in life.  And suddenly it was almost like this door – you know, you talk about a door – it’s almost a vault door being lifted open and the energy that was inside my vision – I today call it my mission, vision, and purpose – MVP – we can live an MVP life.  A mission-driven life, which is, you know, the intention for your life, your legacy, if you like.  The vision of what it looks like and the purpose is why is it so important to you?

And that night, that vault door opened up and it started to come out of me, and I started to write this vision of this place that I wanted to create – you can call it a resort if you want — called Miracles, that has now become my magnificent obsession of creating this place; one in New Mexico, one in Europe, one in Australia, and one in the Bahamas.  So that has become the reason that I do everything I do in the physical world and, you know, I have the joy to share it with my wife, who we travel together and share this amazing journey together.

Toni: I love the words “magnificent obsession.”  You really can’t get more inspired than that.  A magnificent obsession – there’s nothing boring about that; it just kind of says it like it is.  Now, when you think about your own potential, the final question of the Get Inspired! Project is what do you do to explore your own potential?

Stephen: I’m constantly pushing myself out of my comfort zone.  You know, I heard a quote about a year ago and it said, you know, “Your life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”  I can definitely relate to that.  I’m always pushing myself into new areas that I’ve not been in before.  I don’t know everything, and that is challenging.  It’s scary.  Sometimes it’s frustrating, but it’s also where you grow.

And then when you get through it you go “Wow, you know, I’ve just grown to another level.  I’ve learned things I would never have learned before, and I’m even more excited and passionate about life.”

I’m going through a phase of that right now where I’m learning all about new technology and new ways of getting my message out to the world.  And sometimes it’s not easy because I’ve been used to doing it one particular way, and these are new ways that are causing me to have to grow and expand and learn new things.  So I put myself in areas that I don’t know what I’m doing, and I challenge myself to find a way to be able to get through it.

Toni: But gosh, isn’t that what you’re doing for others?

Stephen: Yeah, I … exactly, yeah.  What I do is … what helps me is I’ve got over my idea that if you’re going to do the job, you’ve got to do it yourself, or if you want the job right, you’ve got to do it yourself.  I’ve realized there’s no such thing as a self-made man or woman.  There’s no such thing as a self-made millionaire, or there’s no such thing as a self-made man or woman.  You need help, and being able to reach out gives those people who help you the opportunity to do that, and they get fulfillment of doing that, so it’s a win-win.

Toni: Absolutely.  It comes full circle for you, and that comes across loud and clear in this interview.  We can’t thank you enough, Stephen, for agreeing to be part of the Get Inspired! Project, and we will have a way that people can see your work and get to know you a little bit better at the bottom of this interview.  So thank you so much for this time today, and we wish you the very best.

Stephen: Well thank you so much.  It was a pleasure, and you’re doing great work, and thank you for all that you do.

Toni: Oh, you’re quite welcome.  Take care.

___________________________________________________________

For more information about Stephen Edwards:  www.myquantumwealth.com

.