Hey Friend,

 

How was your Christmas?

 

Yesterday, I spent Christmas (and my 35th birthday) back in Whyalla with Kaci’s side of the family. 

 

Today, I want to share some insights into a book that changed my life. 

 

It’s called ‘Three Simple Steps: A Map to Success in Business and Life’ by Trevor Blake (you can download a free pdf version here).

 

I first read this book in December 2023, and I’ve now revisited it each December since.

 

 

 

 

If you did an audit of your thoughts throughout the day, what percentage of them would be negative?

 

For most people, the majority of their day is filled with negative thoughts. 

 

The good news is this step doesn’t require you to think positive thoughts all the time (that’s not possible). 

 

It’s about swinging the percentage back in your favour. 

 

Simply getting the scale back to 51% positive thoughts vs 49% negative thoughts is all it takes to dramatically change your life.

 

As Trevor says, “change a little, change a lot.” 

 

The way you do this is by avoiding spending time with complainers & gossipers. Stop watching news filled with fear, doom and gloom. And curate your social media feeds against the same negative energy.  

 

 

It’s not always possible to avoid negative Nancies. 

 

And if you’re living your life against the grain (like me), you will often come up against the well intentioned (but not helpful) opinions of work colleagues, friends and family. 

 

To help navigate these situations, make sure you put on your imaginary ‘mentality shield’ in the morning.

 

Think of this like an invisible force field that surrounds your mind and body, not allowing negative comments from others to affect you. 

 

This technique is used by professional sports stars so they can handle high pressure moments in games when hostile crowds are against them. 

 

 

“I am not against war, I am for peace.” – Mother Theresa

 

This is one of the simplest yet most powerful ideas I’ve ever come across. 

 

You must change your habitual thought patterns from being against the things you don’t want, to being for the things you do want.

 

This change in language is subtle, yet makes a HUGE difference. 

 

So many people waste their precious energy being against something. And ‘against energy’ is draining… to you and the people around you. 

 

Being FOR something is far more powerful. 

 

This reframe was one of the catalysts to help me finally overcome my 20+ year addiction to p0rn.

 

Instead of tracking ‘p0rn-free’ days (which was against energy). I started tracking ‘truth and freedom’ days (which was for energy). 

 

I am now 300 days in a row of living in truth and freedom (perhaps the biggest thing I’ve ever achieved).  

 

 

 

Once you’ve taken back control of your mentality, step two is about rewiring the neural networks in your brain so you experience more moments of insight and great ideas.

 

The key to this step is getting your mind back to a state of ‘nothingness’.

 

This state can be challenging to enter considering we live in a world of sensory overload. 

 

But if you don’t curate this time for yourself, you will operate from a ‘rushed’ mind, and not give yourself the space for your inner wisdom to bubble to the surface.  

 

So how do you do this? 

2) Taking quiet time
 

This is perhaps the most important step, yet the most challenging one to turn into a habit. 

 

‘Taking quiet time’ is Trevor’s version of ‘meditation’. 

 

Every morning, he will go to a quiet and comfortable spot and take quiet time for 20 mins.

 

Not only does this calm your mind and get you to a state of stillness, you can actually regenerate neurons. 

 

Before reading this book, I had already been doing some form of meditation for years. Because like Trevor, I noticed this was a theme in the successful people I had studied.

 

But Trevor’s teachings (with his physicist background) took my appreciation of this practice to a far deeper level. 

 

Since first reading this book in December 2023, I have not missed a single day of taking my ‘quiet time’. 

 

The biggest benefit I’ve noticed is how intuitive I’ve become. I often get flashes of insight that make no rational sense, but I’ve learned to trust them.  

 

“Taking quiet time becomes the number one business growth tool in your arsenal, and the aim is to make it one of the first things you do every day.” 

 

 

Have you ever noticed how calm and clear you feel when you’re in nature?

 

Trevor observed this too: 

 

“Another character trait that jumped out at me from the pages of the biographies of self-made men and women was their affiliation with nature. All of them turned to nature in times of stress or when big decisions needed to be made.” 

 

Nature is a storehouse of timeless wisdom and truth. Yet modern day has you trapped in a man-made box staring at a screen.

 

Since embodying the philosophy of ‘Three Simple Steps’, I’ve noticed how much my relationship with nature has changed. 

 

I now go for strolls without headphones and take in the beauty of the trees. I spend time in our front and backyard curating the lawns. I rarely wear sunglasses because I want to see the world through clear eyes.   

 

I feel ‘connected’ to nature, and funnily enough – I also feel more connected to people. 

 

 

 

This book completely shifted my perspective on traditional goal setting. 

 

Trevor describes a goal as something we do not have that we aim to get.

 

Whereas, an intention is a goal but with all doubt about its attainment removed. 

 

The biggest difference between intentions and goals is the direction of effort. 

 

With goals, you push energy towards the object of your desire. With intentions, you pull or attract the object of desire to you.

 

Since reading his book in 2023, I’ve ditched traditional goals, and adopted intentions. 

 

It’s been a liberating way to live! 

 

Rather than setting goals (that are typically influenced by external factors), and trying to control how things would unfold, I allow my intentions (that come from within) to bubble to my awareness. 

 

This sets my direction, and then I simply allow life to fill in the details. 

 

 

Trevor talks about the three levels of emotion that attract success:

Traditional goal-setting focuses on desire and belief. You have a vague desire for something more. You set some ‘SMART goals’ (I hate those lol), and take baby-steps which slowly build your confidence and your belief. 

 

But there is still this overarching feeling of ‘doubt’. 

 

 

And when (if) you do hit your goal, you experience a fleeting feeling of excitement. 

 

Intentions on the other hand, come from a state of ‘knowing’. 

 

This is an exponentially higher emotional state that comes when you’re familiar with the details and feelings of what you want. 

 

Once your intention has become your reality, there is no excitement (like when hitting a goal). You KNEW it was going to happen. You’d already lived and felt the experience or achievement in your mind so many times that it felt normal. 

 

I’m sure you’ve experienced this state before.

 

Think back to a time when you just knew something was going to happen (even if you didn’t know how).

 

This is the state of an intention. 

 

 

Most stories compare achievement to that of a warrior – a man who goes on a mission to rescue a princess from a castle protected by a dragon (Shrek anyone?). 

 

The emotion of the warrior is often against something. 

 

In contrast, wizards don’t have to go on a mission to get what they want. They can transform any object at will using nature’s laws. They live in a state of knowing. 

 

As Trevor says, 

 

“No dragons have to die. No walls must be torn down. Wizards can simply create a new bag of treasure.” 

 

The most important ingredient to becoming a wizard is using your IMAGINATION.

 

Something that is second-nature to children, but a challenge for us adults. 

 

To get to a state of knowing, your imagination becomes a powerful tool. Because when you close your eyes and relax, you can fill in all the details and feelings of your intention. 

 

The more often you use your imagination to daydream in detail about what you want, the sooner your intentions will come to fruition.

 

The biggest problem we all face, is using our imagination to dream small…

 

 

It’s hard to convey in written words how much this philosophy has impacted me. 

 

If you want a deeper understanding of this book, I’d recommend reading the book yourself and listening to the podcast I recorded with Trevor Blake (this is the most downloaded episode I’ve ever recorded). 

 

Finally,

 

I’ve just realised this is the final newsletter I will be sending to you for 2025.

 

There have been times when I wanted to quit this year (earlier this week I told Kaci I was thinking of not writing this edition – thanks for getting me back on track). But the odd supportive messages from readers like you is what has kept me going. 

 

So thank you.  

 

I trust my insights this year have added value to your life.

 

And I wish you all the best for 2026.