Explain it to a Six Year Old

"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself" ~Albert Einstein

This makes perfect sense. Have you ever sat down with a child and tried to explain something to them. You think you can explain it to anyone, but then you find that you can't find the words to make it understandable to someone who doesn't have an extended vocabulary.

I think this is how most self help gurus write their books. You should try this with something you know a lot about. Sit down and start writing. Split what you are trying to teach into sections. You want something that is separated into bite sized chunks. You want your six year old to be able to go away everyday with a small part of what you are teaching.

Now start writing each section as if you are trying to explain it to a child. Use small words. Don't try to expand on anything in exhaustive detail. Try to remember that the people you are trying to teach probably don't have any experience in what you know about. That means the parts you take for granted, they know nothing about.

When you are done, try your teaching on someone else. They don't have to be six years old. They just have to know very little about what you are teaching. When you do this, you will find out some of the things you left out. You will notice their face when you say something that does not make sense to them. Those are you ques to make changes to your teaching.

The interesting thing about putting together this teaching, you will learn so much more about what you are trying to teach. You will be surprised at what you have learned yourself.

You Are a Success

Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success." ~Dr. Joyce Brothers

This is a simple concept, but I think most people fail to live it. If you want something, you need to focus on it. If you don't focus on it, then your mind will not be aware of the things you want when they pass near you. If you are focusing on those things, then you will notice them when they approach. Then you can take action on those opportunities.

You can only do things if you believe you can do things. That includes being a success. If you don't believe you can, then what chance do you have to actually become that success. You have to know it is possible, and the more present tense you can make that belief, the sooner you will feel that success come to your reality.

I think you have to be ready to make something happen. If your mind is not ready, then it will be hard for your body to make it happen. The nice thing is that you can choose to be ready whenever you want to be. Once you make that choice then there is nothing outside your grasp. You just have to believe.

The World Within You

Think of the world you carry within you. — Rainer Maria Rilke

 Life is a personal point of view. You have to look around you and think about what is going on. You have to process and make your own judgements. You have to listen to the sounds and the words and make of them what you know about. It is personal to each of us. The same experience is impossible for each of us to have. That means we each have a different world within us that each of us are living.

Now that I have completely confused you let me see if I can explain it a little; try to make it clearer. Lets say two people are standing at the bus stop. They are both standing side by side and the bus pulls to the curb and the doors open. It is there to pick them up to take them wherever they want to go. It may seem they are having the same physical experience, but the true experience each one is having is completely different.

First they are experiencing the bus coming to the bus stop at a slightly different angle than the person standing next to them. Therefore they are not seeing the exact same view of the bus.

Second they may be feeling different emotions about taking the bus. One of them might be excited about taking the bus because they have a little bit of pocket change that day and don't have to walk to the store. The other person might be dreading the bus because they don't like crowds and this bus is always crowded. You never know how a person's past experiences are going to affect the present moment.

Even though one thing is happening in the world, each person experiences it differently, therefore the world is different inside their mind than the person standing next to them. There is only one physical world, but we only experience a small fraction of that world, creating something unique within ourselves. Let's live it like it's our own.

Please Leave a comment and expand on my thoughts about personal experience; about the world within ourselves.