Hello and welcome.
This is Guy Finley and I'm glad to introduce you to the Secrets of Success Without Stress.
In this series of 11 short sessions on what it means to live stress-free and how we can accomplish that,
Most of the talks are going to be under five minutes in length,
But in each and every one you will be guided,
Shown,
A series of discoveries that are designed to help you realize a drastic reduction in your daily stress.
This new and higher self-knowledge will not only help you understand the secret why behind painful stress,
But more importantly,
How you can learn to rise above its dark and debilitating influences once and for all.
So let's get started being stress-free.
The intention of this series of sessions is to place into your mind and heart and hands a series of special exercises,
Ones that are created for the express purpose of proving to you that complete freedom from stress is not just a promise,
But a real personal possibility for anyone who's willing to take the self-empowering steps that we're going to outline.
But let me begin by saying please be patient with yourself,
But at the same time don't pamper yourself either.
This groundbreaking material that I'm going to introduce is as exciting as it is challenging.
And when you're finished with this series of 11 sessions,
You'll be able to see clearly not only the core of what has been running you around in stressful circles,
But the foundation of a whole new order of personal freedom.
So to get started,
I thought I would tell you a short simple story that's packed with important insights and principles to get us going.
Here we are.
Paul had reached the end of his rope.
How is it possible?
With over half of his cruise ship vacation behind him,
Ruined by a strange seasickness,
He'd run out of options.
Not only had the ship enjoyed calm seas,
But he'd never had this kind of problem before.
Besides,
When he was below in his cabin,
He felt fine,
In fact great.
It was only when he ventured up on deck that that dreaded queasiness crept in.
So feeling fine again on the morning of the fourth day,
He dressed himself in his shipboard's finest,
Donned his new sunglasses and headed towards the upper viewing deck.
But within five minutes of sitting down,
He was up and standing over the rail,
Taking in deep breaths of cool air to calm his rolling stomach.
It was just then that the captain of the ship walked over to him,
And both men stood there looking out at the bright open seas.
A moment or two passed and then the captain spoke.
I see you're not feeling that well.
A little embarrassed by the comment and the moment,
Paul hesitated before speaking.
Actually,
I'm not on top of my game,
But thanks for asking.
Another pause and the captain turned to face Paul's side and he said,
You know,
If it's not too bold,
I think I know what's wrong.
Paul thought to himself in somewhat sarcastic tones,
Gee,
Really?
But instead he said,
Oh,
What's that?
Now the captain knew he was on sensitive ground by the tone of Paul's voice,
And so he stepped back a half foot before answering him.
Do you mind,
He said,
If we try a small experiment that may help you feel a lot better?
Paul turned to face him,
Mustering up a half smile in spite of his sickness,
And he said,
I don't see why not.
I've tried everything else.
What do you have in mind?
And before he knew it,
The captain had reached over and gently slid Paul's new aviator glasses off of his face.
What's the deal?
Said Paul,
Reacting,
Squinting slightly in the bright morning light.
Well,
Just wait a few minutes,
The captain said.
I want to see if my suspicions are true.
And so the two of them stood there with only the sounds of the ship cutting their way through the waters between them.
When,
What seemed too many minutes later,
About the same time he was getting past how uncomfortable he felt standing there saying nothing,
Paul noticed something else was disappearing.
His seasickness.
A bit stunned and almost reluctant to say anything for fear of wrecking his good fortune,
He spoke up.
I can't believe it,
He said to the captain as he inventoried himself once more just to be sure,
But I feel better.
And he looked into the captain's eyes for a hint of some kind.
The captain spoke as he handed Paul back his sunglasses,
But his explanation came as a complete surprise.
It's so simple as to not be believable,
Said the captain,
But.
.
.
This isn't my first cruise,
He said smiling.
I've seen this happen a few times before,
And that's how I knew.
Only I just couldn't be sure without a small test.
What exactly are you leading up to?
Said Paul.
But the captain didn't say anything until finally he looked at Paul and said,
I suspected the real reason you didn't feel well had to do with the light green tint of the lenses in your glasses.
So that each time you came out on deck you saw everyone on it with a slight green cast to the color of their skin.
The captain paused to collect the right words and to make sure Paul was following him.
Then,
Said the captain,
Your mind was seeing everyone else on the ship as being seasick too.
And you just started feeling that way because of a certain kind of sympathy.
And the captain raised his eyebrows as if to say,
Amazing,
Isn't it?
Needless to say,
Paul's astonishment left him speechless,
So the captain covered the moment for him.
Anyway,
The captain said,
He smiled a polite,
Departing smile.
Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you to make your voyage a more pleasant one.
And with that,
As quickly as he'd appeared at Paul's side earlier that morning,
He was gone.
Paul enjoyed the rest of his travels without any problems.
In the next session,
We're going to look at the real lesson in this simple story,
As well as why it is that real relief from stress must include self-release.
I'll see you in our next session.
