Thinking things DONE

Wow, it's been quiet around here.  Back in January, after releasing a few chapters, I "went underground" with a big group of new Mind Hackers' Guild members, to teach a course based on what I was writing in the book.

Life, however, had somewhat different plans.  It turned out that what the new students really needed, and what I was writing in the book, weren't quite the same thing.  Also, their feedback helped me to see that the way I was presenting the material in the book was way too theoretical.

The order of presentation was such that almost the entire first half of the book was theory, with most of the practice being in the second half.  This made things harder to understand, as well as making people incredibly anxious to get to the second half...  which I hadn't written yet!

On top of that, I came to realize through the process of getting the first half written, that I hadn't actually internalized all of the things I was trying to teach in the book.  There were many methods that I'd successfully taught to others in the past, or that I'd used in business projects, but which I wasn't actually applying in my personal life.

And there were principles I was preaching, and trying to practice...  but not really succeeding at.

What's more, I discovered some new things about the mind while I was teaching the course, that I didn't know before, or that I knew but didn't know how to express or apply as well before.

And last, but far from least, I realized I was trying to write two different books in one, and that I needed to separate some of the topics.

So, I decided to do a reorganization and rewrite of the book, such that:

• Practice and theory are both in almost every chapter
• Practice often comes before theory, so that the theory can be understood in terms of the practice
• The focus on actually accomplishing things is increased, and
• It's clearer at each point what the purpose of what you're learning is!

Now, that's the good news.  The bad news is, I'm basically starting over...  which means it's going to take a while longer before it's finished!

Now, I will be reusing some material from the previously-written chapters here and there, most notably in chapter 1, which is only about 33% different from the old version...  although it's a very important 33%!

But most of the chapters are going to be almost entirely new, because the organization is utterly different.  If you're in the Guild and have been reading the original chapters, you may recognize some fragments here and there, but for all practical purposes, it will seem like an entirely different book.

But the good news is, I should be releasing new chapters again very shortly, perhaps within a week or two!

Here's the new table of contents:

• Part 1 - The End Of The Struggle (Mindsets)
  • Chapter 1: Productivity - It's All In Your Head!
  • Chapter 2: Turning Thoughts Into Action
  • Chapter 3: Lasting Motivation and Focus
  • Chapter 4: What's Really Holding You Back
  • Chapter 5: Naturally Successful or Naturally Struggling?
• Part 2 - Calm, Clear, and Committed (Methods)
  • Chapter 6: How To Know What You Really Want
  • Chapter 7: Making Choices With Confidence
  • Chapter 8: Building A Bridge To Your Dreams
  • Chapter 9: Creating The Life You Deserve
  • Chapter 10: How To Be Unstoppable
  • Chapter 11: The Inner Game of Time Management
• Part 3 - Life Happens! (Mastery)
  • Chapter 12: Putting This Book To Work
  • Chapter 13: How To Turn Things Around
  • Chapter 14: Conquering Chronic Procrastination
  • Chapter 15: Achieving The Impossible
  • Chapter 16: Mood Management: ADD, SAD, and Feeling Bad
  • Chapter 17: Mastery...  For Life!

This is a major change, in that subjects I previously didn't get to until chapters 5 and 6 are now spread through most of the first six chapters, with some of the most practical stuff being put first.

At this point, the revision of chapter 1 is complete, but I won't be releasing the new version of it until the new chapter 2 is finished; the changed ending of chapter 1 is tightly connected to the new beginning of chapter 2.

The new chapters 1 and 2 will be made available free to my mailing list subscribers.  And as soon as the full book is finished, an e-book version will be made available free to members of all my monthly or annual membership programs, as well as to the hundreds of people who participated in my information-gathering survey last year.  (Current members of the Mind Hackers' Guild, of course, will continue to receive every new chapter as I finish it.)

So, if you're not on my mailing list already, be sure to sign up here:

P.S. I will probably be briefly opening the Guild for new member signups some time in May, with a new "starter course" special offer.  Details have not been sorted out yet, though, so stay tuned!