Anyone could copy what I have done in Japan. Why doesn't anyone do that?

Because it is too dam hard. Right now, I am planning on building a new biz in Japan and I constantly go into overwhelm: How will I do it? Who do I ask for help? How do I convince people about my idea? These are all questions that seek answers, and while in the midst of asking these questions, I easily become emotionally frightened and panicked.

In 1999 I started my Japanese biz - then named Alexander Technique Associates (ATA) - with a capital base of zero. I was broke.

However, I did have 12 eager students all prepared to sign up for my four year program that cost each of them ¥900,000yen annually. So 12 times 900,000yen gave me a projected annual revenue of ¥10,800,000yen which equalled $97,980 in US dollars at the time.

In Japan, I came across (a not completely derogatory) expression to describe people who live on the wild side:

"He's broken."

By their definition, I am definitely broken.

A broken person is one who can not live by the rules to which most others readily accede: learn a skill, get a job, retire on savings. A broken person has to run his/her own life dedicated to their passion: be it noble or otherwise.

I just finished my seminar with Richard Koch on How To Build A Star Business and I ended it feeling depressed and disgusted that I made a complete ass of my Self.

BTW - this was a life changing seminar. Richard is destined to move into a new career as a leading biz mentor on a mass scale - there's a new book coming which will blow people away.

But me? I got depressed. I was an ass in the room.

At least, that is what my mind is telling me what happened. Whenever I feel depressed like this, I ask my Self four questions.

Ronald Regan - a genius at making life appear simple - once said:

It's true hard work never killed anyone, but I figure, why take the chance?

It's amazing when you are sick how much falls by the wayside: life does gets simpler to live. People become important, while your "to do" list ceases to matter. Clarity often emerges. An acquaintance recently concussed himself into hospital - that short stay transformed the idea of his whole life.

How can you live in this simple revelatory state all the time?

I am offering a workshop for Japanese Yoginis today, and it has taken me back into my many years of collecting the tenets of Buddhist philosophy.

The most vexing concept of those studies was that all my efforts - to meditate, to practise good morality, to follow precepts - would not be the cause of my enlightenment. Satori - as the Zen masters call it - has no cause.

Huh?

I do this all this work, and that isn't the cause for me to wake up? What does cause enlightenment then?

Nothing.

How many times in a day do you undecide?

Undeciding is the present participle of undecide, but my spellchecker doesn't recognize either of them! Which is all to say that it is not in common usage word. Why is that?

People do what they know - I do what I know. I get up, there's a message, I decide to respond. Now I am asking: what would happen if I didn't respond? How about I just delete it?

I was complaining to my Self in meditation this morning that I had lost focus.

I questioned it. Have I lost focus? As often happens when I play detective, I found the opposite to be true: I have been incredibly focused about one thing: my weight. This morning I hit my target: I now weigh the same as I was at 20.

It all started in London in January this year.

About a year ago I started to feel uneasy about my position as CEO of BodyChance.

I wasn't doing enough. At least, that's what my mind told me. But the facts gave another story: In that year, BodyChance as a company had grown 31%. Our profit line remained flat, but that was because I continued to invest by improving our service and increasing our attraction to new comers.

I wasn't failing - so why did I feel this disease?

You run a wonderful workshop (you think) with a group of 20 people. You ask them to fill out feedback forms and it is all effusive. Except for one. One is highly critical, almost vicious. It happened to me in London once.

Which one do you think about the most? You know the answer and so do I.

Customer complaints need to be stacked up against customer behaviour. One person's vociferous heckling may give you the impression that your entire crowd is unhappy and ready to walk out the door.

Are they walking out the door?