My Journey to Ground Zero

9/11 was over 4 years ago now... wow.

Just last week, I was in Manhattan - for the first time in my life. It was quite surreal being on the top deck of a double decker tour bus that carried me through times square. I snapped the photo below as the bus was taking off.


By the time the bus made it to the Ground Zero stop it had grown dark outside. I stepped off and suddenly I was overcome by the strangest feeling...

There was an incredible sense of loss... I don't know that I can put words on it. I found myself walking toward the plot of land where the twin towers had once stood.

So much of my mission in life has been shaped around the events that happened on that fateful day in 2001. The absence of these buildings and the people who once occupied them were like an invisible monument marking at once the greatness of the human spirit and the great threat now posed to the human spirit.

Had that event not occured 4 years ago, I would have been standing with my head tilted back, paying homage to what was perhaps the greatest symbol of mankind's heroic spirit... yet, instead I was standing there looking at nothing...

The begining of the end? Or the begining of a new generation where human beings discover what it is to live true to our heroic nature?

The future I envision is one where an event like 9/11 is beyond comprehension... not because America is a great military force, but because human beings all over the world have transformed the very idea of what it means to be human...

Ground Zero... the end? or the beginning?

They told me "No"

The voice mail on my phone was his personal assistant...

She said, "You are not invited.do not come. We have NO seats for you."

But she was too late...I could not turn back now.

The day was December 7th, 1995. It was my 25th birthday, and the pressure was on.
You see, I had made a promise to my two brothers and a few other people in my life...

"I will meet Dr. Goldratt in person and show him my vision by my 25th birthday."
For those who don't know Dr. G., he is a revolutionary thinker and visionary who had developed breakthrough methods of thinking.

I won't "bore" you with the fascinating thinking tools I learned from him and how I applied them to understand human consciousness (and how those insights led to the powerful Vision Force Boot Camp methods)...

Bottom line is this guy was my hero. (In fact, I remember wishing, at the time that Ayn Rand, another hero of mine, had met him in her lifetime. Here were 2 radical thinkers and visionary geniuses who used the power of logic to "go where no man had gone before." They both had unstoppable egos, and incredible charisma... they would have been PERFECT together! ... lol, ok, onto the story!)

So, Dr. Goldratt didn't know me at all. I was simply a fan of his work... a kid with a bigvision and some big ideas...

I had written two letters telling him of my intentions to meet him in Dallas. He was holding a 1-day $800 seminar for manufacturing executives, and I had asked if he had any "excess capacity (one of his terms)."
I asked if I could attend for free.

The answer had come back... "NO." Again, "NO." And, a third time, "NO!"

But when I received his personal assistant's final voice mail, "No" that morning, it was already waaaay too late. I was going. I would make them turn me away to my face.

I was young. I was idealistic. I saw a vision!

YET I "SAW" MYSELF MEETING HIM, SPEAKING TO HIM AND SHOWING HIM MY VISION

That was all I needed. Vision was enough. Forget that I was a shy kid who couldn't speak up wortha darn... I had the force of my own vision to carry me over my fears, doubts and weaknesses.

I'll never forget the look on her face...

I walked up to the reception table and told her who I was... Her jaw just dropped. She paused, not knowing what to say. First she tried to be stern... "I told you we don't have any free seats. I told you not to come."

I smiled, and just explained how Dr. Goldratt had influenced my life and my thinking, how he was my hero.
I told her how I had made a commitment to myself to come and meet him.

After a while, she softened. "OK, well, if you promise not to participate, not to interrupt and not to talk to him, then I'll let you in... but you've GOT to promise."

(Apparently this guy had a big fan club and had reached a kind of Rock Star status. " I thought about it...
A chance to see this hero who had changed my life... to see him in action, presenting his ideas and teaching them live... "OK," I finally said.

I knew it was a sort of compromise, and that bothered me. My commitment had been to talk to him and show him my vision, not to just see him and listen to him.

But when she led me into the room, I was all smiles.

I'll tell you... I had expected to see this skinny, little, old Jewish professor type with maybe the squeeky, nasaly voice that you'd expect from someone who read too many books, and didn'tinteract with people in the real world much.

I WAS STUNNED

Here was a huge man, standing tall, and proud. His deep voice booming across the room, ashe paced with his pipe, carefully selecting his words. You could tell his brain was in high gear.

But then I saw something I'd never seen before.

Dr. Goldratt proceeded to confront these executives. When they gave dumb answers or lame excuses, he'd grill them on it. Not in a humiliating way, but in a way that seemed to say...

THIS IS EVERYTHING! THIS IS YOUR LIFE! TAKE IT SERIOUSLY!

He never said those words, but he just gave you this sense that business, and thinking and making good choices was very very important.

The effect was intriguing... people didn't approach this seminar as if itwas just some interesting theories. They were on the edge of their seats, as if their lives were at stake.

But perhaps more striking than his delivery style was the way he taught. He has methods of teaching that were not really teaching... rather his methods resulted in the students arriving at their own insights and understandings.

I learned a lot about the way he taught, and from then on began creating ways to teach people such that they created their own insights. I didn't want to be the guru smoking the pipe, but I did want to be the kind of teacher who provokes people to think.

(btw, if you're wondering if I march around my boot camps confronting people like an Israeli General, I don't. My boot camps are confronting because of the way they are structured so that people naturally come face to face with what they've not been facing in their lives.)

I could go on and on about what I learned that day, or the exciting things that happened, but what I want to leave you with is this:

If you come across someone who has cutting edge ideas and tools that you can benefit from, look and see if you are putting them on a pedastal.

Look and see what is holding you back from taking bold action, and going to meet these people. Sometimes we want to wait until we have achieved more status or made a name for ourselves, before we go and introduce yourself.

Yet these same people could help you to get from here to there faster than you could do on your own. Those people who seem larger than life are real people. You might be surprised at how easily you can become friends with and join forces with them.

Life is too short to play small, too short to try to figure everything out yourself or do it all yourself. Seek out those who are the best at what the do, and learn from them.

Oh... one more thing. If they tell you "no," remember they are not god. You have a say in the matter. A little vision and some bold action goes a long way.

Well, those are my thoughts for today. Until tomorrow, tomorrow's tomorrow, and as long as I live, I remain...

Your ally in life,

Michael Ivan Skye
VISION FORCE ACADEMY

Humphrey's Peak

Last Saturday morning after having awakened before the dawn and driven from my father's ranch to Flagstaff Arizona, I found myself running along the crest of what is rumoured to be Arizona's tallest mountain.

Bam! The running shoes I was wearing (not your ideal hiking shoes, as they have little side support or ankle support) landed on a rounded rock, and down I went. My hands caught me and I surveyed the damage... my ankle was hurt and I was sure it was badly twisted.

I pushed myself up... it was OK enough to go on... and on I went, determined to catch up to my father, who was now nearing the final climb called Humphrey's peak.

As I neared him the winds grew stronger. 60 miles and hour? 80 miles an hour? I couldn't stand up straight without being blown from the mountain. The wind was that powerful... and at over 12,000 feet the view was what you expect to see from an airplane...

I did my best to hold my position... to keep from being blown off the mountain. I fought the wind and made my way to the top.

Yesterday, on the Vision Revolution Radio show we talked about taking a stand instead of taking a position.

Climbing the mountain, fighting the wind and gravity, I was doing my best to hold myself upright. I was trying to defend or maintain my position. But... what would it be like to be the mountain... simply standing. Firmly planted on the ground, while reaching far into the heavens... an inspiration to all who look in my direction?

What if we as human beings knew how to take a stand in life? What if we could be an inspiring stand in this world of changing winds? What if we could unyieldingly stand tall and strong in this world where others try to pull us down.

These are the skills practiced and learned at the Wealth Warrior Boot Camp, high level training for visionaries.

There's Vision In Them There Hills!

Wow...

When I saw the smoke rising from
the distant mountains, my head was
still spinning.

I was driving north from Phoenix Arizona
to visit my dad in Northern Arizona.

For the last 3 days I'd been at an internet
marketing conference in Phoenix Arizona.

I went there to brush
up on the skills and techniques
it is going to take to use the internet
to fulfill on our vision of creating
a world of visionaries by 2020.

Imagine...

A world where children grow up respected
and honored as young visionaries, so
that there natural visionary talents
blossom, and we all live heroic lives
guided by our own vision.

This weekend I learned some key skills and
met some key visionaries who will help us
to reach this future.

Anyway, back to my drive and the smoke.

Apparently here in Arizona they do
"controlled burns," in order to prevent
unplanned and out-of-control forest
fires.

In other words they literally "fight
fire with fire."

Got me to thinking...

So many people in ous modern society still
think that we need to prevent individuals
from becoming visionaries.

As if visionaries are destructive forces
to fear like forest fires.

Visionaries can't be tamed.

Visionaries can't be controlled.

Visionaries are unpredictable.

So, they reason, we better keep people from
becoming self-guided visionaries.

We better keep those fires from starting.

We better train people to obey and follow.

We better condition people to think that
being a good person and responsible person
means fitting neatly and quietly into
"the system."

And they put out the fire in our children's
hearts and minds before it gets out of hand.

Our children then either become obedient products
of the system, willing and eager to follow whoever
the leader is.

Or they become self-destructive rebels who are
pissed off at all the world, and only concerned
about short-term needs and desires.

Or our children become resigned, lethargic, cynical
or depressed.

Bottom line? Our children are deprived of their
natural vision.

The vision that would give them life.

They are deprived of the vision what would have
given birth to their passion, their sense of
purpose and real inner peace and power.

Our children become BURNT OUT on life even
before it begins.

Then we give them drugs to ease their pain
or their depression.

Or they find drugs on their own.

Then our children have children and it
starts again.

BUT WHAT IF...

What if instead of putting out the fire
in our children's hearts, we fanned the
flames?

What if we knew how to feed the natural
visionary within our children?

What if we could re-ignite the vision within
ourselves?

WHAT IF?

But we fear that kind of world... a world
where individuals freely follow their own
hearts, their own vision.

And perhaps we should.

A world of free thinking, free acting
visinaries is unpredictable.

But would such visionaries be a force of
destruction, or a force of creation?

You know, fire is part of mother nature's
cycle of self-renewal.

A fire cleans the forest and allows for
a new beginning a new birth.

And, no doubt, a world of visionaries
following their visoin would cause great
change and upheaval...

But only to give birth to a new world,
a better future for our children...

LET'S START THE FIRE!

The fire of vision!

Let's start it within ourselves and
within our children.

If that fire is gone, let's reignite
it in our hearts, and in the hearts
of those around us.

I leave it to you, Michael,
to spread the vision of a world
where each of us are visionaries, real
everyday heroes guided by our own vision.

Turn your friend onto the Vision Revolution
here: http://www.visionrevolution.org

Or to the Vision Force Academy here:
http://www.visionforce.com

Those of you who have joined us in
the Vision Force 101 program, welcome!
Let's get this fire started!

If you've not yet taken Vision Force 101,
the details are here:
http://www.visionforce101.com

Note: there are only 24 hours left before
final registration ends.

Onwards and upwards!

Your ally in vision,

Michael Skye
Vision Force Academy

P.S. When you see smoke, think of the
fire being created within the hearts and
minds of the rising visionaries! We shall
give birth to a world where children are
raised with the kind of vision that naturally
calls them to greatness.
VISION REVOLUTION
http://www.visionrevolution.org
VISION FORCE ACADEMY
http://www.visionforce.com
VISION FORCE 101
http://www.visionforce101.com

Who Am I...?

Who I say I am... as I head into Autumn 2005...?

I stand for being the stallion who no man can conquer or tame,

I stand for being unleashed, wild and free, even when I feel the leash or the whip of old masters...

I stand for being ALIVE and a ferocious seeker of fun and adventure, and I stand for being one who runs triumphantly alongside, with and behind the other stallions...

I stand for being an inspiration to all who seek to be free, or who even think of it for a passing moment...

I stand for being the one that makes the wind follow in my wake as I run... the same wind that will whisper in the ears of lone horses in the quiet of nite...

I stand for being the wind that calls to each stallion to RUN! RUN! RUN!

...Run with the wind, run into the wind, and run up the mountains of challenge.... Run into life, into new lands...

I stand for being the one who tells all stallions... your legs, your lungs and your mind are enough... you can fly!

Yes, you can fly like the wind... there's nothing you need to believe... there's no one you need to follow... your legs, your lungs and your mind are more than enough... you can fly!

I stand for being a stallion of spirit, the spirit to run, the spirit to fly... a stallion who never stops running, flying or soaring... the beautiful winged beast in the sky...

It Has Begun...

It was just before sunrise...

All was quiet except for the occasional
whisper of the wind through the trees...

All was still except the pale blue mist of
early morning, slowly rising from the earth

And then one by one...

Into the clearing they stepped.

They have come from LA, New York,
Hong Kong and London...

Melbourne, Singapore, Berlin...

Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia.

There they stood that morning.

The hope of the world...

The torchbearers for mankind.

There were mothers, fathers and
teachers...

There were artists, writers, philosophers...
Entrepreneurs, marketers, self-starters.

These were the leaders, the creators,
hope of tomorrow.

It has begun.

The next class of visionaries has stepped
forward to be trained in the art of self-guidance,
and there is still room for you.

http://www.visionforce.com/academy.shtml

HAVE YOU NOTICED?

All our lives we've been trained to follow,
to fit in, to succeed in the fulfillment of other
people's visions.

And we wonder why we now often lack the inner
drive, motivation and discipline to follow through
on our own dreams.

As children we learned that obedience (doing
what we are told to do) was more important
than integrity (doing what honors our own
vision).

And we wonder why we often lack meaning,
purpose and a deep sense of inner peace.

We've been taugh that we should be selfless
(to give no regard to our own values) and
that it is wrong to be "selfish" (to honor our
own values).

And we wonder why we're often not satsified,
happy or deeply fulfilled.

We've been trained to feel guilty when we
break the rules or venture out on our own.

We've been punished many times for getting
the "wrong" answer or going in the "wrong"
direction--great training IF SUCCESS MEANS
FOLLOWING THE BEATEN PATH!

(Heard enough? Go here to get started:
http://www.visionforce.com/academy.shtml

We are so well-trained to
compromise our own values and dreams
that is it ANY wonder why we lack the
commitment and clarity to walk our own
path all the way to the end?

I emplore you, I beseach
you now to listen to my words here.

Take another few minutes, close the door,
turn off the phone, and go within...

YOU are the future of the world.

In these times of great change, the world
needs Visionaries who can powerfully venture
into the unknown--NOT followers who
wait for someone to tell them where to
go.

THE WORLD NEEDS YOUR VISION.
Success in the 21st century will DEMAND
that you possess the power and the skill
to SEE AND RELENTLESSLY FOLLOW YOUR
OWN VISION.

The world is changing. More and more
people are venturing out on their own
as entrepreneurs, authors, artists, educators
and INDEPENDENT workers.

The gurus in the "SELF-HELP" movement
would have you believe they have the answers.
Just buy more of their books, their tapes,
their seminars and programs.

You don't need their "answers,"
their "secrets" or their "guidance."

All you need is the NATURAL inner drive, inner
power, clarity and deep sense of purpose that
happens when you've learned to follow your
own vision and trust your own inner guidance.

(Trust yourself. Start here:
http://www.visionforce.com/academy.shtml


Please listen closely.

I am not talking about anything hokey or New
Age or religious. I am not talking about so-called
neuro-science or "sub-conscious programming."

Have you ever known someone who had something
happen to them which "woke them up" and then
there whole life changed FOREVER?

Maybe they had a run-in with death, or some kind
of spiritual awakening or whatever...

THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED?

They now KNEW THEIR PATH--maybe not intellectually,
but deep inside they just knew what path was
right for them?

They shock everyone in their lives and start
acting without regard to doubt or fear.

>>They just quit their job and start the business
they've been dreaming of for years?

>>They either passionately rekindle the LOVE
in their romantic relationship, or they find a new
love that fufills their childhood dreams?

>>They travel the world as if they have only
one month to live?


THEY NOW RUTHLESSLY FOLLOW THEIR OWN
INNER GUIDANCE...

>>NOT what others tell them they "should" do,

>>NOT what is "comfortable,"

>>NOT what is "safe."

THEY HAVE COME ALIVE---ITS AS IF THEY HAVE
BEEN REBORN AS A PASSIONATE VISIONARY.

Can you relate?

(THE VISION FORCE 101 PROGRAM COULD BE
THAT SOMETHING! It has been designed to be
and proven to be that something for so many
people. http://www.visionforce.com/academy.shtml


PLEASE STAY WITH ME HERE...

Something like this MIGHT happen to you if you
wait long enough.

MAYBE, just maybe, you'll have a run-in with
death that scares the daylights out of you, and
then you start living as if EVERY DAY IS YOUR LAST.

BUT...

You don't have to wait.

There is a program starting THIS WEEK, that can
give YOU that inner knowing, that clarity, that
natural drive.

And it's NOT like anything else.

>>It's NOT self-help tricks or gimmicks.
>>It's NOT affirmations, visualizations,
NLP, hypnosis, self-talk, etc.

THIS IS A SIMPLE, POWERFUL TRAINING
PROGRAM FOR VISIONARIES:
http://www.visionforce.com/academy.shtml


"Miraculous" things happen
during this program.

>>Alcoholics have stopped drinking,

>>Marriages have been saved and the passion
re-ignited,

>>Scattered dreamers have found the inner
focus and inner drive that shifts their business
into over drive,

>>Life-long employees have found the sound
clarity and unexplainable confidence to just
leave their jobs and follow their passion,

I could go on and on.

Don't take my word for it. Go here to see what
others are saying:
http://www.visionforce.com/academy.shtml

Then register and see for yourself.

The time is now. Are you ready?

Today is the day. Can you hear me?

Was it chance that we met? Or was it
destiny?

http://www.visionforce.com/academy.shtml

It's not to late.

The orientation call was on Wednesday. You
missed it, but you can listen to the recording
online.

Previous participants of this program have
returned this time to assist YOU on your journey
for this program, and they have asked me to
keep the doors open a few more days.

So, we'll keep the doors open for a little bit longer.

I am reaching out to you here,
because I HAVE PERSONALLY WITNESSED the
incredible life-transformations that happen inside
this program.

Ultimately, the choice lies with you.

What more can I do? What more can I say?
I trust that you'll go within now and choose
the path that is right for you.

We've even taken away all the risk.

http://www.visionforce.com/academy.shtml

If you deeply care about your future,
if you deeply care about your children's future,
don't wait this time.

FIND A WAY TO GET INTO THIS PROGRAM.

It is changing lives and it will **mark my words**
it WILL change the future of the world.

Go register now.

http://www.visionforce.com/academy.shtml

Your ally in life, your partner in success,

Michael Skye
Founder, Wealth Warior Academy

P.S. I would like to hear your thoughts
on my email here. Reply to me personally.
skye@wealthwarrior.com.

Thanks

Michael Skye
www.wealthwarrior.com
Wealth Warrior Academy
237 Tramway Drive, Suite B
Lake Tahoe, NV 89449
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Dieing to know the answer to the question, "Who Am I?"

This is a Call to Action.

I just read in the news a story about an officer who rushed to call at 3am Easter morning... found his 20-year-old son, stabbed to death. http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/29/nj.officer.ap/index.html

The article said his son had success in track and football while in highschool, but had dropped out and "drifted."

It's not every day that an officer finds his son dead.

But kids are dying every day.

Being killed by others, taking their own lives, taking the lives of other kids.

It doesn't even seem to be a tragedy anymore. It seems common place.

It is old news.

That is the real tragedy.

It is almost as if we have come to accept that human beings are by nature irresponsible, self-destructive, sinners and criminals.

Animals or lower. Animals don't wage war, commit murder or suicide, etc.

Well, if our pet animals had a problem, what would be the solution?

1) Punishment. Punish the bad behavior (and threaten punishment, e.g., hold up a whip).
2) Reward. Reward the good behavior (and promise reward, e.g., dangle the doggie treat).
3) Drugs. Put in the right chemical to eliminate the bad behavior.

The lines of thought most often taken in our society include,

1) he should have stayed in school and out of trouble
2) his parents are to blame for not keeping him in school or raising him well
3) the school system is to blame
4) we need more laws, more controls
5) bring more religion into the school system
6) reduce violence on TV, movies, music, etc.
7) some kids are too hyperactive, treat them for ADD
8) some kids are too depressed, give them anti-depressants

So we add more punishment, more rewards and we put our kids on Ridilin and Prozac.

Some people take sides and strongly preach corporal punishment over the drugs.
http://www.christianpatriot.com/12_08_2003.htm

Others preach on behalf of these "miracle drugs."

The effect is the same.

OUR CHILDREN ARE GROWING UP WITHOUT STRONG INNER GUIDANCE BY CONSCIENCE, WITHOUT A DEEP INNER SENSE OF HONOR, WITHOUT TRUST IN THEIR OWN MINDS, WITHOUT PERSONAL VISION.

They are guided by fears, desires and drugs.

They have no real answer to the question, "Who am I?"

They search aimlessly for meaning and purpose.

Should we force them to coform them or dope them so they follow queitly with a smile? Should we beat them or threaten with guilt and punishment so that their actions look responsible?

Such people would make for a nice docile society willing to follow any leader's vision.

Our children are our future!

They are not animals. And no amount of beating, bribing or doping will create the visionary leaders that our future depends upon.

And lets be clear. We NEED visionaries. As we head into a future of more and more change, uncertainty and chaos, WE ALL MUST BECOME VISIONARIES. Visionaries for our own lives, visionaries for our families, visionaries for our communities.

(If you subscribe to my list you know about the powerful Vision Force 101 program, a great step for all who would be visionaries:
http://www.visionforce.com/academy.shtml )

Mostly our "solutions" for making our children more responsible are the cause of the irresponsibility in the first place.

The Catholic Church of the Dark Ages succeded in getting people to obey. It even kept most people from thinking for themselves. Such crimes were punished with death via the Inquisitions and Crusades. The human spirit was all but mass murdered. And gone from the Earth was rationality, science, individual thought, joy, longevity, happiness.

The human spirit and the human mind demand freedom. Intellectual freedom, psychological freedom, political freedom, economic freedom. The Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment brought more of such freedoms and we enjoy them today.

There are many who think that those freedoms are now the cause of our problems, because human beings are fundamentally irrational, self-destructive animals... undeserving of and unfit for freedom.

I would suggest the problem lies NOT in our levels of freedoms... there ought to be much more freedom on all levels. The problem lies in the ways we've been conditioned to guide ourselves and each other. It is time we revisit our methods of parenting, schooling, governing, etc., with an eye to raising our children as visionaries, not blindly obedient followers.

You can't force children to be inner guided by their own sense of honor and their own vision. You can't drug a child into becoming a Gandhi or a Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the name of your future, your children's future, your grandchildren's future, I beseach you...

Join the next class of visionaries TODAY in the Vision Force program:

http://www.visionforce.com/academy.shtml

Don't delay.