Thinking positive is wonderful, but often just plays on the surface, repressing deeper feelings and needs. Willpower–forcing yourself to do things–can be helpful too, but still doesn’t deal with the deepest cause of the problem.

While I’m certainly not immune to the winter/recession/holiday blues, I am grateful to have come across a powerful technique for deep transformation, something that turns blues into peace, joy, and happiness–the true spirit of this season.

That something is a powerful process called Core Transformation. This technique begins with welcoming a feeling or behavior you want to change, then completely transforming the feeling by a step-by-step process of accepting and penetrating inquiry. This can be used for lots of things, from depression to procrastination to finding your purpose and more.

This is not an intellectual reframe, and it goes WAY beyond most personal development and therapy that I’ve experienced. Using this technique, you find at the core of anything you didn’t like is an experience of something profound and wonderful, and deeply healing.

Whether you learn Core Transformation or not, please please please, use these challenging times as a vehicle for inner transformation instead of succumbing to unpleasant feelings or unwanted behaviors.

There are 3 good ways you can learn Core Transformation for yourself and feel much better fast:

1. Get a copy of the book Core Transformation. You’ll need to read the whole thing, and practice, practice, practice–looking at the book alone won’t help! However, this is the cheapest option. You can get a “near new” copy (sent back by distributors for minor “shelf wear”) for $7.50 from Real People Press (disclaimer: I work for them, but don’t get any commissions). You can get a copy here.
2. Buy the Core Transformation DVD seminar. This is a recording of the live seminar, and also includes Aligning Perceptual Positions, another very powerful technique of finding inner alignment. Very high quality stuff, and reasonably priced at $185 plus shipping. Get yours here. You could also attend a live seminar, but I’m not aware of any coming up soon.
3. Get 1-on-1 Core-Transformation-Winter-Blues-Busting-Coaching with me. I’ve got space available for 10 new clients, and would love to introduce more people to this powerful technique. All the marketers say not to discount your fees, but I’m going to do it anyway for December. Sign up for 4 powerful 90-minute sessions of Core Transformation and pay by December 15th for only $349. In January, the price for 4 sessions goes up $101 dollars to $450, and only have 10 sessions available for clients given my other projects, so please email me or call me now to sign up: duff [at] precisionchange.com or 303-520-8658.

Whatever you do, please take care of yourself and those you love. Count your blessings. Get lots of sleep and healthy food. And have some fun too, while you’re at it!

Happy Holidays,
~Duff

A few months ago, my friend Ryan had to move on to other projects. Ryan and I, along with several other friends, had started a podcast business a year prior that was going to change the world–not the first organization I had been a part of with such high ideals.

The business tanked, having no real revenue model and an investor who didn’t care about our world-changing ethos. In the same week as the business failing, I experienced a very serious family crisis. I spent the summer on unemployment, hoping to build up a podcast audience and a private life coaching practice while nursing my adrenals back to health after all that craziness.

After hearing that Ryan could not continue the podcast, that was just too much for me to simply continue with business as usual. It was time to stop and think. What the hell is going on? Where I am headed? What is my purpose? What is the role of personal development in my purpose?

In times of change, I tend to ponder. I’ve always been a bit of a philosopher, for better or worse.

Psychospiritual Development and The Ecology of Mind

Even with the creation of the Precision Change show, I’ve been pondering the role of personal development in what philosophers call “the good life.” I’ve especially been wrestling with concerns about “ecology” or the side-effects of approaches to personal development.

I’ve also been struggling with how the hell personal development–which aims to change things to how we want them to be–integrates with the spiritual notion of “accepting everything as it is” without changing it. From the personal development perspective, spirituality seems useless and passive. From the spiritual perspective, personal development seems ego and greed driven and empty, ultimately unsatisfying.

First, a little background…

Years ago, I was a superfan of Tony Robbins. I listened to his Personal Power II tapes over and over, and even attended the Unleash the Power Within seminar and walked barefoot over hot coals. But not only that, I fully intended to be “the next Tony Robbins.” I lived the Tony Robbins “unleash the cocaine within” 1980’s lifestyle, jacked up to 11, giving “1000%” with everything I did. In particular, I unleashed a charismatic side I never knew I had, growing up as I did with extreme social anxiety. I pushed myself to develop in every area of life simultaneously. I had huge lists of Big Hairy Audacious Goals. My future was so compelling I could hardly wait to take action every morning to make it real…except when I was coming down from one of the self-induced highs. I pushed myself constantly to do and become “more than anyone could ever possibly expect.”

Living this way culminated in a spectacular crash. The physical effects were that my adrenals were maxed out. A local health practitioner here in Boulder says that the adrenal glands are like a credit card–as long as you pay off the balance each month, you’re fine. To live as the next Tony Robbins, I had maxed out my adrenal credit limit, and the late fees were steep. One or two days a week, I could barely get out of bed. I hoped that those days would fall on a weekend so that I could work during the week, but I was not always so lucky. My finances were also maxed out, and and are still just beginning to recover. Instead of paying back debt, I spent whatever money I had on personal development products because not unlike many who’ve swallowed the personal development pill, I was convinced that very soon I was going to strike it rich.

My health has become much better, mostly by pulling my energy way back, taking on fewer projects, and living within my energetic means. I’ve learned how to take the time to rest. I also underwent an extensive program to heal a life-long problem with my digestive system through a local herbalist. But unlike the fairy-tale stories of self-help books, I have not now bounced back to attain super-success. On the contrary, I am more satisfied than ever with my lack of worldly success, with my ordinary humanness, with my imperfections and weaknesses.

A few months ago I joined a men’s group. The members of this group are some of the most conscious, intelligent, and successful men I know. Yet the group was oriented towards certain techniques that aggressively break you down to show you stuff about yourself you didn’t realize was there. This was a style of group therapy pioneered in the 1950’s Encounter Groups, and is unfortunately still quite popular. My intuition was that this is a dangerous practice, but I could offer no evidence, nor alternative techniques that were equally if not more effective. None of the members of the group seemed to understand my objection to this work, and they encouraged me to bring my concerns to the group, but the format for processing objections was within the frame of aggressive confrontation. It was extremely painful for me to leave, and I felt like perhaps I was a bit nuts to do so.

But then someone close to me went to an intensive all-weekend-long personal development seminar and ended up in the hospital. That was the nail in the coffin for me. In addition to inducing mania and adrenal fatigue, personal development absolutely can be dangerous! And nobody is talking about this. Even highly conscious and intelligent people don’t can’t see it. I felt like I was a bit crazy! I desperately wanted to have an alternative, to help these amazing men–and everyone involved in personal development–to be able to get the results they are wanting, without unnecessary risk and potential harm. I knew that there has to be a better way–I just didn’t know what that way was yet.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Meanwhile, synchronicity hit. I got bored being unemployed, and even though I didn’t know what I wanted to do next, I went looking for work. I hoped that the Precision Change podcast would launch my coaching practice, but it didn’t work out that way, and I was running out of time.

During my weekly job search, I went on Craig’s List and one of the first ads was a job with two of my all-time favorite authors in personal development, who happen to be local. I got the job, as well as another job working with a local non-profit. The non-profit job ended up not working out. Why not? Well, one reason is that they do intense personal development seminars, the type that could send you to the hospital. It wasn’t a good fit–to say the least–given my search for a better way, and the recent events.

Working for two heroes of mine, I decided to dig deeper into the personal development and therapy books they have written. I’d remembered their books being wise and considered, but at the time I had been more interested in excitement than wisdom.

One book in particular, by Connirae Andreas, I had already started to read and was on my bookshelf. It is called Core Transformation. I picked it up, and found exactly what I had been looking for, all this time.

Turning Personal Development on It’s Head

Core Transformation is the exact opposite of pretty much every personal development technique I’ve ever done. There are no affirmations. You do not attempt to think positively, reframe anything, change your state, visualize what you want, drudge up old childhood shit, face your fears, understand the origin of your problems intellectually, pump yourself up, set goals, or anything else. Neither do you simply try to accept yourself as you are without changing anything, focus on your breath, notice sensations without reacting, or let thoughts go.

Everyone knows intellectually that money, success, fame, and even good health, getting the relationship you want, and having a great job won’t necessarily make you happy. But we all constantly act under this delusion anyway! At first I couldn’t believe it–and still find it magical after practicing this technique nearly 70 times–but Core Transformation actually is helping me to live from the understanding that these things won’t make me happy…and how to be happy as a starting point instead.

In Core Transformation, you find wholeness and change through the very things you hate most about yourself, other people, and the world. And it doesn’t hurt. It is sometimes categorized as “brief therapy,” yet the results are deep and long-lasting. The only part of the process that feels bad at all is connecting with your experience of the problem, which you generally already feel when you are trying to change something. After that, it feels deeply loving and healing, because in a sense, it is the missing recipe for the deep, healing self-love that everyone talks about and says you should do, but doesn’t show you how.

The most amazing thing to me is that within 5 to 15 minutes, I can consistently go from totally stuck in reaction, anxiety, sadness, anger, and other unpleasant experiences to experiencing a Core State like Oneness, OKness, Love, Being, or connection to something greater than myself. I’ve tried for years to “manage my state” and “think positive” and I’m really good at those things now–but they’ve often felt like I’m repressing something, or splitting off part of myself. When thinking positively, I usually feel less whole, and like I have to “pump myself up” to get something done. But what goes up, must come down….

What Doesn’t Kill You, Might Maim You For Life!

I’ve read numerous times that our difficulties are the source of healing and goodness, that “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I’ve reframed myself into thinking this way. But it hasn’t always felt true for me. There are many times that what hasn’t killed me has scarred me and made me weaker.

I didn’t have a recipe for how to go from stress to strength. I didn’t have the how of wholeness. Personal development blogs and books are full of great advice on what’s wrong and what you should do, but very few have a clear enough procedure for how to do it. “You should love yourself.” But how specifically do I do that!

Life was clever enough to connect me with exactly what I was needing most, and for that, I am incredibly grateful. I think it’s hilarious that I already had the book Core Transformation sitting on my bookshelf. I had picked it up to read a few months before, but I stopped before I had really practiced it. I guess there is a proper time for everything!

How All This Impacts the Precision Change Podcast

So what does this have to do with the Precision Change show? Well, honestly, I’m just not interested in most approaches to personal development anymore. I see most as useless, dangerous, have negative side-effects, or just lack the elegance and far-reaching benefits of Core Transformation. As my herbalist said, you shouldn’t have to heal from your healing. I’ve spent too many years healing from my personal development, and I’ve seen first hand what some of the dangers of overly intense techniques and seminars can do to people. Nobody should ever have to suffer needlessly in their quest to grow, change, and become a better person.

Core Transformation is the only technique I’ve found so far (and I’ve surveyed hundreds if not thousands) that gives such quick and powerful results without excessive pain or negative side-effects. I’ve done it about 60 times personally in the past 3 months, and it’s been incredibly helpful in about 95% of my personal trials. The 5% of times in which it didn’t seem to work I was generally in a very unresourceful state and couldn’t concentrate enough to do the process. And on a deep level, it’s changing my habitual relationship to my experience from that of reaction and repression to that of love and understanding!

So I’ve decided to focus my energies (which are usually scattered in sampling many different personal development techniques) on the thing I’m feeling is both most effective and most important. I’ve changed my personal development to be entirely focused on practicing Core Transformation, and I’m transitioning my coaching practice to be similarly focused.

You’ve Read This Far? You Deserve A Reward!

Would you enjoy receiving reasonably priced, incredibly effective personal transformation? I thought so. Which is why I have decided to run a special 1/2 off deal, and keep my regular price affordable as well.

I’ve already run 5 people through the process, all experienced their Core State or states, and all reported that it was very helpful in changing the problem they came in with. That’s 100% success in one session–a much higher rate with much faster results than my typical coaching sessions for which clients have happily paid $75 an hour.

From what I’ve experienced personally so far, Core Transformation appears to be far more effective in making rapid and permanent changes than anything I’ve been doing with standard coaching models and techniques. My clients deserve the very best and most effective methods of making change, with the fewest risks. I believe Core Transformation is one of the best methods available today for doing just that.

Because no beliefs in anything religious or spiritual are required to follow the simple steps, it works even if you don’t believe in any of that stuff or don’t think the technique will work. Connirae wasn’t even interested in anything “spiritual” when she discovered this way of working with people–she was just trying to develop a much more effective technique of solving human problems!

This technique is very widely applicable: from career challenges, to relationship problems, to personal habits, goals, feelings, “blocks,” etc. It is effective with just about any unwanted feeling, behavior, or response, or even with making things you like about yourself more full and rich, and goals accomplished more smoothly and easily. It also eliminates goals that are motivated by an intention like “if only I can achieve X, then I’ll be happy…”–but you probably don’t have any of those.

If you are interested in trying out this work, please email me at duff [at] precisionchange [dot] com or give me a call: 303-520-8658.

I ask that we do in-person or video coaching only, so go buy yourself a $30 USB video camera, download Skype, and make sure you are on a fast internet connection. I need to be able to see your non-verbal responses, so video or in-person is required. Also, this process takes time, so we will need not just 1 but 2 full hours to give you the experience of transformation that will most benefit you. I’ve squeezed some sessions into 90 minutes, but I wasn’t able to complete all the steps to really deepen the state and make the change full and lasting.

How Much for Core Coaching?

I’m wanting to make this new Core Transformation Coaching affordable, especially given the financial crisis most of us are experiencing. I generally charge $75 for one hour of less-effective conventional coaching (and many less-skilled coaches charge $150 for a 30 minute phone call!). I’m pricing the 2 hour sessions at $100, and for the next month (until October 31st, 2008), I’m offering a special 1/2 price deal for your first session: two full hours of powerful, potentially life-changing work for just $50!

(By the way, if you don’t want coaching, you could always read the book, or learn Core Transformation from this wonderful DVD set.)

I used to do a first session free, but I’m thinking many people will only need one session of Core Transformation to powerfully move forward in an area of life they are currently feeling blocked. However, if you absolutely need coaching but cannot afford even $50, write to me or give me a call, tell me your story, and I’ll consider giving a further discount or a free session.

My goal in our session(s) will be to teach you how to do the technique for yourself. I find that the conventional coaching model, with all it’s talk of empowerment, puts the accountability for change on the coaching relationship and in that way increases dependence on having a coach. While that works out great for the coach, it’s not the best I as a coach can do for my clients. By empowering you to help yourself, we can focus in our sessions on the things you cannot do for yourself.

While I’m sorry for those of you who loved Precision Change, I’m excited to be practicing and facilitating this powerful process. I hope you’ll join me in transforming your life!

Yours,
~Duff

p.s. Once again, if you want to experience the transformational power of Core Transformation–which is nothing like most techniques of personal development–then email me or give me a call today! Also, feel free to write to me any other thoughts you have about the show being canceled, about your experience with personal development, or any other feedback to what I’ve shared with you in this “confession.” I’d love to hear from you: duff [at] precisionchange [dot] com.

Recently my friend and partner on this project Ryan Oelke had to make some tough decisions about what he could be involved in, and unfortunately Precision Change didn’t make the cut. As we all know, especially us productivity geeks, there is always more to do than we could ever possibly do, and sometimes we have to make these kinds of decisions.

Precision Change is definitely going to continue as a show. It’s too fun for me, and I’ve been getting too much positive feedback to stop now. It would help me if more listeners became coaching clients so that I don’t have to get other jobs, but hey, all good things come to those who wait, right?

In the mean time, I’m looking for someone to help produce the show. In fact, I will give you the official title of Executive Producer for your resume. In a year when we are the #1 podcast in iTunes for the Health/Self-Help category, perhaps that will help you to make your first million.

In particular, I’m looking for help in two ways to continue the show:

1. Production/Audio Engineering. I need someone to do the audio editing (or I guess I could learn too, but it’s more fun with a team). It’s not that complicated, just simple edits in Garage Band or ProTools if you have it, mostly for “umms” and “ahhs” and 2-5 edits for content, plus arranging the PowerUp segment and initial voiceover. Probably a grand total of 1-2 hours per episode if you already have audio engineering skills.
2. Someone to keep Duff on track. As a creative type, I have a tendency to forget when things need to get done, when we need to search for more guests, etc. Ryan was great at reminding me about these details in a non-violent manner, even when I was getting them done at 1 in the morning.

If you are interested in either or both roles, please email duff [at] precisionchange [dot] com. The pay is low ($0), but if there is something you’d like to promote that is relevant to the show, I’d love to do it. It’s also a great resume builder, and I’m totally open to creative ideas of what to do with the show.

Also, if we come up with any ingenious ways of making cash from the show and this website (I have a couple ideas), I’d happily share the revenue in a way that is fair.

Duff here. I just installed a shiny new comment system, thanks to the great folks at Intense Debate, because I’m really wanting to stir up dialogue around these topics. Nobody has the final answer here, including our expert interviewees. (Of course, please keep the dialogue constructive and respectful.)

Also, please give us your feedback on our podcast episodes and articles. I invite you to think of this podcast as your podcast–what author, blogger, or even unknown (who should be more well-known) would you like to hear an interview with? What two authors would you like to hear debate or dialogue together? (Personally I’d love to hear Tony Robbins and Eckhart Tolle debate about the role of achievement in a life well-lived.) What would really help you make a change in your life, or be really entertaining?

Thank you for reading and listening!

Do you have 1000’s of emails sitting in your inbox right now, many unread, all nagging at you to do something about them? Have you declared email bankruptcy, hoping that “if it’s important, they’ll write back?” This sucks, eh? But you’re not alone. And more importantly…

Come to the free Email Mastery seminar, part of the Precision Change seminar series. I’ll be hosting with fellow life coach and entrepreneur Ryan Oelke. We will hold your hands through processing your inbox to 0, perhaps for the first time!

Join us at The Cup (on 16th and Pearl in Boulder) on Wednesday May 14th at 5:30pm and achieve inbox emptiness in under an hour. Bring a laptop, as this is a hands-on workshop.

In this seminar, you will learn…

• How to get your inbox to 0, even if it’s never been there before!
• Why software won’t solve the problem, and what will.
• How to write emails so you get fewer of them.
• Why none of your emails need be longer than 5 sentences.
• What the 3 types of emails are, and what to do with each.
• How to sort through your emails with lightning speed.
• Why you don’t need to “do” an email to get it out of the inbox.

Take responsibility for your relationship to the digital world now by attending this 60-minute free workshop. And email this to friends who might benefit!

This free seminar is limited to 12 people. Please RSVP to Duff to reserve your spot: duff [at] precisionchange [dot] com.

Have a productive day!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/

Welcome to Precision Change, a new blog about technologies of transformation, from personal productivity to personal power, mastery to meditation, self-development to self-transcendence.

Unlike other blog sites that recycle tired old aphorisms and over-generalizations, we will focus on precise, practical ways to bring about change using the richest and deepest models available, backed by real experience. We will wrestle with complex issues while keeping it simple.

Think of it as personal development 201.

We’re new, so subscribe to the feed now and have the latest articles served piping hot to your feed reader or email inbox so you won’t miss anything.

And pardon our mess while we finish designing the site.

Why precision?

Many people (including the authors) often find self-help literature distasteful due to exaggerated claims and over-generalizations. Claims of “unlimited power” or “it works every time” feel exciting, yet disingenuous, and ultimately create distrust when the techniques don’t in fact produce unlimited power or work every time.

What does work? Personally I’ve found that precision is a major key to success in effective change. Enthusiasm ultimately wanes, but a focus on specific strategies that work in specific contexts can be extremely powerful. And yes, you can change nearly everything in your life. Your innate potential is tremendous (but not unlimited).

Who’s behind this?

Precision Change was dreamed up by life coach and podcast producer Duff McDuffee after getting prodded by friend and fellow fruit Vincent Horn to (finally) start his own blog site.

Quickly the idea morphed into a group blog with Vince and Ryan Oelke (also a fruit), mostly because I’ve never been able to keep up a consistent blog schedule alone.

Ok, Ryan and Vince are also both excellent bloggers and good friends, having started the popular blog and podcast Buddhist Geeks, which evolved into the podcast network Falling Fruit TV where we now all work. I love my job–without these two Buddhist geeks, I’d be out on the street begging for life coaching clients.

I hope you enjoy our writing and audio. Please join the dialogue by commenting on our posts, subscribing to our feed, and if you like our stuff, submitting our posts to Digg.com, del.icio.us, and StumbleUpon.

Thanks!