When we start our personal brew going, we put complex biological and human interactions together. No matter how much skill we put into the brewing process, no matter how nurturing we are, we will limit ourselves if we use poor quality ingredients.

The same applies to going out into the world, to trying to do something great, or even something a little out of the ordinary. To stretch ourselves and widen our boundaries, we've got to have something to stretch. I once hired a personal trainer for some help with my weight lifting, did a few sessions, then stopped the sessions but continued to work out regularly. Two years later I hired her again for a few sessions for some pointers. She told me, “now you've got something I can work with. Before you didn't even have any muscles to exercise.” Using her services back then, when I was so very feeble, would have been a waste of time and money. But now, after some diligent work, I was in a position to benefit from her expertise.

When we brew our own beer we'll purchase the finest barley, hops and yeast we can find. We'll filter the water we use. When we begin to nurture our own personal growth we'll work on the foundation before we get to the details. Health is one important basic. Emotional position is another. Money attitude makes a difference. General basic skills are essential. In all four cases, to sustain the kind of growth we want from our personal brewing process, we will break through old encrusted ways of thinking and demolish the walls that may keep us from being optimally human.

Health is a key area. If it's not your number one general area of priority, it's got to be way up there. Many of us suffer because of automatic, habitual behavior patterns. We reach for harmful empty addictives like cigarettes, coffee and sugar just because we're in the habit. We eat processed foods that are not good for us because we've been inundated with processed advertising messages. We don't exercise because we've been conditioned to use machines, or we do too much exercise because we've been conditioned to imitate professional sports idols. And then when we become sluggish or ill due to our self-abuse, we wallow in our condition and complain.

We often use the term “good health habits,” but actually good health is really more than a habit. It takes a purposeful connection with the Kinetic Human Core in you, the key to your self worth, to maintain your health. Biology tells you that after a certain age you will decay, deteriorate and eventually die. Trans-Biological Kinesis tells you that you don't have to take this lying down.

Emotional position is a key prerequisite for success. Many of us dwell on emotional hurts from the past or fears we have for the future. Again, these are bad habits. There are ways, some of which we'll discuss in later chapters, to resolve these bad habits and move on in life. The key is: You seek success because it's fulfilling and basic to the creative human drive, not to impress a long-dead parent or show up someone who roughed you up in the schoolyard when you were nine. Emotional walls from childhood are built on habit and automatic behavior and response. Trans-Biological Kinesis and the Kinetic Human Core can help you grind these walls into dust.

Money attitude makes a difference. Money does come in handy. But money itself is not success. At best, it's a yardstick, a way to measure your success (and only one way out of many). Thinking about or dwelling on all the things you'll buy when you “make it” is a classic static box that often creates priority trouble for otherwise talented people. So much of our consumption is based on advertising, status and media image manipulation. So get out of the habit of leaving your money attitudes to habit. Step back and THINK about what is truly important to the higher, creative you. The most useful result is that you deserve to be very well compensated for your talent and your creative work, but that the process, not the end result, is more important to you.

General basic skills are ingredients you should not avoid. You didn't learn every last one of them in school. In my book Building Yourself I devoted an entire chapter to skills. Language skills—grammar, spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, public speaking and writing—are primary; bad language skills can hold you back at critical points in your career. Foreign languages are more and more important in today's international environment, and learning a foreign language also broadens you. Computer skills are absolutely necessary, and not just for techies. Basic listening, negotiation and leadership skills can be applied to any field.

A dangerous static box many people fall into is the assumption that graduation and education are equivalent. One of the themes of this book is that education is a lifelong self-directed experience. Unfortunately, due to the static and compartmentalized state of our education system, this is true not just for enrichment but for basics such as grammar and spelling as well.

Exercise: The Ingredients of Your Life

Take a hard look at where you stand in the individual life areas we discussed in the section above and then answer the questions below. Write everything down.

Health

• Is my health what it should be? Am I oriented toward maintaining my health?

• Do I have good eating and nutritional habits?

• Do I get enough regular exercise?

• Do I have effective ways to deal with physical stress and fatigue?