Chapter 1

Introduction to the Four Stages of Learning

Most people live, whether physically, intellectually or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make use of a very small portion of their possible consciousness, and of their soul's resources in general—much like a man who, out of his whole bodily organism, should get into a habit of using and moving only his little finger. Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.

—William James

What if someone you love more than anyone else in the world is dying of a rare disease and only has six months to live? And, what if you Google this disease and learn of a miracle antidote owned by a rain forest shaman (who's also a capitalist) that costs $1 million and you only have $1,000 to your name?

How hard would you bust your butt to make that $1 million? How quickly could you turn the impossible into the definite? Like a finely tuned, high-performance sports car, you operate with multiple gears. Seldom, however, are you faced with crises or emergencies that require you to maximize your potential and fully leverage your abilities that, in turn, creates dynamic results.

Have you ever heard a story about a terrified mother lifting an impossibly heavy object to free her child from harm's way? Or a father who fights off a wild animal with his bare hands to protect his family? While, hopefully, you'll never be faced with one of these situations, the fact remains ...

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