the 3 x 5 secret:How to realize your goals through the power of a meditative mind

© 2012 by Eric Klein. All rights reserved. Published by Wisdom Heart. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in ad database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Eric Klein.

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"It’s sooooo crowded,”Our son Aaron came back from the YMCA shaking his head,

“It’s those New Year's resolutions that fill the place every January. I can't wait until

February when things settle back to normal and I can workout in peace."

Aaron knows it's just a matter of time before the resolutions of January dissolve away

and the people jamming the weight room go back to their exercise-free lifestyles.

It happens every New Year.People decide to get serious.

To renew their goals.

To make fresh resolutions.

To establish meaningful intentions.

And every year many of those goals,

resolutions, and intentions begin with a

bang and end with a whimper.

Why?

Because, people don’t know the 3x5

secret.

What is the 3x5 secret?It is a simple lo-tech method for not just setting goals/intentions/resolutions. It’s a

powerful way to generate the momentum you need to realize your important goals.

It requires some simple tools – 3x5 cards (but you knew that didn’t you) and a pen.

It’s so easy to do - that you’ll probably think:

“I know that.” And you’ll miss the secret of the method.

The secret part of the 3x5 secret comes from understanding (and mastering) two

principles. • Intensity • Duration

Without mastering these two concepts, you will either: • Expend too much energy, struggle, and effort pursuing your goals • Lose track of your goals and wander off like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz into the

field of poppies – where you fall into a listless dream.

The 3x5 secret avoids both these traps by skillfully applying the principles of Intensity &

Duration. Let’s explore them one at a time.

What is Intensity?Intensity is focus.

Your capacity to focus on your goal fully and without distraction – is the measure of your

intensity.

The deeper your focus – the higher your intensity factor.

The more scattered your focus – the lower your intensity factor.

The highest level of intensity is when you can fully and effortlessly put your full attention

on what you want to create. Distractions – internal or external – fade away and you

focus fully on your goal.

That’s what intensity is.

But, it’s also important to understand what intensity is not.

Because many people confuse emotionality with intensity.

Emotionality isn’t the same as intensity.Getting emotionally revved-up about your goals is different from being intensely

focused.

Consider the fans at a Sunday football game. Faces painted with their team colors.

Screaming. Or the people at a political rally. Flags waving. Tears flowing.

Or the audience at a rah-rah motivational seminar. Fists pumping. Bellowing their

affirmations!

If you get swept up in the atmosphere of

those events, your whole body can be

churning with excitement. And being

pumped-up, emotionally high can be a

thrilling experience.

But, this kind of emotional fervor rarely

translates into the kind of sustained focus

that it takes sustained focus to realize

your most important goals.

Why? Because emotionality dissipates

energy while intensity focuses energy.

Emotions are inherently

unstable and changeable.It’s their nature. Emotions wax and wane; ebb and flow. Sometimes they flow

happiness. Sometimes they ebb sadness.

Here’s the key: when your attention is directed by emotions – then it waxes and wanes

with the swings of your mood. Which makes for inconsistent focus and thus,

inconsistent action.

In terms of creating what matters most in your life, emotionality is unreliable.

What works is deep, sustained focus.

How do you develop your capacity for deep, sustained focus?It’s like training a puppy.

Let me be more direct – your mind is like a puppy. It’s untrained. Your mind hasn’t

mastered the art of focusing and so has little capacity for sustained attention.*

You start by putting your attention on your goal.This is like putting the puppy on its doggy bed and saying “Stay.”

You know what happens next.

The puppy gets up and wanders away!

The same thing happens with your attention. It wanders.

When your attention wanders, simply re-focus on the goal -

without emotionality! Don’t create a mini drama when your attention wanders.

Don’t feed more emotionality into the system.

Keep it simple. When the puppy (your attention) wanders . . . bring it back.

* Train your mind with The Meditation Habit - http://www.wisdomheart.org/products/meditation-habit/

Even if your attention wanders away for days or weeks. No harm, no foul. No blame.

Whenever you notice that your attention has wandered . . . bring it back.

Each time you do so, you’re building your capacity to stay focused.

You’re training the puppy (your attention) to be focused and absorbed. With practice,

this becomes natural. And eventually effortless.

The intensity that fuels breakthrough results comes from

effortless focus.The intense absorption that generates breakthroughs is totally relaxed.

It’s not a straining, mental clenching. Intense focus is not willful concentration. Gritting

your teeth or forcing the mind to stay put dissipates intensity.

There’s no depth to this kind of mental

struggle. So, what can you do to develop

intensity?

You simply choose to put your

attention on what matters most. When your attention wanders; when

distractions beckon; when emotions erupt:

choose to bring your attention back to your

goal.

Do this over and over again.

This non-emotional re-focusing trains the

puppy mind.

Once your attention becomes stabilized – it will start to deepen.Attentional absorption deepens, as you shed layer upon layer of distractions.

A inherent joy arises as the mind becomes deeply focused. This joy makes distractions

irrelevant. Thus, you don’t struggle to ignore distractions; and you don’t push them

away. They drop away.

Deepening focus opens you to liberating insights & creative

breakthroughs. Along with joy, deepening focus allows you to see your situation in a radically new light.

When the mind is liberated from internal struggle - it is startlingly obvious what to do.

When your attention is scattered or tangled in conflict, you’re immune to - what in th

light of awareness - are obvious insights and creative breakthroughs.

So, that’s intensity: the art and practice of deep,

effortless, focus.

Through deep focus you open the mind to

receive a eureka experience; a breakthrough

idea. Focus is a lightning rod for insight.

But, the flash of insight isn’t enough. You need

to capture that lightning in a bottle – so it

continues to illuminate your path forward. How?

This is where the second principle of the 3x5

secret comes in. So, let’s examine the principle

of duration.

Duration has to do with time. At one level, duration is simply about putting in the time.

• If you want to write a book – spend time writing.

• If you want to run a marathon – spend time training.

• If you want to strengthen your relationship – spend time together.

Of course, that you put in time is important. But, how you put in the time is as important.

Because mastering the duration principle requires more than just doggedly logging

hours.

You master the duration principle as you:

Give each task its full measure of time.Attend to what you are doing. Be fully present to the action in front of you. Practice

single-tasking instead of multi-tasking. Don’t divide and conquer every minute of time.

Let the task before you take its full measure of time.

Get in synch with the creative process.There is a natural rhythm to the creative process. Rushing undermines the development

of natural momentum.

If a project seems to be going too slowly – pay attention.

Is it really delayed or are you imposing an emotion-driven timetable? Notice the

difference in your experience (and results) when you get in synch with the creative

process; when you surrender to and merge with it’s natural pace.

Establish a daily rhythm.Devote time every day to your goals. Notice the words – devote time. Not spend time.

Not manage time. But, devote and consecrate time to that which matters most to you.

Make taking action on your goals into a daily practice. By establishing a regular rhythm

to your goal-focused activities you build momentum.

Find your magic moment.Become a student of your unique time signature. Be like a surfer in the ocean – learn to

observe and catch the waves of your own energy.

Are you an early bird? Or a night owl?

What times of day are best for creative work?

When is your concentration at its peak?

Organize your daily rhythm to coincide with your best times.

In mastering the principle of duration time becomes your ally. By attuning to the natural rhythms of time – time becomes your ally.

Unlike so many people who feel like they never have enough time – you discover that

every moment is complete. You can’t add or subtract anything. You can simply take the

gift of each moment as an opportunity to deepen

your focus and take action on what matters most.

Those are the two principles behind the 3x5

secret: intensity & duration.

Intensity: deep, sustained focus.

Duration: devoting time to your goals.

How you master and combine these two

principles determines how fully you realize your

important goals.

While there are infinite variations to the ways that Intensity & Duration can interact – in

practice there are four essential combinations:

Low Intensity & Low Duration: Chance ResultsThis way of working on your goals is . . . not really to work on them very much at all. In

this mode, you rarely focus attention on your goals and you rarely devote time to them.

If anything happens at all – it’s by chance.

Low Intensity & High Duration: Plateau ResultsIn this mode, you spend a substantial amount of time working at your goal. It’s part of

your daily routine. But low intensity means that you don’t focus attention on the goal.

The time you spend is more of a rote habit than an intentional practice. You get results –

simply from the fact that you put in time every day. But, the level of those results has hit

a plateau. If you want to change things, you’ll have to deepen your attentional

absorption, cultivate inherent joy, and develop effortless focus.

Low

Intensity

High

Intensity

High

Duration

Plateau

Results

Breakthrough

Results

Low

Duration

Chance

Results

Intermittent

Results

High Intensity & Low Duration: Intermittent ResultsThis way of working on your goals is kind of like cramming for a test the night before

exams. You put in a lot of focus and attention – but just for a short period of time. It may

be a looming deadline that gets you moving or slumping finances. Whatever it is – you

galvanize your attention and pull a symbolic (or actual) “all-nighter”. High intensity for a

short period of time yields intermittent results. If you want to change things, you’ll have

to start developing a more consistent rhythm and devote time each day to your goals.

High Intensity & High Duration: Breakthrough ResultsThis mode combines profound focus with regular/substantial time commitment. It is the

path towards both breakthrough results and a sense of soulful fulfillment. As you

develop your capacity for sustained focus it becomes more enjoyable to spend time in

that creative state. Personal breakthroughs and performance breakthroughs naturally

enhance and support each other.

Which quadrants are you working in?Now, it’s time to apply this matrix to your goals.

So, think about three of your goals.

Then consider which of the quadrants best describes your current Intensity & Duration

combination.

Goal #1:

I’m currently getting ________________ results.

Goal #2:

I’m currently getting ________________ results.

Goal #3:

I’m currently getting ________________ results.

.

Are you satisfied?Reflect on whether you’re satisfied with the ways in which you are working on your

goals. If so, breathe deeply and appreciate what you’ve been doing.

If you’d like to shift your mode of working by increasing your intensity & duration, here is

the powerful, lo-tech method known as the 3x5 secret.

Finally – here’s where the 3x5 part comes in.It’s an easy, simple, daily practice that applies the principles of intensity & duration to

your important goals.

Get a stack of 3x5 index cards (at least 100) and a pen.Reflect on your life and your work.

What do you really, really want to accomplish in the next 12 months?Write your 3 most important goals on the top card.Every night before you go to bed:

1) Look at you the card with your three goals.

Quiet your mind. Breathe calmly and focus your attention on those goals. Visualize each goal in its completed state. Get as absorbed as you can – letting your focus sink into the image. Don’t think too much, just breathe in the feeling of completion. 2) Take a blank card. Date it with tomorrow’s date. And write 3 things you will do the next day to realize your key goals. 3) When again night arrives, look at the three actions you wrote down and notice how you did. Check off the actions you completed.

Enjoy the experience of completion. Notice if you did not take any of the actions. Reflect on what kept you from completing those actions. Then let go.

5) As you fall asleep, turn peacefully inward and gently ask the powers-that-be, the inner teacher, to dissolve the inner obstacles to achieving your goals.

During the day:1) Whenever you consciously put your attention on your goals – pause and take

a few slow conscious breathes. Appreciate the experience of intentional focus. By appreciating the experience of focus and breathing mindfully - you build your capacity to go deeper and sustain focus. Enjoy taking actions that create what matters most.

It’s that simple. Bring together Intensity & Duration to create what matters most in your life All it takes is a sincere willingness to practice and a stack of 3x5 cards.

Key Points:Most goal setting processes start strong and fizzle out. To realize goals you need intensity & duration. Intensity: deep, sustained focus. Duration: devoting time to your goals.

At night Identify your 3 key goals. Write key actions for next day. Review and reflect on previous day’s actions. As you fall asleep, turn inward and gently affirm that all inner obstacles are cleared away.

During the dayWhenever you put your attention on your goals – pause and take a few slow conscious breathes. Appreciate the experience of intentional focus. Intensify it.

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Questions?Email me anytime. I’ll respond in 24 hours.

eric@wisdomheart.com