Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Principle of Self Improvement – Discipline

Let's all think back to when we were in tenth grade and our physic teachers attempted to explain to our sleep-deprived, caffeine charged minds the principle of the Law of Inertia. Who remembers what that is? Raise your hands – yes, Lydia? “A man watching football on the couch tends to stay on the couch.” That is right. When it comes to self-improvement, it takes a lot more effort to improve than to continue on the same self-destructive path we are already on. Or at least the same path to mediocrity.
For example, every morning I wake up to the alarm ringing. It is really loud and really annoying. It bothers be a lot – but still I just lie there and listen to it. Why in the world do I not move to turn it off for several minutes? Well, a 240-pound guy in a lying position is quite a heavy thing. If we use the formula f(x)=t*2d...I'm just joking. Seriously, though, after eight hours of sleep it is incredibly hard to muster the energy to get up in the morning. Likewise, it is hard for us to start running in the mornings or start reading more books. Maybe our alarm goes off earlier so we have time to run, but lying there under our blankets we do NOT want to start – or we have the free time to start reading and becoming more literate, but we always seem to find something more “productive” to do (i.e. Watch football on the couch). Enough of this pessimism – this book is meant to inspire us to rise higher, not encourage us to pour M&M's out of a jar into our mouths while watching Richard Simons.
So who knows the second half of the Law of Inertia? Peter, you raised your hand first. “Sir! A rocket in motion continues to remain in motion until it reaches its target! Sir!” Also, correct. Once a program has been started – so long as it's followed regularly – tends to continue on until the end. The key though is to follow it every single day. It is more like momentum. After day one, it is easy to quit because we have not invested much time or effort into this exceptionally difficult task yet. If, however, we survive day one, day two is a little easier and we are less likely to quit and so on and so forth. This continues until about the first check-up (usually day seven) at which point it is very easy to quit. This “hump day” per se, is the second hardest day on the diet or self-improvement program, as demonstrated by the following graph.

Example 1: Tamara, a freshman in college got a job selling dictionaries. She is paid by the number of dictionaries she sells. The first door rejects her. Having no self-confidence she decides to quit.
Example 2: Igor, a freshman in high school gets that same job (after Tamara quit). He also is rejected – but because he perseveres, he has some success too. However, after seven days his boss calls and says Igor is in violation of child labor laws. He his fired.
Example 3: Slappy the Seal has a job to jump through a hoop, which is several feet above the water. After months of intense training, practice and hard work, he enjoys free fish every day – his favorite food while performing for hundreds of adoring fans!
As clearly demonstrated by these three examples, the “inertia” of a diet or a program is what leads to success. If Slappy had quit after the first week, he would have ended up in a tuna can. I mean, he wouldn't have been as popular and wouldn't live so much better than other seals.
In order to build up momentum we must be disciplined in two main areas, psychologically and physically, two different, albeit connected areas. As in the example of my alarm and me not wanting to get out of bed when I hear it, there are both elements involved. Primarily, however, it is a psychological battle I fight every morning. The bed is warm and the rest of the world is cold. My bed is soft, and the real world is hard. It is difficult mentally for us to start and continue a new regime. It is a lot like working out. I like being big and strong. I really like how I feel during and after a workout. It is always a good feeling, but to convince myself to lie down on that bench, grab the bar and do the first set of lifting…oh, man! It is almost impossible! Hence why I am neither big nor strong. Without mental discipline, even the easiest of programs will be ineffective, the results unachievable. This, I feel, is a primary reason why diets that promise you can eat all your favorite foods and still lose weight rarely result in success, because they increase the temptation that breaks psychological discipline. If my diet allows me to eat M&Ms, I will probably forget my daily limit and gorge myself, or I’ll give in more often at the store while checking out and buy a pack or six too many. Of course the reverse is true as well. As with many bad habits or addictions, for which there exists a certain level of psychological attachment, a cold-turkey style plan often results in failure. This is because psychological discipline has not been developed to a degree that lends itself to success. So what is an appropriate balance? I cannot tell you. Ha Ha Ha. No, really, I cannot. Nobody can – except maybe a psychologist with a minimum of a Masters degree, eight years work experience and specializing in psychological discipline. Even then, probably not. You know you better than other people do. You know what you take and what you cannot. This sounds a lot like a worn out record of a motivational speech form the early nineties – but it is true. If you do not have a lot of self-control, then obviously you need a program to help you develop self-discipline first. If you have complete self control to the point of convincing your self the sky is green – well, you can probably throw your self in head first to any diet and achieve success. Any diet or self-improvement plan that ignores individual’s personal abilities will not produce the optimal results. That is just how the cookie crumbles.
Equally important is physical discipline. Physical discipline is derived from our psychological discipline. However, physical discipline is a different beast – especially when it comes to diets. I will tell you why. If you are on a good diet, you will probably be hungry every now and then – yeah, scary, I know. You will be hungry, but it will not be time to eat. You will have to be able to ignore the physical cravings. Exercise is also similar; because your lungs will burn and your legs will ache while running. It is a depressing picture I am painting, I know, but you know what ‘they’ say, “No Pain, No Gain.” Of course, not all pain is gain (boxing, being gored by a bull, getting shot, etc…). In fact, you do not really need pain to get gain. Ok, so what ‘they’ say is definitely not true. Nevertheless, you can expect discomfort at the beginning of any physical improvement program as your body adjusts to a new style of living. The ability to discipline yourself and persevere is a key ingredient to developing the momentum to keep moving forward in your plan.

!!Note: Please remember that the goal of an exercise routine is NOT to cause pain. Overworking your muscles can result in serious damage to your body, which hinders your ability to continue to improve. Always push yourself, but only to the point just above and beyond your comfort zone!!

You may be wondering why there are all these little charts and graphs in here. It is because I just learned how to use the spreadsheet program in OpenOffice.org. It is so much fun! Sorry, I got a little distracted there. So remember, without discipline, you are doomed forever to chapter three!

Chapter 1

Chapter 1
Diets and Self Improvement Programs - Why do people like them so much?

Americans are hooked on diets. Be it the Atkins diet or the Weight Watchers Program or countless others – if it promises results, Americans want it.

!!Note: The Johnson Plan Promises Results!!

Self-improvement is not far behind. Do-it-yourself books, motivational speakers and self-help materials earn a lot of money for those who do it – and it is only partly because they are so expensive.
You might be wondering – ok, but how much so? How much interest does the American Public really have? Google, the greatest search engine on earth, produces the following levels of interest:

Search Phrase -- Results
Lose Weight -- 28.5 Million
Diet Program -- 30.8 Million
Self Improvement -- 53.4 Million
Weight Loss -- 64.4 Million
Get Strong -- 197 Million

Star Wars -- 55.3 Million
Harry Potter -- 44.6 Million

Counting just the last three search phrases related to the chapter there are more than 300 MILLION web pages having to do with dieting or self-improvement. Star Wars and Harry Potter together do not make 100 million – and we all know that people into those subjects are 4-200 times more likely to make a web page. Why are people so interested in this? What is the drive to try to change oneself? I heard once that it was aliens using radio waves so we would make better slaves. However, later in life I learned that radio waves could not do that, so I came up with a better theory, based largely on what a friend who is a psychologist told me (I try to put the problem after the person, not the other way around). He said:
“Ewing, it's because they're fat and they don't want to be fat anymore.”
The main factor is pride, or in other words, competitiveness. In this rat race of a life, we are all trying to get ahead, be on the cutting edge of life. The only way to do that though – is to be better than everybody else is. This condition affects almost every aspect of our lives, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. Occasionally it even goes to the extreme of parents needing their children to be smarter/faster/better/(insert comparative adjective here) than other people's children. That is unhealthy, but I think you already knew that.
Athletes invest thousands of dollars into dieticians to perfect their intake of fuel to improve their performance on the field. Wrestlers starve themselves before weighing in to insure they have an easier match and an easier road to glory and fame (at this point, it is actually just to insure they are fairly matched). I think you have the idea.
The person who does not try to improve themselves beyond others is viewed as weak and lazy. Psychologically it is very difficult to deal with labels like these, so people are constantly looking for ways to improve.
I, myself, have always been gifted at math, but have never fully applied myself to the discipline. As a result, I was always two years ahead of my grade level and labeled a slacker. Honestly, how does that work? Slackers are usually behind in a course, not ahead. To boot, I always had high grades in these classes. My parents were always wondering why I was not trying harder. I did not see the big deal. Until now. While I continue to study math, I have been denied scholarships because I was not advanced enough above the other applicants. Had I understood better the world in which I live, I would have worked harder for those little improvements that do little more than make me better than the next person. As evidence for this, so you do not think I am just whining about not getting scholarships, let us look at Ivy League school acceptance procedures. If a student wants to study at Harvard, they must have a 4.0 GPA, 1600 SAT score and a 36 ACT score. They must have been involved in sports, music, service, student government, and several other extracurricular activities. On top of this, they generally held after-school jobs and invented a new form of nuclear fusion. While they may not be smarter than many of their lower performing peers, it is only because of the effort they invested in self-improvement that enabled them to study at such a prestigious university.
The average American though only needs to be better than average. That is why the average American is content to lose ten pounds and weight less that his bowling partners. The average American is willing to settle for a Mercedes over his neighbors BWM. But even these little changes are hard to make, and what better source to turn to, than a speech on how to get promoted or a new shake that melts fat. The average American likes to have a plan. I think it originates from football or shopping list exposure as a child. Let's face it; we all want to be better than those closest to us. It is not that we do not like them, it is just we all feel a need to be improving to the level just above our neighbors.
Given all this, there is another reason we like diets – our own self-image. Each and every one of us had a time in our lives when we felt perfect and could do everything we wanted to with no problems. I believe that was generally from six to eight months old. There was a time later on when we could do most anything we wanted (blasted curfew!) and we looked great! Maybe it was not perfect, but when we looked at ourselves in the mirror we always said, “You sexy beast, you!” or “I'm pretty!” The thing is, a year of college later, you are grabbing rolls of fat and yelling, “You're not wanted here!” That is the moment we realize that something needs to change. I personally took up fencing – no, not making fences, but rather the only sport with an actual goal to kill the other person (unlike football where that is the secondary goal). I liked it, because dying was not on my list of things to do that decade and it forced me to learn to be nimble and quick – like a 240-pound dancer. That did not do a whole lot for me (because I did not know about the Johnson Plat yet) – but I did try to change. I started drinking diet sodas instead of regular, I went to the gym more often (once or twice) and went running every now and again. I wanted to look and feel good for me. I knew I was fat and I did not want to be fat anymore. I did make some progress and I felt good about myself. People who lose weight for themselves or improve themselves are generally happier and more satisfied with their own progress. They also tend to make less of it.

!!Note: No actual scientific work has gone into the authors statements other than a simple convenience survey from three areas with a basic psychological and economic analysis!!

Even they, however, want a plan. An easy systematic process that delivers results.
That is just what most programs promise. They are a lot like loan advertisements – lots of big flashy words about what you can accomplish, but little or nothing about costs or long-term results. The nice thing about diets and self-improvement programs is there is no interest if you refinance your body. Or is there?*

The Johnson Plan!
0.0% introductory APR for first 6 months!
83.12% APR after first 6 months, subject to change without notice

Seriously, though, what do all diet ads have in common? Skinny people with giant clothes and flashing numbers about how much weight you will lose and how quick you can do it! Self-improvement ads talk in concrete terms on how much improvement you can expect for yourself in how much time. Maybe, five new words a day or two vertical inches of jumping height a week. But where is the talk on how much effort it will take?
How many people actually achieve – and maintain – their improvement? I do not know as that would be incredible hard to figure out. However, given levels of obesity in America, the number of people who are on the most current fad diet and the size and success of health food stores – I am going to guess that most people fail or cannot maintain results. A study done by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1989-90 and repeated in 1995-96 showed that more than 40% of Americans were falsely optimistic of their diets!** Perhaps because they failed to plan for the effort it would require on their part? We live in Generation Now. We want everything right now and we want it free. Unfortunately, only music from Kazaa is that way. Everything else in life takes effort on our part. Which leads me right to Chapter 2: Send me checks for thousands of dollars.***

*12.65% APR for all refinanced bodies. This introductory rate only available to members of UNICO.

**Young Shin, Jayachandran N Variyam, James Blaylock, “Many Americans Falsely Optimistic About Their Diets” Food Review, Economic Research Service. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Volume 23. Issue 1, January – April 2000. pp 44-50

***Please direct all checks to Mr. Benjamin Ewing, 11905 Kristie Cir., Anchorage AK 99516

Preface

This is a book. It is not an ordinary book. It is a bookazine. You received this book free of charge and you are probably wondering why. I feel that the ideas contained herein are not originally mine – in fact, you could say I straight up stole the idea from Johnson (albeit, he is cool with it). As the author of SpyBot Search and Destroy, one of the finest anti-spy ware programs – and free to boot, put it, software is really just 1's and 0's in a certain order. Perhaps if he were to sell it as art, he would feel justified in charging for it. This book is 13 times more complex than a computer program, so I feel justified in selling advertising space in the book to eliminate the costs for you.
So, if the ideas written within the mysterious tomes of these pages are not original – why am I writing a book about it? Honestly, the primary reason is that I wanted to write a book. In addition, I think that this book can help people remember what they already know. I knew it all long before Johnson taught it to me, but June of 2004 my whole life turned around. For years, I had been a cross-country ski racer, mountain bike racer and a fencer. I was active, in shape and loved life. Then I went to college. For the first time I had to generate my own schedule and insure that I got everything I needed to done. I came up with excuses for my self about not knowing the area so I could not very well ski or go biking. The fact of the matter is, the Freshman 15, became for me, the Freshman 40. Yeah, gross, I know. Well, after a year of college I enlisted in the Siberian Battalion. While in Basic Training, I met Johnson (from whom this plan received its name). Johnson saw potential in me and encouraged me to follow the Johnson Plan. I did – and in about two months, I lost more than twenty pounds and my Russian abilities skyrocketed. I gained self-confidence and the respect of my comrades. Indirectly I dumped my girlfriend about a year later – have not figured out how related they are yet...
I hope that by sharing this, more people will achieve their dreams and goals. By the way, if you find page 73, please let me know. It has been missing for a while.

Russian Translation

I'm having this translated into Russian as we speak. Lyd is going to be a tremendous help to the project! Volunteers to translate to other languages are welcome.

Table of Contents

Preface
Foreword: Chris Barney
Chapter 1: Diets and Self Improvement Programs - Why do people like them so much?
Chapter 2: Principal of Self Improvement - Discipline
Chapter 3: Why do so many people fail to succeed?
Chapter 4: The Johnson Plan
Chapter 5: Why the Johnson Plan Works
Chapter 6: Why you need a plan!
Chapter 7: Principal of Success - Goals
Chapter 8: Principal of Goals - Realism
Chapter 9: Principal of Goals - Optimism
Chapter 10: Principal of Goals - Deadlines
Chapter 11: Principal of Goals - Reporting
Chapter 12: Conclusion
Afterword: Leon Johnson

The Johnson Plan Site

I am in the process of writing a book about a program that worked for me called "The Johnson Plan". This book, while not anything new, should provide a fresh new look into self improvement. The plan is to have the book published in the beginning of 2007. However the book will be marketed using a brand new (at least as far as I am aware) technique.

Ordinarily books are sold at a price to cover the printing, distributing and marketing costs of the book in addition to generating profit for the author. Newspapers, on the other hand are sold at a minimal price which generally only reflects distribution and uses advertising to generate revenues to cover other costs.

The Johnson plan will be available either free, or at a minimal cost like newspapers, with no distribution restrictions (i.e. copies can be freely made without consent of the author). It will be available in three forms, print, audiobook and electronic. The idea is that information should be free, and like Benjamin Franklin, I have no intent to charge people for something that is beneficial. Also, it gets rid of the potential to steal the book, since it's already free.

The book will be posted chapter by chapter here. Feel free to give suggestions and feedback, I'll be wanting it!