How to become Limitless (Without the use of a magic pill)

One of my favorite movies of all time is Limitless.  The moment I saw the trailer for the film I began the countdown for its official release.  The reason I was fawning over this movie had nothing to do with the fact that the starring actor is Bradley Cooper.  What really caught my attention was the premise that a person could live and operate from a place of unlimited potential simply by taking a small pill.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the movie.  Here's a little something to get you up to speed.



 According to the supplier of the Limitless pill, Eddie (the main character) would be given the opportunity to access all of his brain power. When we have that kind of access, we become limitless. I've seen the movie over a dozen times. The first couple of times I watched it for entertainment value. Then I began to analyze the movie for lessons I can learn and take back into my own life. We may not have access to a pill that can unlock all of our potential but we can learn from what Eddie did once he took the pill and apply those actions for similar results in our lives.

Limitless Tip #1:  Create a practice/ritual of clearing your mind.
 {The Limitless Pill gives you a Clear Mind}
The first signs of the effect of the becoming limitless came in the form of clarity.  Eddie is talking to his landlord's wife immediately after consuming the pill and suddenly he's able to notice every  detail of his surroundings.  He observes her individual hair strands, he hears sounds in the background that were once muted. We see Eddie's eye color turn from a greyish blue to a blue so bright it's almost clear. Everything just seems so crystal clear to him.  All of his mind fog is gone and he suddenly can recall detailed information that was once suppressed deep into his subconscious.  Since this magical pill doesn't exist, I asked myself "what can I do to bring that level of clarity and focus into my life?  What makes me think clearly and notice things at a new level?"  Whenever I want to create a similar experience as Eddie did when he first took the pill, I just have to do one thing consistently.....meditate.  When I practice clearing my mind every morning for 15-30 minutes a day,  my life changes.  Everything becomes clear, my mind is sharp, my awareness skyrockets.  At first I struggled with meditation because I couldn't sit for that long without allowing thoughts to enter my mind.  But then I let that thinking go and just focused on completing the meditation knowing that the benefits would occur after my session was complete. Meditation is like working out, you don't suddenly lose inches while you're on the treadmill.  You work at it now, and notice the benefits later.  So, no matter how "well" or poorly my meditation session went, I'm confident that I will experience benefits simply because I completed it.



Limitless Tip #2: Create a clear space.
{The Limitless Pill turns you into a neat freak}
When Eddie goes back into his meager apartment after the effects of the pill kick in, the very first thing he does is begin to deep clean and de clutter his home.  Once the sequence is over, he creates an even greater level of clarity.  After finishing, Eddie tells himself "I knew exactly what I needed to do and how I needed to do it."  At that point, he instantly begins writing the book which he's been forever avoiding.  Procrastination gone.  A few weeks ago, I decided to deep clean my office.  Not just put things away, but going deep into the areas where clutter was forming.  I cleaned and cleaned until everything was gone.  What happened next astonished me.  Suddenly, slew of ideas for blog posts came to my mind.  The days following I experienced positive results in multiple areas of my life.  It felt like I removed a blockage simply by cleaning my workspace.  I've heard it said that clutter sucks up your energy and blocks your focus.  Whenever I feel stuck in my progress, I begin to turn things in a new direction when I clean and get rid of the clutter.  Suddenly, I'm able to see things in a new perspective.  When I walk into a room in my home that is clutter free and completely organized, I become fully present and my mind is at peace.  There's no other feeling like it.



Limitless Tip #3: Walk & Move Confidently
 {The Limitless Pill increases your confidence}
 After Eddie gets access to a sizable stash of the limitless pills, we see him walking down the streets to upbeat music as he smiles to himself.  It's a stark contrast from earlier clips of him looking sad and gloomy as he wandered aimlessly through the streets of New York.  Now Eddie was walking with swagger, with purpose and with intention.   I once heard that confident people take bigger steps and walk at a faster speed than others.  After learning that, I decided to start practicing my new walk and suddenly I noticed the difference. Whenever I want to bring good things into my life, I pay really close attention to my body language. My disposition has to send a message that I'm ready for the great things to come.  I also feel a difference when I wear heels versus flats.  I love flat/sandals but  there's a distinction in my body language and overall vibe when I wear sandals versus when I'm in heels.


   Limitless Tip #4:  Exercise your mind and body
 {The Limitless Pill makes you work out/Learn More}
As Eddie begins consuming his pills regularly, he suddenly finds himself engaging in fit and healthy lifestyle.  We see Eddie taking part in various types of physical activity which helps him trim down.   Another thing we notice Eddie doing is start to learn new things.  He listens to language tapes as he runs, he learns to play musical instruments, and he applies mathematical logic to increase his income.  Whenever I want to start achieving more, one habit I do is visit Youtube and learn something new.  I'm an information junky. Whenever I learn something new, I seem to get a jolt of motivation that makes me wanting to keep learning.  Soon, I become like Eddie, who had the ability to keep others entertained with his vast knowledge.  It's not about being the smartest person in the room, it's about having a mind that is constantly expanding with new & interesting information.

Limitless Tip #5:  Look your best every day
 {The Limitless pill makes you want to look your best}
One of the biggest differences between "loser" Eddie and "limitless" Eddie is the way he looks.  Before the pill, Eddie looks like he takes zero pride in his looks.  His hair is unkept, his clothes are ill fitting, his face is scruffy.  When the effects of the pill kick in, Eddie visits a tailor and gets a whole new wardrobe.  If you want to operate at a high potential you must strive to look your best at all times.  You move and act differently when you look amazing.  People treat you differently and great things start to happen.  If you haven't been paying much attention to how you look lately, take a 7 day challenge to look your best every day. You'll be glad you did.

Limitless Tip #6:  Live without fear
{The Limitless pill allows you to operate without fear}
"All my fear, all my shyness. Gone."  Those words were spoken by Eddie as he dined with friends in a multi-milion dollar mansion in South America.  I thought to myself, "if I wanted to operate without fear & shyness, how could I do it?"  The answer, for me, was once again in the form of meditation.  You see, when I meditate, I practice quieting my mind.  And what exactly is fear?  It's how our mind interprets a situation.  To one person, flying is the scariest thing ever.  To another, flying is an adventure that will lead to exciting new experiences.  Which one is right? Both.  Flying is whatever our mind says it is.  And that same logic works for everything else.

  So when Eddy is saying that he had no fear, what he was really saying is that his mind wasn't interpreting new experiences as potentially negative.  Last week, when I meditated daily, I noticed that my (judging) mind wasn't as active as normal.  Usually, if  I had to pick up the phone to make a (potentially unpleasant) phone call, I would think of all the reasons why I should do it later.  Last week, however, when the notion to make a call came, I just grabbed my phone and dialed.  Nothing was in the way.  Remember that 99% of fear occurs in the mind, not in reality.  If we can train our mind not to pass negative judgement on unfamiliar situations, we operate without fear.

When we can operate without fear, we become limitless.