energy

The Physics of Personal Development: Vol. 1 – Conservation of Energy

June 26, 2018 By Julian Kaufmann

Who are we?
What are we here for and how does all this work?

Those questions have perplexed us from the beginning of time, and we continue to theorize and explore, searching for answers. Although I think we are making progress in our understanding.

The scientific field that seeks to answer these questions and explain the universe is called physics. The word physics evolved from the Greek and can be translated as knowledge of nature.

Knowledge of nature and of our selves has tempted us since the Garden of Eden.

“For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” – Shakespeare

Saving lives through Physics

Physics provided me with a profession and imparted to me a fundamental understanding of energy that would serve me throughout my life. Physical and spiritual questions were answered.

Thanks to physics and my curiosity about how things work, I ultimately pursued electrical engineering in college and then embarked in a career in the energy field.

Before heading to college, my ambition was to be a rock-star and tour the country. We covered groups like Black Sabbath and AC/DC. It was loud and a lot of fun.

Ultimately I decided that I liked to eat and told my band mates of my departure to college, leaving the band without their bass player. We all make sacrifices, right?

Beyond a career, Physics gave me a framework and a logical perspective to explain the world.

Physics provides a scientific, mathematical explanation of how things work.

At its core physics provides a framework for analyzing and explaining the energy of the universe. Physicists study and develop new theories to offer new insights and models on how the world works. These theories are then tested and proven become laws.

One law to rule them all…

After a lifetime of observations and my academic pursuits, I have concluded that everything in our universe is a type of Energy.

But what is energy?

Energy can be defined as the ability to do work.

Our universe of energy and our ability to do work can be neatly summed up by THE LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY (LCE) which states that:
“For a closed system, energy cannot be created or destroyed but instead changes form.”

If you would like to learn more about how this law was formulated click here.

LCE is akin to a universal accounting system in which all of the inputs are accounted for, with any differences in energy inputs and outputs being accounted for by losses or conversions.

Energy efficiency is a measure of how much energy is converted into useful output after losses occur during that process. Efficiency is equal to the amount of energy that results from a process (energy output) divided by the amount of energy that went into the process (energy input).

To increase the efficiency of a process, we seek to reduce the energy amount of losses that occur during that process.

Personal development makes lives better.

Like Physics, the Field of Personal Development has its pioneers, and its theoretical practitioners and proponents. Personal development covers a broad range of processes and activities that seek to improve awareness and help people realize their potential.

At its core personal development and its advocates seek to help people work more efficiently and more effectively. That is, personal development encourages us to work on the right things and in the right way. Not to waste energy and effort, but to deliberately and selectively focus your power towards your goals.

Thoughts held in mind produce their own kind.

A core tenet of the personal development paradigm is that the quality of your thoughts determines the quality of your life. For example, If you think disempowering thoughts then you will experience a disempowered life. A few well-known personal development books with compelling titles include:
Think and Grow Rich – Napolean Hill
The Power of Positive Thinking – Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
As Man Thinketh – James Allen

Energy Flows Where Attention Goes.

This expression is a core element of the law of attraction from the popular book and movie The Secret.

Tony Robbins, the preeminent personal development pioneer, after substituting Focus for Attention invokes the commutative property refining the Secret’s not so secret expression yielding “Where Focus Goes Energy Flows.”

Tony “preaches” that your decisions make your destiny. And the act of deciding means that you are cutting off other possibilities. By eliminating the almost infinite possibilities available to us and instead focusing on our goals we can then take massive action towards realizing our objectives. You are focusing your efforts by cutting out extraneous outcomes.

A laser focuses light into a concentrated ray increasing its power. We do the same this as a laser when we eliminate distractions and focus our efforts.

“The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results.” Tony Robbins

Life in the Lab

Life is like an experiment, and we are the scientists and subjects – trying different things and getting different results.

If you do not like what your life is producing for you. Then consider how you are utilizing your energy. After all, energy cannot be created nor destroyed. Maybe you are wasting more of it than you realize?

What are you working on, what decisions have you made, and what is your goal? Lastly, how are you working towards it – are you efficient in your pursuit?

Power Points:
If you want to focus your work more try incorporating the Pomodoro technique into your workday. During each Pomodoro (a block of time), you stay focused on one task only for a set amount of time, taking a short break and then resuming the focused activity until completion. You single-task.

Multi-tasking does not work. In fact, you lose productivity due to losses that occur due to task switching, making you less efficient.

If you want to do more with your energy and your life, take your power back by becoming a Prime Mover. Sign-Up and receive Julian’s Cleaning The Connection ebook and more life-enhancing resources.

Baby It's Cold Outside, Keep The Fire Burning Inside

January 8, 2017 By Julian Kaufmann

Winter is no longer coming. It has arrived with a vengeance. Here in the South, we do not get much cold weather, but today we are in single digit temperature with sheets of black ice covering the roadways. Wherever you, I hope you and your families are safe and comfortable.

We are fortunate to have heat and power and I am grateful that I can share this with you from the comforts of my home while admiring the frozen beauty outdoors.

As we kick off the new year I wanted to revisit energy efficiency and conservation with you. Since everything around us is comprised of energy, how we utilize energy is extremely important. Waste not, want not as the saying goes.

But more importantly, as we learn to better harness our energy better we can produce more, higher quality work.

According to NASA, Thermodynamics is a branch of physics which deals with the energy and work of a system. And the First Law of Thermodynamics is based on the conservation of energy which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed but merely changes form. I describe the conservation of energy concept as an energy accounting systems with a ledger of debits and credits. What goes into the system is accounted for by adding up what comes out of the system and any losses that may have occurred in the system. My goal is to help you waste less of your energy (have fewer debits) to make the credits you have available to you go further.

A simple way to think of energy efficiency and conservation for your home would be this –

Conservation: By regulating your thermometer you conserve energy by adjusting the temperature that triggers your HVAC unit to run. We keep our home set around 68 in the winter and when it is 5 degrees outside the inside feels great at 68. As long as the inside temperature of my house stays above 68, my heat does not come on. I am conserving energy by not consuming it.

Efficiency: If I left my den door open to the outside while trying to heat my home’s interior that is not a very efficient process. It is obviously wasteful, akin to driving your car with the brakes on. The home’s heated air that consumed energy to be produced is being released to the outside while even more, colder air is rushing in probably lowering my home’s temperature caused more demand for heat to maintain my desired temperature.

In our daily routines we can practice both energy conservation and efficiency. We can practice conservation by getting adequate rest, proper nutrition and spend times with friends and family. We are not meant to work all day. We need to let our bodies recharge and keep our powder dry for when we are ready to fully unleash our power. Think of a tiger or lion. They sleep and rest most of the day and then surge with incredibly powerful and directed force. Humans are endurance creatures but we need our rest and recovery as well.

We can become more efficient in many ways but one way I would recommend is by practicing deep work. If you would like to learn more about this read Cal Newport’s Deep Work. Multitasking takes more time and energy than a single, deeper focused effort.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
by Cal Newport

Meanwhile, it’s time for me to put another log on the fire, hug my wife, play with the kids, read a book, drink more hot cocoa, and enjoy the hibernation.

Namaste

Waste Not Want Not, Conserve Energy in Your Spiritual Home

May 3, 2016 By Julian Kaufmann

Did you remember to turn off the lights?

The British are known for drinking tea. In her TED presentation^⁠¹, Leyla Acaroglu stated that in the United Kingdom, 97 percent of households have an electric tea kettle, and 65 percent of tea drinkers admit to overfilling their kettles, boiling way more water than they need for a cup of tea. These tea drinkers were wasting relatively small amount of energy for every cup of tea they drank. Based on government calculations of energy use, Acaroglu reported that one day’s worth of wasted energy use from all these kettles is enough to light the streetlights in London for a night.

Small amounts of wasted energy can really add up.

When you leave your home to go to work or run an errand – do you leave all the lights on in your house even when no one is there? Or do you leave your home’s windows open while either heating or cooling your home? What about when driving your car, do you drive with one foot pressing on the accelerator and the other one pressing on the brakes? I would guess that you don’t do these things because you don’t want to waste energy because it costs you money and because you want to conserve energy.

The most affordable way to generate energy is to not waste it in the first place.

What about your spiritual home? Could you be a better steward with the precious life energy that you have received?

What do you do to conserve, to honor and more effectively utilize your spiritual energy in your soul’s abode -the place where God ultimately expresses as our selves.

Whatever your spiritual belief, the truth is that we are energetic beings and our spiritual energy (our life) is the most precious resource available to us. We can’t afford to keep squandering this resource.

Just like we have had energy crisis related to the earth and our use of natural resources, we too are having a spiritual energy crisis involving our supernatural resources. It is critically important for our own lives and those around us that we practice and S.E.E. That is we practice – spiritual(S) energy(E) efficiency (E).

Each of us has a calling, a unique purpose and it is up to each of us to live the best life we can in order for us to flourish. The divine energy that comprises us was manifest to activate our God given potential.

In many ways we are like an acorn. Given the right environment and care, we can grow and prosper – evolving from a tiny seedling into a mighty oak that it turn provides for others in the forest.

But if we are needlessly wasting divine energy through resistance, we are squandering great gifts and ultimately we will not live up to our full capabilities.

Too often we do not activate the potential that is available to us and our gifts and our calling remain locked away inside us.

The stress and busyness of life builds up and can interfere with us living our life – of experiencing our Flow.

We choke off portions of the infinite supply from our Source and do not perform the great work of our soul’s purpose.

It is time to take the power back!

Please spread the word and have others join us the next energy revolution, becoming a Prime Mover today!

Prime Mover – Free to join!

¹“Paper or Plastic or What? Leyla Acaroglu at TED2013.” TED Blog Paper or Plastic or What Leyla Acaroglu AtTED2013 Comments. TED Conferences, LLC, 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://blog.ted.com/2013/02/27/paper-or-plastic-or-what-leyla-acaroglu-at-ted2013/>.