Focus Is Fertiliser: How to Grow a Positive Mindset

By Kylie Brennan

Focus is fertiliser is a profound yet simple recipe for creating a positive mindset. Just like in the garden, what we feed we grow, and the fertiliser for our mind is focus.

In this easy-to-follow book, intuitive mindset coach Kylie Brennan teaches us how to change our focus to reach our goals in just three steps. Drawing on her own experiences and using practical, everyday examples, she shows us how to apply these steps to change the way we think, work, and feel so we can reach our full potential.

From buying a car and selling a house, to dealing with workplace stress, and grieving the loss of a loved one, Kylie shows us how to achieve the best possible outcome. For anyone looking for more success, opportunities, and happiness in their lives, Focus is Fertiliser is a game changer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Jan 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781504324076

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 Kylie Brennan.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by

any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system

without the written permission of the author except in the case of

brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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links contained in this book may have changed since publication and

may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those

of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher,

and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use

of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical

problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The

intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help

you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use

any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional

right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-2406-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-2407-6 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 01/29/2021

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wonderful twin sister and best friend, Karen. Thank you, Kazzie, for your continued guidance and presence.

Being a twin means I have experienced a bond that is mysterious to others, indescribably ever-present, strong, and gentle. I have always had my sister to share experiences and reflect on life with; I have always known her point of view, received her wisdom, and been aware of her feelings. So much has been unsaid because it was already known and felt.

Now that bond is shared in a new way, beyond the veil of life and the after. I continue to reflect on everything with her, knowing that she is still beside me on my journey. Ours is an impossible connection to break and one that is everlasting.

I also dedicate this book to you with gratitude that you have found it. Wherever you are on the self-development path, I share Karen’s words with you: Go gently with yourself. Appreciate and celebrate where you find your self right now so you can have an awareness of your growth into a positive mindset.

I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you.

Kylie

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

A Word Or Two

Chapter 1     The Power Of Focus

Chapter 2     What We Feed We Grow

Chapter 3     Minding Our Language

Chapter 4     The Feedback Loop

Chapter 5     Avoid Feeding The Past And Future

Chapter 6     Fertilising Now, The Present Moment

Chapter 7     Growing A Good Outcome

Chapter 8     The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side, Or Is It?

Chapter 9     Who Do We Become Along The Way?

Chapter 10   Roadblocks And Triggers Are Signposts To Growth

Chapter 11   Fertilising A Positive Impact On Those Around Us

Chapter 12   Fertilising A Healthy Workplace Culture

Now It’s Your Turn

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing this book has been such a wonderful experience of both documenting my learnings and walking down a wonderful memory lane. The opportunity to find the time and space to complete the book came during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been an awful worldwide experience. I view this as my silver lining during the home-isolation period. I extend my energy, respect, and appreciation to every healthcare provider, essentials supplier, and every person who was impacted by the virus-especially those who did not survive it.

I am so grateful for the following individuals who helped me bring this book to life.

Thank you to Leon Nacson for my scholarship to the Hay House writers’ workshop, where this book suddenly became a reality. Hay House led me to Balboa Press and, in particular, Jim Addison and Jad Conde. Thank you both for your patience and help.

To my wonderful editor and friend Merryn Dickinson, there are not enough words to express my gratitude for your love and care with my words.

To my husband, Eamonn, and my daughters, Charlie and Eila, thank you for embracing the author in me and your support as I created this book, especially during home-schooling-it was a family effort indeed!

Thank you to you, my reader, for embracing my words and my story. I certainly hope you enjoy Focus is Fertiliser.

A WORD OR TWO

Please allow me to clarify two of the most important words in this book.

Throughout the book, I refer to the brain as a collective noun because we all share its functions and wonderful resourcefulness. I believe we all have the same opportunities and we all have the same resources, and although it is often programmed differently through life or even functions differently due to pathology, our brain is a gift that keeps on giving in wisdom and understanding. The brain is our reliable and loyal tool to understand, nurture, and grow a relationship with. My hope is that we can all learn to operate, appreciate, and cultivate the best from our brain.

You will also notice that I refer to self independently of my, your, or our. This is to emphasise the importance of our inner self, which this book teaches us to focus on. If we can understand how to access the depths of our inner being, we can better understand our self and each other.

So, ‘we’ as individuals, and together as humans, become a collective to deepen our understanding of our mind, our self and each other.

CHAPTER 1

THE POWER

OF FOCUS

Our thoughts create our reality, where we put our focus is the

direction we tend to go. —PETER MCWILLIAMS

The law of attraction has been widely documented as a means of manifesting whatever we desire into our lives. In her international best-selling book, The Secret, Rhonda Byrne explains that our experiences are the results of our thoughts and feelings. She says the higher power of the universe is aware of, or somehow in tune with, every thought and feeling and thereby supports the intention behind them, co-creating them into our reality. The Secret has sold around 30 million copies worldwide and has a huge following of people who live life by its principle of manifestation.

Regardless of where we stand on the belief in something greater than us—for example, God, the universe, or a religious figure—we live in a society that accepts faith in something outside of our self. However, if we place our faith in our self, the idea that we create our own reality is easily observed in life events that most people overlook or take for granted.

When we are making life decisions such as buying a house or a car, our focus is primarily placed in the direction of that choice; we feel excited as we dream about living in our ideal house or driving around in our new car. We can imagine that future with an all-consuming focus of positivity and creativity. The way the brain operates, particularly the subconscious brain, is to take that focus and search for more of the same. This is the first way we can use our focus to create our mindset or experience.

Imagine a child playing Spotto, excitedly and obsessively looking for yellow cars. The child’s mother joins in the game and begins to somehow notice more yellow cars wherever she goes. Because her brain is now fixed on a yellow car, it is constantly searching for and therefore finding more of the same. There may be the same number of yellow cars in her neighbourhood as before, but now that she is focused on them her subconscious brain is on the lookout. Our subconscious is very much like an inbuilt law of attraction, obediently seeking what our conscious brain is focused on.

The second use of focus is determining whether our focus is positive