The New Psycho-Cybernetics

02Unleashing Your Built-In Success Mechanism

Tucked away inside your brain is a highly advanced, goal-seeking guidance system waiting for your commands. Let us explore how you can program this internal machinery to automatically steer you toward victory. Most people drift through life completely unaware of the astonishingly powerful biological computer sitting right between their ears. Dr. Maxwell Maltz chose the word "Cybernetics" very deliberately. The term originates from a Greek word meaning "the steersman" or the operator of a ship. In modern science, cybernetics is the study of communication and control in machines and living beings. It is the exact same scientific principle used to design self-guided torpedoes, heat-seeking missiles, and advanced autopilot systems in commercial jets. Maltz proposed a groundbreaking idea: the human brain and nervous system operate together as a highly sophisticated, goal-striving mechanism. This is what he called the Servo-Mechanism. To understand how this mechanism works, think about a guided missile. When a missile is launched, it is programmed with a specific target. As it flies through the air, sensors constantly gather information about its trajectory, wind speed, and the location of the target. If the missile drifts slightly off course, its internal guidance system receives "negative feedback" indicating the error. The mechanism immediately adjusts its fins and thrusters to correct the course, bringing it back on track. It continually zigs and zags, making thousands of micro-corrections until it successfully strikes the target. Your brain operates in the exact same manner. Your subconscious mind is not an ethereal, mystical entity; it is a highly efficient, unemotional machine operated by your conscious mind. Your conscious mind acts as the programmer. Its job is to select the target, gather factual information, and evaluate the environment. Once a clear target is locked in, your conscious mind hands the assignment over to the subconscious servo-mechanism, which then works tirelessly behind the scenes to calculate the exact steps needed to reach that destination. The mechanism does not judge the moral value of the target. It does not care whether the goal is positive or negative, beneficial or destructive. It simply executes the command given to it with ruthless efficiency. This explains why chronic worriers are so incredibly successful at manifesting their fears. When a person constantly fixates on a negative outcome—such as bombing a public speech, going bankrupt, or getting rejected—they are essentially programming their internal guided missile with a "failure" target. The servo-mechanism accepts this target without question. It then goes to work, orchestrating the person's nervous system, body language, and speech patterns to ensure the failure occurs perfectly. The person will suddenly forget their words, start sweating profusely, and stumble over their presentation. The mechanism did not fail; it succeeded brilliantly in hitting the negative target it was assigned. Conversely, when you program your mechanism with a clear, vivid target of success, it will work just as hard to bring that vision to reality. It will automatically scan your environment for opportunities, supply you with creative ideas while you sleep, and guide your actions to align with your goal. The secret to utilizing this built-in success mechanism lies in how you communicate with it. The subconscious mind does not understand vague wishes or abstract concepts. You cannot simply tell it, "I want to be successful," or "I want to be happy." Those directives are too blurry. The mechanism requires crystal-clear, vivid mental images to lock onto. Consider the process of picking up a pen from a desk. Your conscious mind does not individually command every muscle in your arm, hand, and fingers to contract and extend in a perfectly synchronized sequence. If you had to consciously calculate all those biomechanics, you would be paralyzed. Instead, your conscious mind simply selects the goal: "Pick up the pen." Your servo-mechanism instantly takes over, accessing its stored memory of how to move your arm, making hundreds of automatic micro-adjustments, and executing the action flawlessly. You achieve the goal by focusing entirely on the end result, not the complex mechanics of the process. This same principle applies to massive life goals. When you supply your mind with a detailed, sensory-rich picture of the end result you desire, you activate the success mechanism. It begins to search through your massive database of stored memories, skills, and knowledge to find a way to make that picture a reality. It will alert you to resources you previously ignored and prompt you to take actions you would normally avoid. Dan Kennedy points out that high-level athletes intuitively understand this process. A professional basketball player standing at the free-throw line does not consciously think about the angle of their elbow or the flex of their knees. Instead, they look at the hoop, clearly visualize the ball swishing through the net, and then let their internal mechanism take the shot. When they try to consciously force the movement—when they overthink it—they almost always miss. To unleash your built-in success mechanism, you must learn to trust it. You must provide it with clear, positive targets through your imagination and then step out of its way. Stop micromanaging your own mind. Focus intensely on what you want to achieve, paint a brilliant mental picture of the final outcome, and allow your internal guidance system to calculate the route. You are already equipped with the most powerful goal-achieving machinery in the known universe; you simply need to start giving it the right coordinates.

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