[Manomanman]

Hey Steve,

I'm making my 2nd major pass through your blog content. If the first pass raised my consciousness to level 2, this time I'm doubling again to level 4. I'm starting to actually adhere to what you suggest, and I'm seeing insane moment-to-moment benefits, especially in productivity.

But the one thing that's been bothering me is that I've had trouble getting my family, which I consider to be a very intelligent and conscious family on some levels, to come along for the ride. I've had success with a few friends - I got them reading your stuff and a light in their head turned on. But here are the following things I can't get to budge in my family:

1. Parents are religious - they are Mormons. Their belief in God is their central belief about reality. They vainly cling to the hope that I'll be a good Mormon child and go to church every Sunday.

2. Mother and sister take antidepressants. In other words, they're totally addicted to drugs. They switch drug brands every 2 or 3 years, as the effects tend to wear off over time. There's really no need for them to do drugs (they certainly aren't clinically depressed) - they really just need to clean up their environment, be more productive, and expand their consciousness.

3. Brother is 27, lives at home, doesn't have a job, and plays MMORPG games all day. He still struggles to find work, as there are few occupations that he might find meaningful (despite having a Master's degree). Parents enable this by not demanding rent, and they also enable other bad habits with both siblings and with each other.

I never confront them about these issues - all I do is suggest things, like floating them ideas about managing their time, improving their health. I talk to my brother about how to find his purpose, how to make more money, how to ace the interview and get a job. But nothing really sticks. They all just seem to sink back into their bubbles (fatty foods, games, drugs).

I've talked to my mother, father, and sister and given them health-related ideas, but they don't try them. (They're all unhealthy, overweight, low energy). I've talked extensively with my brother his career, finances, relationships, etc. Every time we talk on the phone, he goes on ceaselessly about World of Warcraft.

I want to be a better positive influence on them. I understand that working on myself and being an example is somewhat necessary for a change in them to occur, but that seems kind of slow. What are some ways I can influence them for the better WHILE I'm working on myself? In other words, is there a way I can get them hooked on personal development (for smart people), the way I got hooked?

The more general form of the question is, "When somebody is rooted in a belief that they find central to their reality, and they are not willing to part with that belief even for a brief moment, what can one do to influence that individual to experience a shift in their thinking, perceptions, or beliefs?"