The Jackrabbit Factor

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The Jackrabbit Factor: Why You Can is a self-help book written by Leslie Householder and published in 2005 by Thoughtsalive, with a foreword by Trevan Householder. The term jackrabbit factor refers to a particular philosophical success principle, based on the analogy of a dog chasing a rabbit and was originally coined by the author.

A self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. The books take their name from Self-Help, an 1859 best-seller by Samuel Smiles, but are also known and classified under "self-improvement", a term that is a modernized version of self-help. Self-help books moved from a niche position to being a postmodern cultural phenomenon in the late twentieth century.

Analogy inference or argument from one particular to another particular

Analogy is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject to another, or a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process. In a narrower sense, analogy is an inference or an argument from one particular to another particular, as opposed to deduction, induction, and abduction, in which at least one of the premises, or the conclusion, is general rather than particular in nature. The term analogy can also refer to the relation between the source and the target themselves, which is often a similarity, as in the biological notion of analogy.

Contents

The book

The Jackrabbit Factor: Why You Can was written as a story-form primer for Leslie's other book, Hidden Treasures: Heaven's Astonishing Help with Your Money Matters, and ranked #5 on BarnesAndNoble.com on the day the book was launched. (Hidden Treasures spent much of 2007 and 2008 on Amazon.com's top 100 in the Money & Values category.)

The Jackrabbit Factor is an extended version of the dog/rabbit analogy, which follows the fictional Goodman family as they struggle financially and have a number of encounters which help them learn the laws of thought related to success. It is also an e-book and an online course.

Principle

The term "jackrabbit factor" refers to the importance of being fixed on one's objective. According to the book, a person must be able to visualize the success they seek, and feel the success as though they have already achieved it before beginning the chase. Doing what someone else has done in order to duplicate their success is said to be as futile as is jumping and barking to produce a rabbit. The claim is that if the goal is in clear view, the actions needed to capture the prize will actually become instinctive.

A mental image or mental picture is the representation in a person's mind of the physical world outside that person. It is an experience that, on most occasions, significantly resembles the experience of perceiving some object, event, or scene, but occurs when the relevant object, event, or scene is not actually present to the senses. There are sometimes episodes, particularly on falling asleep and waking up (hypnopompic), when the mental imagery, being of a rapid, phantasmagoric and involuntary character, defies perception, presenting a kaleidoscopic field, in which no distinct object can be discerned. Mental imagery can sometimes produce the same effects as would be produced by the behavior or experience imagined.

If a person sees a dog chasing a rabbit, but could not see the rabbit, they would see the dog darting, barking and leaping around. To the bystander, the dog would seem crazy. This first part of the analogy compares the dog to a person with a dream for success. The person may seem to do erratic, crazy, irrational things in pursuit of the dream. If a bystander cannot "see" that person's dream, the person's behavior will appear crazed as well.

Taking the analogy further, if a man wanted a rabbit too, and decided to simply mimic the same steps as the dog without "seeing" a rabbit himself, he would actually repel all rabbits as he jumped and barked erratically (hoping that doing so would somehow produce a rabbit). This compares directly to people who try to do precisely what another person has done in an effort to achieve the same success. It is claimed that this strategy will tend to repel the very success they seek.

Contents

The story begins with a married couple arguing about finances. Felicity berates Richard for his inability to provide for the family. Defeated, Richard disappears into the woods behind their home and Felicity fears he has gone to end his life. While she frantically searches for her husband, Richard falls into an exhausted sleep, embarking on a strange and enlightening allegorical journey where he discovers the secret behind the voice of inspiration. Felicity at breaking point, also learns certain things that she must do before she is able to find him.

Allegory figure of speech

As a literary device, an allegory is a metaphor in which a character, place or event is used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences. Allegory has occurred widely throughout history in all forms of art, largely because it can readily illustrate or convey complex ideas and concepts in ways that are comprehensible or striking to its viewers, readers, or listeners.

The epilogue outlines a recommended pattern for goal setting, showing the importance of word selection. For example, it claims that to set a goal to "lose weight" will likely backfire, as a person's subconscious mind associates "lose" with something it must help them find; and "weight" with heaviness. Hence a goal to "lose weight" is said to be a direct command to one's subconscious mind to help them "find heaviness". Also, to set a goal with the words, "I will (do, have, or be)..." keeps the attainment of the goal forever in future tense, merely by the selection of the word "will".

Alternatively, the principle of the jackrabbit factor teaches a person to compose the same goal statement in a different way, such as: "I am so happy and grateful now that I am slender and energetic. It feels great to be able to wear the clothes I love."

The author suggests that concentrating on how the attainment would feel reprograms a person's subconscious mind so that accomplishing the goal comes more naturally. These premises are based on the philosophy that without conscious intervention, the subconscious mind ultimately controls our tendencies, habits, decisions, and results.

Personal life

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References

    See also

    James Allen (author)
    As a Man Thinketh
    Law of attraction
    Abraham Maslow

    James Allen (author) British philosophical writer

    James Allen was a British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry and as a pioneer of the self-help movement. His best known work, As a Man Thinketh, has been mass-produced since its publication in 1903. It has been a source of inspiration to motivational and self-help authors.

    As a Man Thinketh is a self-help book by James Allen, published in 1903. It was described by Allen as "... [dealing] with the power of thought, and particularly with the use and application of thought to happy and beautiful issues. I have tried to make the book simple, so that all can easily grasp and follow its teaching, and put into practice the methods which it advises. It shows how, in his own thought-world, each man holds the key to every condition, good or bad, that enters into his life, and that, by working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts, he may remake his life, and transform his circumstances. The price of the book is only one shilling, and it can be carried in the pocket." It was also described by Allen as "A book that will help you to help yourself", "A pocket companion for thoughtful people", and "A book on the power and right application of thought."

    In the New Thought philosophy, the Law of Attraction is the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person's life. The belief is based on the idea that people and their thoughts are both made from pure energy, and that through the process of like energy attracting like energy a person can improve their own health, wealth, and personal relationships.