Carlos Castaneda and The Flinch

Carlos Castaneda was a man who wrote a series of novels in the genre "Magical Realism", in which he was taught the secrets of life by a Mexican Indian (Yaqui) shaman named Juan Matus.

Some of the things Juan taught Carlos:

• A man who wants to become Impeccable sets before himself an obstacle that is almost insurmountable, so as to force himself to become impeccable to overcome it
• Become aware of how you are leaking energy, so you can stop doing that
• Normal people, when they encounter a Petty Tyrant, piss and moan, and wish the tyrant was not so petty. When a Man Of Knowledge encounters a Petty Tyrant, he (the Man Of Knowledge, not the Petty Tyrant) rejoices, glad of the gift the Universe has given him - the opportunity to practice Discipline
• Discipline is not about getting up at five AM and splashing water on your face. Discipline is being able to look at what reality actually turns out to be - as that may differ from what you wanted or expected - without flinching

More:

Carlos' books, or   http://www.prismagems.com/castaneda/

and

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13159280-the-flinch