The Sixth Sense

The idea of the imaginary council of advisers is an intriguing one. What if you could have access to the greatest minds in history? Imgine that they would be at your call, to offer advice, guidance and even to warn you of impending danger ahead of time. This is what Napoleon Hill promises to those who grasp the full extent of his philosophy of success.

I have certainly read of many influential people describing the act of accessing past figures to guide them (Hilary Clinton said she used to ask Eleanor Roosevelt for advice...and maybe still does?).

Napoleon Hill says that the ability to convene an imaginary council comes only after you have mastered the other 12 steps. But even if you haven't or are nowhere near it, I think there is some value in experimenting with your own personal imaginary council. At the very least, it may help you to clarify the values that are important to you. Think about it. You choose the people who possess the values and attributes that you indentify with and want to develop. If I asked you what your values were, you might not be able to tell me, but if I asked you about people you admire, you would find that much easier. And clarifying values helps you to make decisions in all aspects of your life (more about values in a future post).

A second benefit of convening an imaginary council is the ability to look at things through another point of view. Even if you don't get visions of famous people talking to you (a bit creepy), it is useful to think through a problem from the point of view of someone else, better yet, someone who is "great". You might be at a loss for how to deal with your credit card debt, but what would Benjamin Franklin have said? (Maybe "practice frugality, young man"?)

The other thing is you dont have to start with 9 people. Start with 3-5. It will be much easier to focus. If you find it useful and want more input you can always expand it later. For the moment though, tell Lincoln he's on the short-list.

10 Tips To Help You To Remember To Practise Auto-suggestion

I wanted to use the post today, to talk about ways to maximise the chance that you will remember to do auto-suggestion every day.

The key to remembering a new action is to incorporate it into your daily routine. It needs to become a habit. It has been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. In my experience, the actual number varies quite significantly based on the type of activity (as you would expect), but is a rough guide. During those first few weeks, you need to make it as easy as possible to remember to perform the activity. Here are some suggestions to help make this happen:

1. Based on your own schedule, pick a time of day, that you think will suit you. Napoleon Hill (and others since him) recommends first thing in the morning or last thing at night. I think these are the times you are most likely going to be able to focus, and not be distracted by other things. But this isnt a hard and fast rule, and if you find that another time suits your schedule better, then do that. Its better to do it at a time that suits you, than try for the ideal and not do it at all.

2. You may need to pick different times for the weekends. Again, this isn't ideal, but its better you accept this, than aim for the ideal, and not get it done at all. A lot of people find weekends so fluid, that its difficult to fit in a structured activity like autosuggestion, and it sometimes gets forgotten.

3. Set an alarm on your cellphone / PDA / Blackberry for a specific time each day to remind you to do auto-suggestion

4. Tell someone else about what you have to do. Even better get them to do it with you. Often its hard to tell people about these activities, since many people are sceptical about anything to do with the mind. An added problem for people who are keen on self-development, is that this is often not the first time they have attempted something like auto-suggestion, and it may provoke a "Not again!" response from friends and loved ones. If you think this is the case and that it will affect your efforts, don't share it, or dont make a big deal about it. If you can, find someone else who does identify, and tell them. A public commitment can sometimes increase the chances of follow through.

5. In the first few weeks, post reminders everywhere. A note on the bathroom mirror, on the fridge, on the steering wheel of your car. Make it impossible to forget about this. Of course, notes have a fixed life in terms of reminding you to do something. After as little as a week, the notes become 'part of the furniture' and they will stop standing out to you. Once this happens it doesnt mean you stop using reminder notes, it just means you need to move them elsewhere.

6. Make rewards based on whether you remember to do auto-suggestion or not. This works well if you have the discipline to deprive yourself of a reward if you dont do it. An example could be, saying, if you remember to do auto-suggestion tomorrow and the day after, you can see a movie the next day. Or watch a favourite programme on TV. Any reward that you have control over, and can withhold, will work. In my experience, the use of rewards is great, but takes some time to get used to. You may need to start small at first: e.g. If I read this page, I can get a bite of this cookie etc.

7. Make the goal short term, to begin with. People get overwhelmed if they think they have to do something forever. If you tell yourself, you only need to do this for 3 weeks, it will be much easier to organise yourself around this.

8. Tell your kids to remind you and that they will get a reward if they do. This is almost failsafe!

9. Place the auto-suggestion statement where it is easy to access. Keep copies in different places. Reduce the amount of effort needed to get it done.

10. Have realistic expectations. "Why isn't anything happening yet?" has killed off more attempts at autosuggestion than anything else. Be patient. You have to be very patient. Results will not just occur immediately. It takes time. Napoleon Hill talks about faith. Thats whats needed with a new habit like this. The faith to keep trying it, even though you cant see any immediate results. That is counter to everything our culture and society tells us (If it doesnt work immediately, then its not working), but if you think back through your life, has any worthwhile achievement come easily? It all requres work, and commitment, and ongoing action. Auto-suggestion is no different.

Subconscious Mind

The true test of a book like TAGR is how well it can be applied to your daily life. One of the keys to this book, forming the "keystone to the arch" of this philosophy of success, is the daily practice of auto-suggestion. That is, saying over and over again, a personal statement of intent for achieving your major definite purpose. Following this practice is crucial to realising your goals. And yet, most people I have spoken to who have read this book, have not done this. As Napoleon Hill himself says in the book, most people will read this, nod their heads in agreement at the concepts expressed, and then go about their lives as usual.

Make no mistake, it takes an extraordinary kind of person, to read this book, and then faithfully apply the suggestions. But, if the book is useless without doing this, then what's the point of reading it in the first place?

As hard as it is, you have to find it in yourself to make an effort and follow the instructions given in the chapter on autosuggestion. If you aren't going to do this, then put the book away right now, because its not going to help you.

In my next post, I want to share some ideas about how to maximise the chance that you will follow through on doing this every day.

Sex Transmutation

This chapter is an interesting one. The first time reader of this book, may find the name of the chapter a little intriguing, but soon finds that rather than providing any steamy content, Napoleon Hill tells the reader that the key to success is channeling the sex drive into your burning desire to achieve your major definite purpose.

The section that talks about Dr Elmer Gates is fascinating for the fact that someone could earn a lucrative salary "sitting for ideas". This feeds into the idea of practising solitude. This means, sitting still for a set amount of time each day, with no distractions like TV, radio or other people, and allowing your thoughts to flow. Most people find this extremely unsettling and unpleasant to begin with, but once you get over the initial discomfort, you will find that your mind settles. Depending on where your thoughts take you, and depending on how much you wish to direct it, you may find yourself experiencing new insights into problems that had been troubling you previously.

There are different recommendations on how much time is needed to practice solitude. Some people suggest an hour a day. I think this is almost uniformly too much for the average person to handle, and will end up putting people off the whole idea of it. Instead, start slow. Try half an hour during the weekend. You may find having a pen and a notebook to jot down some thoughts may help you focus, and be useful to capture ideas that you have.

Mastermind

It is impossible to achieve a goal in work or business, without the involvement of others. This much is clear. But this chapter goes further to suggest, that although you have within you great powers of thought, the way to supercharge your success, is to connect up with others. Without even being aware of the concept of the mastermind, I have experienced the great benefits of having a few people sitting around a table "brainstorming". I think it is true, what he says, that there is a synergy that occurs when you combine peoples' thoughts together.

The book gives a mystical edge to this process, but I think it can logically be reduced to the benefits of lateral thinking, and seeing things from a different point of view. The new perspective in this case, being made available to you by someone elses take on the situation.

But Napoleon Hill's specifications for a mastermind group are fairly stringent. "Always maintain harmony within the group". This is a tough one. Obviously it is desirable, but is it always possible? I think it is hard enough to find people sympathetic to the concept, without finding people who can exist in harmony during this process. And while it may be possible to assemble a group of people to discuss a business opportunity or work opportunity, it may be more difficult to utilise this process for personal goals, although the benefits would be clear.

Persistence

"Without PERSISTENCE, you will be defeated, even before you start. With PERSISTENCE you will win."

There is really no more important quality than persistence in achieving success. No matter what the undertaking, big or small, there will be obstacles and setbacks. And the bigger the undertaking, the bigger the setbacks.

I hate setbacks, and used to think, that proper planning and preparation could ensure that you could avoid setbacks. I was wrong. Setbacks and adversity are unavoidable. Its therefore, not a question of whether setbacks will happen, but how will you deal with them?

It is the easy option to give up, but as in much of life, the easy option in the short term, is the hard option in the long term.

So how do you build up persistence?

The greater the desire to achieve a goal, the easier it is to be persistent. And the clearer you are about your goal, the easier it is to keep going. Indecision and vague thinking are like poison to persistence.
I also think, preparing for adversity can improve persistence. Its much easier to give up, if an adversity occurs out of the blue. But if you are prepared for adversity, then it is much easier to roll with it.

The other (annoying) thing about persistence, is when you most need it, is when you are usually not well equipped to handle it. Often the adversity strikes when the initial passion has worn off, and now its down to hard slog. When you are running on discipline alone, then any major setback can really crush persistence. In these cases, its crucial to have others (mastermind) who can help you to stay persistent. Persistence is easier with a little help from your friends

Decision

If you want to succeed, you need to make the decision to do so. That is crucial. When you make the decision, you open up a universe of possibilities. I know of many people who talk about achieving something, but they haven't made the decision. They keep talking, but there is no commitment. Without commitment, you cannot achieve anything.

Although the story of Young Gunsaulus is from the Imagination chapter, I think it speaks a lot about Decision. He had spent 2 years mulling over how to get a million dollars to start a college. But it wasn't until he made the decision that things changed. Once he had made the decision, a feeling of reassurance came over him. He knew what he had to do, and he knew that it would happen.

Organized Planning

"Your achievement can be no greater than your PLANS are sound."

I love this statement. Its so true. And it follows from this, that:

"Temporary defeat should mean only one thing, the certain knowledge that there is something wrong with your plan."

It is fascinating to strip away all the emotions and stigma of "failure" and reduce it down to that one statement.

Because there is no such thing as failure, if you keep going. Persistence turns "failure" into temporary defeat.

And there is no need to let failure become an indictment of your entire personality, which some people let it become. It just means that your plans are not quite right. If your plans don't work the first time, change them, and try again. If it doesn't work this time, change them again, and keep trying.

Imagination

This chapter feeds off the concept in the last chapter, that it is ideas that will set you apart from the rest. It is imagination that you will rely on to create new plans, and it is the strength of your plans that will determine your success.

Brian Tracy, the prolific self-improvement author suggests writing down 20 solutions to every problem. This technique feeds directly into the concept that producing more means eventually producing better. Out of 20 solutions, 19 may be hopeless, but 1 could be just the solution you were looking for. And the more ideas you have, the more your mind makes connections, and you can come up with new and interesting possibilities.

Its interesting to note that throughout history, some of the most successful people in the arts and science (Picasso, Edison) have also been the most prolific. They produced a lot, and of their output, some of it was brilliant, but equally some of it was not-so-brilliant.

I'm still coming to terms with the sad fact that I will not write a brilliant blog on my first attempt. I will need to keep writing, and producing post after post, before I can produce excellence. And unfortunately in amongst some of my output will be some total crap...

Specialized Knowledge

This chapter talks about the two types of knowledge, general and specialized, and obviously (given the title of the chapter) emphasises that specialized is better than general knowledge. A comforting thought to all of us who aren't very good at trivial pursuits.

Specialized knowledge involves playing to your strengths. It involves identifying an area of knowledge or skill, which you can use to your advantage. And the key word is "use":

"Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action, and directed to a definite end."

But the reassuring point about knowledge that this chapter makes is that you don't necessarily need to spend the rest of your life in a library or the inside of a university lecture hall to get knowledge. In fact, you don't need to have the knowledge in your own mind. You just need to have access to the knowledge. Henry Ford had an office with a row of "electric push-buttons" to summon to his aid any man who had the knowledge he was seeking. Today we call this a cell phone, but the message is the same. As long as you know where and how to find the knowledge it is as good as cramming it into your mind.

Auto-suggestion

Napoleon Hill calls this chapter the "keystone to the arch of this philosophy". This chapter is where the money is.

In this chapter, you are instructed to read this chapter aloud every night, until you are sure that the principle of autosuggestion will work for you.
This is interesting, because I think its so easy to read something, nod your head, say "yeah that makes sense" and then apply nothing of what you have learnt. There's also a difference between saying "yeah, that makes sense" to actually believing that this will work for you.

Which is the reason why, I think, it is fully worth following his suggestion, and reading the chapter out aloud every night. I didn't follow this advice until well past my 12th reading of the book, and I have to say, without doing it, it is very easy to just theoretically agree with what he says, but not truly, emotionally believe it.

Faith

The self-confidence formula in this chapter is a little short on detail, but I think it raises an important point (among many):

"I will concentrate my thoughts for thirty minutes daily, upon the task of thinking of the person I intend to become, thereby creating in my mind a clear mental picture of that person."

Thirty minutes seems a long time to just sit there thinking about this. Anyone who has tried meditation will know how hard it is to sit there for 20 minutes. I wonder how many people who have read TAGR actually followed this piece of advice.

But it emphasises the point that to achieve a goal, you must in some way become the kind of person who would achieve that goal. If you want to be a successful investor but you spend everything you earn plus some more, you won't have any money left over to invest, and will not succeed. To be able to invest successfully, you must be (or become) the kind of person who is disciplined enough to maintain a savings plan, before you can even consider investing. Put another way: "to have more, you must be more".

Desire

It all begins with desire. Without a strong desire for a goal, you can't achieve it. That sounds self-evident, but I think a lot of people ignore this. I have done more than my fair share of wishing in my life. Wishing is vague, its half -hearted and it doesn't usually work. What this chapter talks about is desiring something completely. Committing to it unconditionally. To commit to something, you need to desire it, a lot. Without this strong desire, once the initial enthusiasm has passed, you won't have anything to keep you going.
Its the difference between someone saying "I wish I had more money" and another person saying "I am absolutely committed to saving $1 million by January 1st 2010". Who would be most likely to achieve their goal?

In this chapter, the story I really like is about Mme. Schuman-Heink, the opera singer, who, on her first ever audition was told by the director of the Vienna Court Opera she wasn't cut out for singing and to give up. The line from the book is fantastic:

"The director of the Vienna Court Opera knew much about the technique of singing. He knew little about the power of desire, when it assumes the proportion of an obsession."

Sometimes people have a goal, but because they are finding it hard to get motivated to consistently do anything about it, they question their actual desire for the goal.What do you do in those situations?
Well, two things:
1. You can decide maybe you dont really want it enough, and give up (what I used to do)
2. You can realise that desire does not always arrive full strength, and with some goals, the desire can be cultivated 0ver time. (This is my approach now.) There are stories later on in TAGR about people mulling over desires for many years, until they became an obsession. You don't have to be absolutely passionate about something straight away.

Introduction (Thoughts are Things)

The first chapter. And it starts off with the story of Edwin C Barnes.
Edwin C Barnes is the guy who had nothing but the desire to work with Thomas Edison. He staked it all on that dream , presented at Edison's doorstep looking like a "common tramp".
He then worked at Edison's company for 5 years as a mere "cog" in his organisation until his big opportunity came up.
I wonder, in this era of shortened attention spans, whether a truly ambitous person would be content to sit there mopping the floors at Edison's lab for 5 years before their opportunity came up? I think not. We are so used to immediate gratification (I know I am), that if we got no sign of progress after 5 weeks, we'd be itching to get out of there. I don't know how he stopped himself from getting demoralised.
The rest of this chapter is more about persistence than anything else. The story of RU Darby, who was digging for gold, and thought he was getting nowhere, so gave up three feet from striking it rich, is a lesson in persistence. Every time I read this story, I think, how good his life would have been, if he had struck gold, instead of having to slave away as an insurance salesman. But then, countless studies have shown that people who come by sudden money (inheritance, lottery winning), almost always end up spending all their new found riches and are back to where they started within a few years.
The other theme of this chapter, and the book in general, is your thoughts determining your future. If you think about success all the time, you are much more likely to succeed than if you think about failure all the time. Simple, but true.

The TAGR Blog

Welcome to the TAGR Blog. What does TAGR stand for? TAGR is "Think and Grow Rich", the grand-daddy of all self-development books. But of course you knew that, or you wouldn't be here.

My intention in writing this blog was to share my thoughts on this classic book on an ongoing basis, and invite others to do the same thing.
I will be aiming to write one post every two days and invite guest writes to contributors posts describing their thoughts and experiences with TAGR.