Well, its been almost 2 months since the last post, and because I didnt want to disappoint my loyal core of readers, I thought I'd give you more of what you have been waiting so long for.
Decision.
In short, to win, you must first decide to win.
This sounds rather silly, and self-explanatory, but is it?
How many times do we say "I want more money", or "I'd like a bigger house" or "I want to be the United Nations representative on the Committee for Climate Change?"
But these are just idle wishes (especially the last one, since I'm not sure if it even exists).
Compare "I want more money" to "I will take on a part-time job so as to increase my salary to $25,000 a month".
Firstly, where do I get a part-time job that earns that much, and secondly, the second guy is far more likely to achieve his goal.
Part of it is that his decision is clear and direct. But that stems from the fact that he has decided exactly what he wants, and therefore the rest of it falls into place.
You cannot achieve anything until you decide absolutely, that you are going to do it.
By the way, if you are reading this post, please post a comment, no matter how inane or insulting. Let me know you are out there!
Monday, 12 November 2007
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
Organized Planning
There are a lot of books out there that talk about goals. Many, many pages are devoted to describing the value of goals and how to set goals. This is definitely very important. Goals are the basis of achievement. As they say "How can you hit a target if you don't know where it is?"
Much less time is spent talking about plans. Part of the reason is that its much easier to talk about goals, because it can be applied to anyone. Plans on the other hand are very specific to the goal, so its much harder to write about plans in a way that targets the reader.
But this creates the mis-perception that all you need to do is set goals, and the rest will take care of itself. I have read many books that describe people setting seemingly impossible goals and achieving them thanks to the glory of goal setting. Of course, without a plan to achieve the goal, you can't get very far.
As Napoleon Hill says:
"Your achievement can be no greater than your PLANS are sound."
But to be fair, setting goals is quite easy. Making plans to achieve the goal, on the other hand, is hard work. But equally as important.
Much less time is spent talking about plans. Part of the reason is that its much easier to talk about goals, because it can be applied to anyone. Plans on the other hand are very specific to the goal, so its much harder to write about plans in a way that targets the reader.
But this creates the mis-perception that all you need to do is set goals, and the rest will take care of itself. I have read many books that describe people setting seemingly impossible goals and achieving them thanks to the glory of goal setting. Of course, without a plan to achieve the goal, you can't get very far.
As Napoleon Hill says:
"Your achievement can be no greater than your PLANS are sound."
But to be fair, setting goals is quite easy. Making plans to achieve the goal, on the other hand, is hard work. But equally as important.
Monday, 17 September 2007
Imagination
I want to talk again about Young Gunsaulus, the clergyman, who found $1 million within 36 hours of deciding in his own mind to get it.
In the modern economy, power and money is no longer tied up to land and factories but to minds and ideas. This means that the key to success is within the reach of everybody. And I am more and more convinced that our own thoughts are the obstacle we have to overcome in order to find success. What do I mean? I mean that, we do not believe in our own minds that we can make things happen.
Too many of us, have had it drummed into our heads, that there is a set way to make money. Go to school, get a job, work hard. But this is WRONG. That used to be the best way to make money (its arguable if it was ever the best way), but now, the limits of achievement have been broken. People with no tangible assets, can create wealth like never before in human history. The story from the first chapter, of Edwin Barnes arriving at Edison's doorstep with nothing, and becoming rich within 5 years are more likely to happen now than ever before. Except, nowadays, you could do it in much less than 5 years.
The fact is, success is within the reach of all of us, but what we need is the principles that Napoleon Hill espouses, and the belief that we can achieve it. The decision followed by belief is crucial. If we only had the guts to back ourselves, with the appropriate advice, we can create wealth out of "thin air". There are billions of dollars circulating through the world economy every day. It is not beyond possibility for you to claim your share of it...if you are ready.
In the modern economy, power and money is no longer tied up to land and factories but to minds and ideas. This means that the key to success is within the reach of everybody. And I am more and more convinced that our own thoughts are the obstacle we have to overcome in order to find success. What do I mean? I mean that, we do not believe in our own minds that we can make things happen.
Too many of us, have had it drummed into our heads, that there is a set way to make money. Go to school, get a job, work hard. But this is WRONG. That used to be the best way to make money (its arguable if it was ever the best way), but now, the limits of achievement have been broken. People with no tangible assets, can create wealth like never before in human history. The story from the first chapter, of Edwin Barnes arriving at Edison's doorstep with nothing, and becoming rich within 5 years are more likely to happen now than ever before. Except, nowadays, you could do it in much less than 5 years.
The fact is, success is within the reach of all of us, but what we need is the principles that Napoleon Hill espouses, and the belief that we can achieve it. The decision followed by belief is crucial. If we only had the guts to back ourselves, with the appropriate advice, we can create wealth out of "thin air". There are billions of dollars circulating through the world economy every day. It is not beyond possibility for you to claim your share of it...if you are ready.
Friday, 14 September 2007
Specialized Knowledge
Part of this chapter talks about the value of ideas. Ideas are the key to our future. Everything that we create in this world, begins in thought, as an idea. You will only improve your life, to the extent that you come up with or find new ideas, for how to do things differently.
There are many sources of new ideas. I think, one of the best is using the minds of others. Getting the thoughts of others, be it through a brainstorming session with your mastermind group or even just casual conversation with someone at a party, may give you an idea, that sets you off on a new career path, a new pastime or a new strategy for achieving success. Its that simple. And I've seen it happen so often and had it happen to me so often, that I am convinced this is true.
You need to maximise the chance of getting these inspirations, by making a resolution to increase the number of people you talk to, and concentrate on topics which can result in great ideas. Most people tend to talk about the latest tragedy or bad news that they read in the paper or saw on the evening news. This isn't the key to progress. What you pay attention to grows. If you focus on success and achievement, it will increase in your life.
Networking groups, either in your field, or of a generic business nature, are an ideal environment to get new ideas. These groups tend to attract highly motivated, innovative and successful people. These are the kinds of people you want to be around.
There are many sources of new ideas. I think, one of the best is using the minds of others. Getting the thoughts of others, be it through a brainstorming session with your mastermind group or even just casual conversation with someone at a party, may give you an idea, that sets you off on a new career path, a new pastime or a new strategy for achieving success. Its that simple. And I've seen it happen so often and had it happen to me so often, that I am convinced this is true.
You need to maximise the chance of getting these inspirations, by making a resolution to increase the number of people you talk to, and concentrate on topics which can result in great ideas. Most people tend to talk about the latest tragedy or bad news that they read in the paper or saw on the evening news. This isn't the key to progress. What you pay attention to grows. If you focus on success and achievement, it will increase in your life.
Networking groups, either in your field, or of a generic business nature, are an ideal environment to get new ideas. These groups tend to attract highly motivated, innovative and successful people. These are the kinds of people you want to be around.
Wednesday, 12 September 2007
Auto-suggestion
In a previous post I talked about remembering to practice auto-suggestion (click here to read that post).
To me this, is the key. But you may find that before you get to the point where you are practicing your affirmations every day, you need to be convinced that its worth doing it in the first place.
This is where I urge you to follow Napoleon Hill's advice. Read out the chapter on auto-suggestion, OUT LOUD, once a day. Napoleon Hill says to keep doing it till you're convinced, but I think, just do it for 2 weeks to begin with. If you make it open-ended, it will seem like too much of a commitment, and your mind will not want to persist. If you know its only for 2 weeks, then that makes it easier to commit.
Set it up, so that you give yourself a reward for doing the 2 week reading. Make sure its a good reward too, something that will motivate you. And most important of all, be prepared to deprive yourself of the reward if you dont achieve your goal. I know lots of people, who give themselves the reward whether they achieve their goal or not. Obviously, if you get the reward either way, theres no motivation to do the task.
To me this, is the key. But you may find that before you get to the point where you are practicing your affirmations every day, you need to be convinced that its worth doing it in the first place.
This is where I urge you to follow Napoleon Hill's advice. Read out the chapter on auto-suggestion, OUT LOUD, once a day. Napoleon Hill says to keep doing it till you're convinced, but I think, just do it for 2 weeks to begin with. If you make it open-ended, it will seem like too much of a commitment, and your mind will not want to persist. If you know its only for 2 weeks, then that makes it easier to commit.
Set it up, so that you give yourself a reward for doing the 2 week reading. Make sure its a good reward too, something that will motivate you. And most important of all, be prepared to deprive yourself of the reward if you dont achieve your goal. I know lots of people, who give themselves the reward whether they achieve their goal or not. Obviously, if you get the reward either way, theres no motivation to do the task.
Monday, 10 September 2007
Faith
The second step to riches is Faith.
"Repitition of affirmation of orders to your subconscious mind is the only known method of voluntary development of the emotion of faith"
But what is faith?
I look at faith as encompassing two equally vital aspects:
1. A belief that you are the sort of person who can achieve your goal
2. A belief that the achievement of your major definite purpose is inevitable / unstoppable.
Believing you are the kind of person who can achieve a goal works into the self-confidence formula which we have talked about before. So, how can you achieve confidence in your abilities?
I want to mention one way today. William James the Harvard psychologist from the last century described it as the "act as if" phenomenon.
So you dont think you're the kind of person who can earn $100,000 a year? Maybe you're not. But what if you listed all the attributes of someone that can earn $100,000. You could use examples of people you know. First of all, in doing this, you would probably realise, that there is nothing magical about earning $100,000 or even $1,000,000. Those people are the same as everyone else, but have one or two qualities that others dont have to the same degree. One of these is invariably vision, and the other is invariably persistence. They may have other qualities too, but these are the big ones.
So, lets say you think you are lacking in persistence. In applying the "act as if" principle, you live your life as if you already have persistence. By pretending that you have a quality, you fast track your way to actually developing that quality. Sounds easy, but its not. So thats why I'm a great believer in starting off slow.
e.g. You can't find a car park in front of the store you want to go to.
Normal response: give up and park it 5 miles away.
New response: keep trying once more, twice more, three more laps. Show yourself that you are persistent even in this minor act of finding a park.
OK, not very environmentally friendly, but you see what I mean.
In little acts, convince yourself, you are the type of person who doesn't give up. Keep trying it every day, and build it up over time. You will become a persistent person, even though you only started by "acting as if".
"Repitition of affirmation of orders to your subconscious mind is the only known method of voluntary development of the emotion of faith"
But what is faith?
I look at faith as encompassing two equally vital aspects:
1. A belief that you are the sort of person who can achieve your goal
2. A belief that the achievement of your major definite purpose is inevitable / unstoppable.
Believing you are the kind of person who can achieve a goal works into the self-confidence formula which we have talked about before. So, how can you achieve confidence in your abilities?
I want to mention one way today. William James the Harvard psychologist from the last century described it as the "act as if" phenomenon.
So you dont think you're the kind of person who can earn $100,000 a year? Maybe you're not. But what if you listed all the attributes of someone that can earn $100,000. You could use examples of people you know. First of all, in doing this, you would probably realise, that there is nothing magical about earning $100,000 or even $1,000,000. Those people are the same as everyone else, but have one or two qualities that others dont have to the same degree. One of these is invariably vision, and the other is invariably persistence. They may have other qualities too, but these are the big ones.
So, lets say you think you are lacking in persistence. In applying the "act as if" principle, you live your life as if you already have persistence. By pretending that you have a quality, you fast track your way to actually developing that quality. Sounds easy, but its not. So thats why I'm a great believer in starting off slow.
e.g. You can't find a car park in front of the store you want to go to.
Normal response: give up and park it 5 miles away.
New response: keep trying once more, twice more, three more laps. Show yourself that you are persistent even in this minor act of finding a park.
OK, not very environmentally friendly, but you see what I mean.
In little acts, convince yourself, you are the type of person who doesn't give up. Keep trying it every day, and build it up over time. You will become a persistent person, even though you only started by "acting as if".
Friday, 7 September 2007
Desire
Desire drives all achievement. People can spend their lives vaguely hoping for things, but this is not desire.
"I'd like to be rich some day" is not desire. It is fantasy.
But as I said in the previous post on Desire, it does not have to strike like a bolt out of the blue. It also does not have to be something you were born liking or enjoying. Some desires develop over time. They need to be nurtured. The story of Young Gunsaulus from the chapter on Imagination is a prime example. His thought of starting a new college, began as an idea. It took 2 years of mulling over it, for it to become an obsession.
The conventional wisdom is "if you desire something, you will think about it a lot". But did you know that the converse is also true: "if you think about something a lot, you will desire it". This astounds some people.
Try this over the next few days. Think of something you sort of like, but are not completely obsessed with. It maybe a new car, or a house or a gadget (like the i-phone). Now, spend the next few days, trying to think about it as much as possible. Look up every website you can find about it. Read every magazine, talk with all your friends about it. You will undoubtedly find, that after a few days, you will really want it. And it works the same way with your goals.
"I'd like to be rich some day" is not desire. It is fantasy.
But as I said in the previous post on Desire, it does not have to strike like a bolt out of the blue. It also does not have to be something you were born liking or enjoying. Some desires develop over time. They need to be nurtured. The story of Young Gunsaulus from the chapter on Imagination is a prime example. His thought of starting a new college, began as an idea. It took 2 years of mulling over it, for it to become an obsession.
The conventional wisdom is "if you desire something, you will think about it a lot". But did you know that the converse is also true: "if you think about something a lot, you will desire it". This astounds some people.
Try this over the next few days. Think of something you sort of like, but are not completely obsessed with. It maybe a new car, or a house or a gadget (like the i-phone). Now, spend the next few days, trying to think about it as much as possible. Look up every website you can find about it. Read every magazine, talk with all your friends about it. You will undoubtedly find, that after a few days, you will really want it. And it works the same way with your goals.
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