RAMBLING THOUGHTS FROM AN OLD MANMy experiences have taught that what you do in life has everything to do with the way you think - rather than it having to do with your circumstances. So often - we want to blame our circumstances for what we do. You cannot let your circumstances tell you how to live - you must live above them. Our “think programming” happens automatically throughout our lives from when we are born to everything we experience - as we grow up to where we are today. We have experience - we learn from those experiences - we develop theories about the world and - especially about ourselves from what we have learned. These theories seem correct and real based on our experiences - but are usually flawed. The wonderful thing is that you can reset your “thinking programming.”- you can replace those theories you have developed from your experiences - with new theories you can consciously choose. You can choose what you want to believe about yourself. You can choose to think the way a successful person thinks. This is much deeper than some sort of Polly-Anna-ignore-reality fashion of positive thinking. It is discovering and realizing that you already have what it takes within yourself to be successful. Perhaps you just need someone else to show you how to find it. Once you do - you will realize that many things you used to think about yourself were completely false. One of the best books - in my opinion - to guide someone to change their thinking and find the success within themselves is the book - “Think and Grow Rich,” by Napoleon Hill. It was a twenty year study of the most successful people - millionaires and even billionaires - in the fifties. Napoleon Hill had been commissioned by Andrew Carnegie to interview the most successful people in the world. His original work, “Success Laws,” was then condensed to “Think and Grow Rich.” In this work, there are approximately sixteen main characteristics of successful people. I will point out a few and suggest how to apply them to be successful: 1. Burning Desire2. The ability to make a Decision3. Persistence4. Specialized Knowledge ~ Burning Desire: You have to look inside yourself and ask, “What is my passion?” What drives me? In my case - I was always younger than my peers - so I had to study, learn and be the hardest working guy in whatever position I held. I had to know more than my peers! (I told myself I was half as smart as my peers; therefore I had to work twice as hard.) I had to excel! This was my passion. It was my burning desire. Once you tap into your passion, - you will unleash a powerful force within that can propel you to success. You can then channel that passion to drive you to reach your goals. What is your passion? What do you want more than anything in life? ~ The ability to make a decision: Successful people have the ability to make a decision quickly, efficiently and effectively. According to Napoleon Hill in “Think and Grow Rich,” - unsuccessful people make decisions slowly - if at all - then they change their minds. Well - of course you are never going to be successful if you change your mind all of the time. It is as if when trying to grow a garden - you keep uprooting the sprouts and planting new seeds - Nothing will ever grow because you cannot decide what to plant. You are more likely to have a successful garden if you just make one decision about what you want to grow and stick with it. The success of the garden starts with you being successful in making a decision. Decisions become focal points for your passions. Decisions are magnifying glasses that channel the rays of your passion into a focused beam of light. You must have the conviction that you will make decisions about your goals in life and formulate plans to accomplish those goals. ~ Persistence: Persistence is the ability to go - even though everything seems to be saying, “No!” - Once you make up your mind to find a way to become successful - you will be unstoppable. Look life in the eye and say - “Don’t tell me I can’t, because I know I can!” - Refuse to give up, no matter what the circumstances. You must not understand the meaning of the word, “Quit.” Where there are no ways - make a way. You must insist on what it is that you want and not accept anything less. You must develop a will made of steel. You must become more determined and be more persistent than your peers. ~ Specialized knowledge: Specialized knowledge is different from traditional education. Specialized knowledge is being “in the know” - so to speak. It is like the phrase - “Those who can’t do, teach.” The reason people like Bill Gates and Donald Trump are not professors at colleges teaching about success in business is because they are too busy being successes in business. They have specialized knowledge. This is the kind of knowledge you would not learn in a class room. The best place to acquire specialized knowledge is from people who are out doing it and making it happen. They are “in the know". THINK SUCCESSFUL AND YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL! With uncertainty in the economy and unemployment rising, would not this be an excellent time to add a home based business in your life?
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