In 1937, one of the greatest books on the power of the human mind was published, and almost everyone I talk to has heard of it if not quoted to me a few of their favorite lines. What was it? “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. Undeniably, if we as a nation would have introduced that into every school system as a required read thereafter, it is incomprehensible where our nation would be today! Notwithstanding the numbers who have read this book over the years, there is a great gap between reading something and implementing it. Why do I say this? The most prevalent idea which runs throughout the book is as follows: “If you fail to control your mind, you may be sure that you will control nothing else.”
Napoleon Hill truly understood the human mind. His ideas were transformational long before this information became mainstream. He understood the “content vault” known as our subconscious, and how impactful it was in determining the results in our lives. His core principle is that our thoughts in effect create our reality. “As a man thinketh so is he.” So, as we live out our lives, it is so critical for us to dig deep inside that “storage vault” which starts getting filled as early as 3 years old, and fully understand what we have stored, much of which are “things we don’t know that we don’t know.” You might want to read that once again to truly appreciate it. Why? Because much of what that consists of are the exact “programming” that is stopping you cold from achieving all that you know you are capable of creating, or all that you truly desire in your life!
Controlling your mind is essential to take control of your life. Otherwise, you will live your life like a sailboat without a rudder…your life will go as the wind blows. When bad things happen which invariably they do, depression will set in and you may “go south”…the only issue is for how long. When good things happen you will be excited and it motivates you to go to the next step…but for how long will good things happen until something goes awry? So, why do so many miss this crucial step? Besides just never being exposed to this concept, I believe many are fearful of “mind control,” afraid perhaps someone or something else will control it. We also have an adversity towards mind control in the faith world, although through controlling your own mind, you will actually be tremendously more effective in your faith walk. Giving your “life to Christ” which includes every aspect of it including your mind, and then following the Biblical standards in your behavior and thought process is incredibly empowering. Then there is a significant number of people whose concern is one of fear…a fear of the unknown, “what would I do if I truly controlled my mind?” Does this mean I have a greater level of responsibility for how my life turns out? “I might lose the ability to participate in the ‘blame game!'” The list continues on the many reasons why people sometimes just “stay away” from this work, but I truly believe the number one reason why people do not take control of their mind is they have never been exposed on how to do exactly that!
Temporary defeat, loss of young lives, history of broken relationships, or failure in business, marriage or in any areas of life, all of these historical events and more as the list is endless in peoples’ lives robs the average person of belief in their future. People are “derailed” from their future…not really, but if they fail to control their minds, then yes, the past will control their future. We tend to label ourselves based on the events, relationships, failures, etc. that have happened in our lives. Perhaps one of the leading mindsets is one called “Victim.” We experience something that (in our mind at least) dramatically impacts our life at that time, in that moment, and we plant that fact/meaning into our minds. Every time we attempt something new, guess what crops up in our thought process…perhaps not the exact event but rather “you can’t do that”, “you failed before so likely will fail again,” “what is different that will create a different result this time?,” etc. etc. etc. Are you relating to any of these? And you wonder why you just can never get ahead. Well, you are programmed to stay stuck, programmed because you are choosing (not consciously perhaps, but subconsciously) to allow your past to control your future. No one would be successful if all of our futures depended on a perfect past. In fact virtually every successful person has overcome numerous failures in their past. They just chose not to allow a (or any) failure to control their future; instead they took control and looked at what they gained from the experience, and chose to store that positive gain in their “storage vault” a/k/a your subconscious.
How does this apply to relationships? Equally as it applies with every event in our lives. Perhaps you fell in love at one point and the relationship failed for some reason. Fact: your marriage failed. Meaning: you may have made it mean that you are not capable of having a great relationship, or marriages are hard, or marriages don’t work, or marriage is just not for me, or…..in effect anything you can come up with that is negative about relationships. Can you now see how giving “the fact” any of those “meanings” (which your subconscious always gives some meaning to facts and typically they are based on your own viewpoint at the time it occurs), will impact any future relationship you attempt to have? You do not realize that you have defined your inability to have a valuable relationship, and you may wonder why the next one and the next are not working either, but it is your subconscious wherein the meaning is stored. You and only you may be the exact reason why a relationship you so want goes awry. Until you uncover that meaning in your subconscious and “reprogram” it, you will continue destroying relationships in your life. How many people do you know who have been married 3-4-5 times and perhaps never find that intimate, vulnerable, loving, relationship they always dreamed of in a “marriage?” Or, on the other hand, how many have never even tried to have another marriage because “the first one was so painful why would I ever go through that again?” They have stored in the subconscious that “marriage is painful,” another self-limiting belief. These same kind of relationship issues do not only arise in our marriages, or life partners, but also between family members. Social dysfunction is rampant, much of which arises from someone in a relationship who either misinterpreted something said or done to them, and they hung onto it because of their “need to be right.” Oh, how many relationships go awry because of just this one “program.” We all have the capacity to forgive but why is that so hard? Because perhaps another one of your subconscious programs takes over and that one is called “the need to be right.”
When you step into the incredible beingness of realizing with everything in life you are “at choice,” it is one of the most empowering actions you can take. It brings up yet another great quote that can so influence our lives: “Live your life by Choice, versus Chance and Circumstance.” You see, no matter what happens to us, we truly have choices. Sometimes we cannot recognize them although they are staring at us in the face. Make a list of your actions for the day and then analyze them…were you operating at choice? Some will say well “I have to go to work” to which I say “No, you actually are at choice.” Or I have to go to the bathroom, to which I say you can choose to just wet yourself (perhaps not socially acceptable BUT a choice you can make). When you start to really take in all of this, and recognize you can live everyday of your life and every action of your day “at choice” it is incredibly empowering. You have this power…and when you step into it, it is highly empowering to you to create whatever you choose to create. So, many prefer the other viewpoint…”I have to…” When you choose “I have to” you are actually going victim to whatever that is. And if you step into victim you will soon find out it is a very unpleasant place to be…it is a place where you are giving someone or something else power over your life. I know you argue that “But this really happened to me…someone really did this to me.” I am not arguing facts with you rather CHOICE…you are at choice to choose victim or “responsible” (meaning able to respond). The former takes away your power and the latter puts you in control. Can you see in your life where you may be going victim when you have the opportunity to choose responsible (not again, that it is in your control rather that you are “able to respond”). I work with rape victims and undoubtedly they experienced unbelievable offenses against them. If they choose “victim” (which factually they are) and wear that badge the rest of their lives, yes they will always have an excuse why their life did not work out. lf, on the other hand, they can step into “responsible”…not that they were at fault rather that they truly have the “ability to respond,” they now can make incredible choices in their lives. This concept applies to endless events in our lives. Going victim is a choice but one that typically will never serve you to create the incredible life yet in store for you.
So, how do we know success is in our future? You know it if you truly choose it! You see essential to any success in life whether in business, marriage, friendship etc. is a burning desire to be successful. Just hoping or wanting something is typically not enough to create it. You are not “all in.” In other words no room for doubt. Doubters rarely succeed. Or they get on a path that wanders off base for months if not years before the success is truly experienced. Going “all in” is just one of those critical steps to truly create what you truly desire. I love the story of Cortes when he arrive in Mexico to conquer this new territory. The men all came over on ships and although there was fierce resistance, Cortes ordered all the ships be burned so there was no possible way to return to Spain. Conquer the Mexicans or die. Perhaps that would give his men more motivation??!! Exactly why he did it. No retreat!
Think about that concept. What if in everything we chose to do we gave that business opportunity or activity a “no retreat” attitude? That is exactly what successful people do. They dive into things with all they have, knowing that they will succeed. Giving something 100% leaves nothing behind. It is that knowingness that allows them to keep the focus and to put forth their full energy and creativity, and whatever it takes to reach the desired result. Where and with what do you see yourself at that level of commitment? Time to shift? This is once again, all about our mindset, and choosing the winning mindset.
Global Mindset Mastery is committed to supporting people in the process of discovering their limiting beliefs, uncovering the way they are impacting their lives, and finally making more effective choices in their belief system to create the results desired. Opening our eyes to put ourselves in a position to create what we truly choose to create without limiting beliefs and negative subconscious programs is crucial to achieve the success we so desire in our lives. The choice is yours.
Wonderfully written “Words Wisdom!”
Thank you so much.
Look forward to catching up with you, Merri-Jo, on this 2020 World Series Weekend right here in DFW!⚾️