Here’s an extract from Napoleon Hill’s ‘Think and Grow Rich’ from the chapter on faith:
If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t,
If you like to win, but think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will -
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before,
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN.
Hill’s poem epitomises his belief that we can become what we think about.
I add a wee bit that – we become what we think about the most.
Of course your mind does not differentiate between negative or positive.
So if your self talk [ thoughts], are more about defeat, and difficulty and scarcity then that’s what you will tend to see in your life.
Hill espouses the constant use of what he calls ‘auto – suggestion’ to programme your mind to success.
It is the same thing as the more modern term ‘affirmations.’ Louise Hay is a modern day living example of how successful one can be by using this technique.
Using affirmations regularly every day – in spite of what your inner voice has to say – will, over time help your self growth enormously
And to add further support to this Bruce Lipton in The Biology of Belief has this to say:
On a personal level, I knew at the moment of insight that I had gotten myself stuck because I falsely believed that I was fated to have a spectacularly unsuccessful personal life.”
He goes on: ‘When our uniquely human minds get involved we can choose to to perceive the environment in different ways….’
And: ‘I was exhilerated by my new realisation that I could change the character of my life by changing my beliefs.”
As a personal development tool, using affirmations is one of the simplest ways I know of to change your beliefs for the better.
If, as Hill suggests, you turn your burning desire into a goal [definite chief aim], and you take action and persist until you get results, then is it not worth the effort?
Marva Collins famously said: ‘Success doesn’t come to you, you go to it.’
As we get closer to the ‘festive season’ it is timely to quickly review how well 2011 has been for you.
For many of course, for a variety of reasons [many self caused I might add], Christmas will not be festive at all.
Whether this is the case for you or not, please consider undertaking a review.
What went well, and what did not go so well this year? What could you have done better and what lessons have you learned along the way. And will you be prepared to take the necessary action steps to ensure you do not experience a repeat of the negative stuff.
A great place to start, as with any project, is to get clear as to what it is you would like to have, be or do for the future.
Ben Stein advises thus: ‘The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.’
Of course the more clearly you can visualise your dream, the more likely you are to begin the process of becoming more successful.
And in Sam Horn’s book ‘POP – Stand out in any crowd’; Yogi Berra cautions; ‘ If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else.’
Which in a way is the advice given in Alice in Wonderland: ‘If you don’t know which path you are following, then any path will do.’
Napoleon Hill talks about having a ‘burning desire’. A burning desire will lead you on to greater and better things. However this often requires that you get clear, you set goals and you keep going until you succeed.
You will go down a blind alley or two. You may invest in a particular programme or book or course only to discover that it was not the ‘right one’ for you. What you will have gained from this though is more clarity; you keep going with a little more certainty and determination.
That’s one of the key reasons I introduce you to selected personal improvement products and ideas.
It is my goal to be as helpful as I can to get you over the start line toward a better life – whatever that may mean for you.
It is why I am a life coach.
So remember: perseverance always wins!
Take some time out, have a good old think about things and write some ideas down. Let those ideas circulate for a while or share them with someone who knows you well; maybe they’ll have something valuable to add.
Then begin to create a plan.
Make a decision that no matter what, 2012 will be better than 2011, and 2013 will be better again!
Time to reflect
I debated with myself for quite a while as to whether I would write this article; the title might be a bit misleading coming as it does a few short weeks before Christmas, but then again maybe not.
It’s really all about doing what you have to do in a less tha ideal world – self growth if you like.
I have based the following on a piece written in the December 2011 Red Bulletin – a lifestyle magazine produced by the energy drink makers Red Bull. Mostly the magazine covers individuals excelling in extreme sports [usually sponsored Red Bull].
This month the piece I referred to earlier is entitled “Positive Living”. It is about a care giver in Zambia, a country that ‘may be knee deep in catastrophe, but it’s a place that hasn’t lost its smile. Its people are fond of saying ‘I live positive’ despite estimates that the average life expectancy is just 52 years and four months!’
One million of the 14 million population are HIV positive, half the population is under 16 and women give birth to an average of 6 children.
The 39 year old care giver called Susan has a bicycle donated by World Bicycle Relief. It is a heavy unit with no gears. ‘In four years Susan has been the equivalent of halfway around the world on this bike.’ It is nearly worn out with no brakes and the seat is in tatters.
Without her bike she could not visit and attend to anywhere the number of people that she does. Out in the countryside, there are no roads, just hard dirt tracks that become muddy bogs in rainy times. Temperatures are often around 40 degrees Celsius in the dry and 30 degrees in the rainy season.
Susan will tend her small ‘farm’ – just a scrabbly field with no animals before heading out to help those suffering mostly from Aids. She educates as much as she offers solace, there’s not much else. She does her best to ensure those who having children do what they can to ensure the newborn is not infected with this horrible disease. Susan will often help set a fire and ‘heat the water until the germs are dead’ before adding the very basic ingredients that constitute daily fare.
And yet despite her gruelling routine and her own physical tiredness Susan says; “you have to be alert, be cheerful and set your goals.’
Getting up every day, saddling her bike and facing the world is a start!
“Susan lives positive. She has done for more than 10 years.”
This story reminds me that no matter how tough we think our own circumstances are there always seems to be someone, somewhere who is much worse off and yet still manages to keep a positive forward thinking outlook on life.
Which of course is the perfect attitude to have on your personal development journey
So, I invite you to ‘live positive’.
Your coach
Phil
Anthony Robbins is one of the great motivators and change creators of modern times. I have incuded a brief clip that demonstrates how getting clear will help anyone take the action they need to move forward in their life.
Here are some insights that will help you with your own self growth.
Enjoy the video
Something to ponder.
Why is it that the topic of this article Personal Development and Self Growth are part of one of the biggest categories on the internet?
And one of the biggest at Amazon?
Could it be that so many of you are not entirely satisfied with your lot in life, and you are looking for something more, or something better?
There’s nothing wrong with that of course. It’s probably a trait common to humanity, constantly seeking, looking for that little piece of magic that will transform one’s life.
Yet, most only look, they do not take action, they do not set goals [ maybe in their head they do], and so they remain right where they are.
Still dreaming, still looking; not getting any self growth, not developing, just hoping.
I call it being stuck
Then again many of you do take action – every week.You gamble.You place a bet at the local lottery store. Why? No doubt because most of you believe that more money is the great cure all, and all those niggly problems will just go away!
That’s partly true.
What if you had everything you need right now?
Those who are practitioners of Metaphysics often say that you do!
Life Coaches will say it – often.
Stop, take time out, write a list of all that you have, including family and relationships, job or no job and so on.
Then write what’s good or not so good about each item on your list.
Then write down what life would be like if each was to become ‘better’.
Then write a plan – of action steps – to start contributing to that improvement. You might discuss some things with your partner, or friend, or dare I say it; your coach.
Even one extra smile at a stranger, one less mouthful of food at each meal, one more walk around the block, just one more positive thought will make all the difference.
As long as you do it consistently.
Give it say 4 months, beging to increase the amount and quality of each change after a few weeks.
And, all of those small steps will add up to Self Growth, to Personal Development, which is really what those terms mean.
Keeping a diary or journal about your journey can be useful as well.
As always, I am here to help, so get in touch and let’s get going toward a beautiful life!
Or should I ask have you any goals, or dreams, or wishes, anything along these lines really?
Have you ever set a goal?
I bet you have!
How good are you at planning for a holiday [vacation], or considering a night out somewhere?
How about setting a goal to lose weight? That seems to be very common these days as a consequence of lifestyle decisions many of you unconsciously make every day.
You probably do that all the time.
At work you will have targets to meet – if you are in sales or finance, they will take the form of a budget.
Businesses set goals, targets and budgets all the time. They would not be very profitable for long without putting plans [or strategies], in place. Many will have short, medium and long term goals.
As an individual, most of you will not have much in the way of any sort of goal. You are just too busy to ‘think about it’ – right?
Let’s face it – how often have we had something in mind, started our journey only to change our mind and either forget about the dream, or discover we want something else?
At least you started something.
The very essence of goal setting is to get clear as to what it is you want and then create a plan that gets you started toward achieving your dream.
If you do discover that your ‘dream’ is in fact not what you want after all, at least you now know more than you did before you began. A little more of the puzzle has been resolved.
That’s one of the great things about the process – the more you do it, the more clarity you will have until there comes a time when you are certain beyond a doubt what it is that you do value most.
Don’t let fear [of failure] or lack of self belief stop you from beginning.
Think about it like you would do planning a holiday and begin.
One day you will find your true path and your life will be transformed.
John is ranked as one of the top 100 thought leaders in the US.
What excites me about the video is that it follows closely the teachings of Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich.
I’m also excited to see that the 3 steps to success that John espouses are precisiely the steps I use with my coaching clients.
If you are serious about your own personal growth, then take the time, about 35 minutes to watch and learn. if you would then like to take action on these principles, contact me by email: the address is phil@ahafactor.co.nz
I was reminded today that often we get stuck in a situation and no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to make any headway.
There is a technique that can be used to great effect to help anyone – including you – overcome most if not all difficulties.
And best of all, you can lean and apply this technique yourself!
It is called EFT [Emotional Freedom Technique].
Dr. Mercola [Dr. Mercola.com], describes EFT as ‘a form of psychological acupressure…’ and ‘This combination of tapping the energy meridians and voicing positive affirmation works to clear the ’short – circuit’ the emotional block from your body’s bio energy system….’
Medical Doctors, therapists and life coaches can use EFT to great effect – it appears to be harmelss and people do make breakthoughs not only in mental health areas such as depression, but with behavioural issues such as procrastination or even use it for giving up smoking, weight loss, fear of public speaking for example or for phobias.
Of course you can use EFT as a ‘maintenance tool’ – one that will help keep you at your best even when you are happy and content – your natural state anyway.
Many of you may also be familiar with Louise Hay’s work with affirmations [ You Can Heal Your Life and many other books]. Well EFT is a bit like giving affirmations a helping hand.
If you would like a little coaching around removing some of the blocks [ emotional or otherwise] that are holding you back from living the life you know you deserve, then I invite you to check it out for yourself or email me.
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