There’s no denying it, we all dream of more.
We all want happiness, riches, love but why is it that some seem to have all the success while others are left struggling?
We often avoid asking ourselves those difficult questions that require us to reflect on our happiness.
The answer might seem too complicated, we might think the solution is out of our control, that chance and luck play a key role or that there’s some kind of secret formula we simply don’t have.
Reality is you are the master of your life and you hold the keys to your own success and happiness. No one but yourself stands in the way of using those keys and opening the door to a better life.
Your only limitations are those which you set for yourself.
If you haven’t heard of it, this will hopefully be an inspiring post for you.
The book itself has sold over 15 million copies and has been labeled the bestselling success book of all time.
All though the primary theme of the book is obtaining financial success, its core principles can be applied to just about anything you seek in life.
The starting point to success is DESIRE
“Everyone wishes for more but wishing will not bring you more. Desiring more with a state that becomes an obsession and planning the ways and means to acquire more and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure will get you more” Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill).
In order to win, you need to have purpose, the knowledge of what it is you want and a burning desire to possess it.
Anytime I have truly excelled I my own life, it has been as a result of a deep desire which fueled determination.
Success is not a matter of luck (all though it is often a factor); success is primarily driven by determination and desire.
I learned from a young age that if I set my mind to something, nothing could stop me.
To give you an idea what I mean, when I was in high school, I set my mind on a very specific college. I had a burning desire to go to that college, live in that city, experience the North American culture. I refused to consider any other options and I knew it meant I would have to give it my all.
I worked for months, hours on end studying and writing mock exams. I actually ran out of practice cases and went looking for extra exams in old textbooks. I was determined, and I wasn’t going to accept anything less than A+. I practiced again and again until I consistently got the results I sought.
Result was, I graduated from high school with the highest honors my school and region had ever seen and started college at the tender age of 16.
You’re probably thinking: “wow. Honors, college at 16, how many classes did she skip? she must be smart.”
Frankly, I don’t consider myself to be particularly brilliant. None of my achievements have come to me easily. Each and every one required effort, sacrifice, and determination.
If you really think of how much I worked, it’s no wonder I got the results I did. Honestly, you might even wonder why it took me so much time.
The point is, if you truly want something, if you have that burning desire, believe in yourself.
You are more capable than you give yourself credit for.
We all struggle to have faith in our own abilities. We doubt ourselves, we live with uncertainty, fear of failure but all these emotions and thoughts limit our own greatness.
“One of the main weaknesses of mankind is the average person’s familiarity with the word impossible” (Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill).
Embrace the power of your imagination
“If you do not see great riches in your imagination, you will never see them in your bank balance” (Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill).
There is something incredibly powerful about imagining yourself already where you want to be. I’m not talking about daydreaming driving a Ferrari.
What I mean is something far more involved than a simple thought.
I’m talking about imagining yourself with whatever it is you desire as if you already had it. Engaging all your senses.
How will it smell, feel to the touch, how it will make you feel. Imagining is far more involved and realistic than a daydream.
Truly imagining what you want and feeling as though it was there is an essential step in making it reality. If you can’t imagine it, you won’t believe you can have it and you probably won’t get it.
If you’ve read the Secret (or watched the movie), this concept will not be new to you.
Watch this video. It sums up well the power of believing and having faith in yourself.
Don’t give up
“Before success comes to most people, they are sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and perhaps some failure. When faced with defeat the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That’s exactly what the majority of people do.
More than 500 of the most successful people America has ever known expressed their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.” (Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill).
Pause for a second and really think about that.
How many times have you quit something because you felt defeated, you thought you couldn’t do it or that it wouldn’t work?
Napoleon Hill tells the story of R. U. Darby’s uncle who was determined to find riches during the gold rush days. He went west searching for gold and miraculously hit the jackpot stumbling upon an ore deposit.
He borrowed from family and friends to purchase machinery and began drilling.
Initially, the results were astonishing but very quickly, he realized the ore deposit was not as large as initially estimated. He had borrowed astronomical amounts and would not be able to recover enough gold to pay back his loans or make any money.
He desperately drilled more in hopes of finding another deposit. Eventually, he decided to quit and sell the equipment. He scrapped the machinery for a few hundred dollars and went home.
The man who purchased the scrap equipment decided to keep exploring and hired a mining engineer. Further planning and drilling revealed that Darby’s uncle had stopped drilling 3 feet away from more gold than he could have ever imagined.
The guy who bought the junk machinery made millions of dollars because he knew to seek expert advice and not to give up.
Moral of the story is, don’t stop 3 feet away from your jackpot.
What differentiates those who succeed from those who don’t is often a matter of how many more times they moved past temporary defeat and pushed on.
Now, that doesn’t mean you continue blindly in the same direction.
Success requires adaptability.
The master plan you developed yesterday will have to be refined for that which life throws at you today and again tomorrow. What you thought was true yesterday may no longer be true today which means we have to be able to adapt.
Defeat is only ever temporary until you admit to it by quitting. If you don’t allow yourself to give up, then what some might have seen as defeat you will experience as a minor bump on the road to riches.
Final tips
Mary Kay, the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, attributed her success to the development of self-confidence and faith in herself. She suggests that you:
- Imagine yourself successful – visualize the person you want to be
- Reflect on your past successes – no matter how large or small is an achievement and proof you are capable of more success
- Set definite goals – a clear direction of where you want to go
- Respond positively to life – have a positive self-image. Your image, your reactions to life and your decisions are completely within your control.
“You are the master of your fate, the captain of your soul” – English poet W. C. Henley
Did you like this post?
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