What Do You Think?

I am re-reading a book called Think & Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill. This book is a classic so I like to read it periodically and now that I am at a crossroads in my own business, I thought now was a great time for a refresher. This comes straight from the book:

If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don’t

If you like to win, but you think you can’t,

It’s 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’re outclassed, you are,

You’ve got to think high to rise,

You’ve got the 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!”

This book studies a bunch of millionaires who built businesses. None of the case studies in the book inherited their millions. Basically, the study reveals that one of the most relevant factors to their success was their mindset. They believed they could, and so they did. They decided to move furiously toward a future they saw for themselves and nothing distracted them from that. They all experienced difficulties, challenges and enough reasons to quit but they didn’t. Their mindset is what got them there. So let’s unpack this.

Basically, your dominant thoughts are your dominant actions.

So wherever you are in life is a result of your thoughts. If you think you are broke, and you say that to yourself enough – not only will you stay broke but you will also believe that there is no way out of it. If you believe the world is against you and doesn’t want you to succeed, then your life will be a reflection of that hopelessness. This means that when bad things happen, you will probably think it happened to keep you from succeeding or because you should stop pursuing your path. Since you think that, you will also believe that and eventually, you will stop pursuing your path.

What do you think? What are you telling yourself?

Your thoughts are powerful. Are they propelling you forward or are they holding you back? Notice your thoughts, you hear everything you say. You can speak life to yourself or death to yourself. You can say, I am meant for great things or Why is this so hard? Why me? You can say I have everything I need to move through this challenge or you can say, “I don’t know if I can do this. It’s too hard.” Either way, your actions will emerge from those thoughts. So choose yours wisely.