It's All In Your Head

Whether you think you can or think you can't, either way, you are right. ~Henry Ford

If you genuinely set out to accomplish something, do you expect failure? If so, why even begin.

Success or failure is a foregone conclusion. If you expect positive results you will work toward those and not stop until the mission is completed. If, however, you actually expect failure, at every obstacle you convince yourself all the more that you are destined to fail.

Most people who constantly fail see it as destiny. They expect failure.

Whenever you start some new venture, no matter how big or small, tell yourself that you are a winner and imagine your successful conclusion. Don't be foolhardy about it. Do your homework. You should know what it is that you are trying to do and what is needed to accomplish the task. The Internet makes that part much easier than times past. You have a vast library at your fingertips, literally.

Make a check-list as you prepare to launch your endeavor and follow through with all of your preparation. Keep your thoughts positive and go through every step in your mind from the onset.

Make sure you plan interim goals so that you can actually see and measure progress as things start to gel. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Be ever mindful of what Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or think you can't, either way, you are right."

Now, it's all in your head.

Problem Solving Skills

Problems are challenges to creative minds. Without problems, there would be little reason to think at all. ~Earl Nightingale

The foremost goal of education should be instilling in young pupils the ability to think and solve problems.

Our educational system is designed around the discipline of memorization. One could study for an exam and, if their short-term memory was good, they could pass the test. The better their recollection the higher their test scores. Therefore, those individuals with the best memory appear to be smarter when it really might not be the case.

It is said that deductive reasoning is what separates man from beast. In other words, it is man's ability to solve problems-- to think, if you will-- that affords us this level of distinction. Why, then, is our educational system built around memorization rather than problem solving ability?

If you want to have the best career potential, hone your thinking skills. Next, work on the development of communication skills.

You might be the most brilliant scientist on the planet but if you cannot convey your observations to others, then they are worthless.

The best business leaders are those with the strongest communication skills, problem solving abilities, and know how to get things done. They manage their time well.

Strengthen these assets and you will be an MVP in any organization.

Don't Take Things So Seriously

The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken seriously. ~Samuel Butler

One of the biggest problems in the world today is that people don't seem to be able to laugh at themselves.

There are some people who take everything so seriously that they have become high-strung. They have become neurotic. They constantly worry about what other people think about them. They want to interact with others, but, they have become very thin skinned and are easily offended.

According to the online Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary, the definition of neurosis is as follows:

"A psychological or behavioral disorder in which anxiety is the primary characteristic; defense mechanisms or any phobias are the adjustive techniques that a person learns to cope with this underlying anxiety. In contrast to the psychoses, people with a neurosis do not exhibit gross distortion of reality or gross disorganization of personality but in severe cases, those affected may be as disabled as those with a psychosis."

Let me clarify this for you: The Internet is supposed to be the greatest information library that the world has ever known. It is filled with reports from every scientific institute on the globe. There are innumerable research papers available. There are ancient manuscripts. There are archaeological and anthropological reports from excavations in the Holy Land. There are entomological studies on aquatic insects.

There are books from the public domain freely available... some literary classics... the works of Shakespeare and other poets and playwrights. There is music from every corner of the world.

...and, then, there is social media...

 There are people online who seem to take delight in attacking others. They find some sort of morbid pleasure in the misfortune of others. They like causing stress and anxiety in others. They exhibit anti-social behavior for sport.

I have seen this on occasion in the workplace, but, I witness this virtually every day on the Internet. These people are miserable or bored-- probably both.

My advice to anyone and everyone online is to remember the words of Samuel Butler (the quote at the beginning of this post). Indeed, nothing is to be taken seriously.

Don't feed the trolls and don't let other people bother you. If you don't react, they won't receive the reactions they crave. In the end, you'll be happier and they will go attack someone who reacts.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. ~William Jones

Every one of us is the sum total of our own thoughts. ~Earl Nightingale

If you want to change your life for the better, start thinking better. You might not realize it, but, your thoughts have a way of manifesting themselves. Literally, thoughts become things.

Negative thinking brings about negative circumstances by a series of self-fulfilling prophesies. Your negative thoughts program your attitudes through auto-suggestion. By constantly dwelling on negative thoughts you are creating an expectation for more of the same. What happens is that you start to attract negative people and conditions to you. You've no doubt heard the old saying that misery loves company. Well, keep thinking negatively and that is what you get.

If you want to change your life for the better, then stop thinking negatively and start imagining yourself being successful. Start thinking of yourself having great opportunities and good times. You will reprogram your life with auto-suggestion.

Much of what comes from positive thoughts and ideas is opportunity. Your positive mindset attracts circumstances to you by way of the people with whom you associate. Surround yourself with positive thinkers and you'll be surprised to find out just how much opportunity you will be given to grow, learn, and prosper.

So much has been written about the Law of Attraction, but what you don't hear is HOW the whole thing works. You don't wish THINGS into existence. When you think positively you attract the people and the circumstances that lead to future possibilities. In a way, those people and conditions pave the road ahead.

Change your thinking today and enjoy a better tomorrow.

Don't Sell Yourself Short

I bargained with life for a penny
By Jessie B. Rittenhouse

I bargained with life for a penny,
And life would pay no more,
However, I begged at evening when
I counted my scanty store.

For life is a just employer,
It gives what you ask,
But, once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menials hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of life
Life would have willingly paid.

When Jessie Rittenhouse wrote the poem above, little did the author know that it would be repeated by Napoleon Hill (in his book Think and Grow Rich), by W. Clement Stone, and countless others.

What An Important Lesson

Many times, you will find that people often settle for a lot less than they are worth when they offer their services to others. With that in mind, I added these follow-up questions to the poem above and e-mailed it to several people I know in the business world.

How much value do you place on yourself?
How much value do you place on your work?
How much value do you place on your experience?
How much value do you place on your education?

Don’t Sell Yourself Short

When you go into business for yourself, you must never forget that your time is worth something. Your talent is worth something. Stores don’t give away merchandise. Why should you give away your services or sell at bargain-basement prices. YOU ARE NOT THE ODD-LOTS of the FREELANCE WORLD!

Don’t under-value yourself. Micro-stock photography houses devalue the work of photographers and freelance wannabees diminish the value of professional graphic artists, content, and copy writers.

DON’T SELL YOURSELF SHORT!

Never Stop Dreaming

The greatest achievement was at first, and for a time, a dream. ~James Allen

It is important to remember that every great invention began with a single idea. James Allen, in his book, As A Man Thinketh, teaches us that our dreams are the seedlings of realities.

Albert Einstein said: "Imagination is everything, it is the preview of life's coming attractions." If you can daydream about something, if you can imagine it, then, you can make it happen.

By all means, daydream, but daydream with a purpose. You can turn your dreams into realities.

You Are What You Think

Every one of us is the sum total of our own thoughts. ~Earl Nightingale

Earl Nightingale once said that all of our limitations are self-imposed. With that thought in mind, think about times in the past when you wanted to do something, but you were afraid to try. You limited yourself.

People of my age, who were raised by parents born between the 1st and 2nd World Wars, were often stunted in personal accomplishment by an undercurrent of fear and cynicism. Their parents had good intentions, but they passed their own cynicism onto their kids.

Many people of my generation were taught such pearls of wisdom as these:

Money doesn't grow on trees.

Everybody hates their job.

You're a dreamer.

In the late nineteenth century people were spouting these words of wisdom:

If man were meant to fly he'd have wings.

 

Time marches onward and we are learning new things every day. At least, we should be. Just like technology has changed the way we live, the rules of business have changed. The days of working thirty years at some company then settling into a nice comfortable retirement have gone the way of the dinosaur. Pay increases are few and far between. Often, job-hopping is the only way to make more money. Some modern business practices are legal but totally unethical. Employers have little regard for their employees and employees have no loyalty to the company or individual who hires them.

Like successful men and women of the past, there comes a time when you have to take the first step into your future. You have to recognize that your limitations are truly self-imposed. You were programmed to doubt, programmed to fear failure, programmed to be satisfied with a life of mediocrity.

Ultimately, you work for yourself. When you agree to take a job, you are in control. If you decide to quit-- again, you are in control. But, going into business for yourself still doesn't change the fact that you are working for someone else-- in this case, your customers.

In the end, satisfaction, like happiness, comes from within. You are what you think.
 

When you finally realize that you are the captain of your own destiny, you can accomplish just about anything. So, forget about petty annoyances and everyday frustrations. People can be a pain, it's their nature. The road ahead may have speed bumps. Roads are sometimes like that. But, the sun also rises.

Tomorrow is another day and the start of a brilliant future.