After conceiving, believing and achieving, it becomes critical that positive thinking and positive expectation become part of your psyche. It is a laser focused awareness of the world around you. You train your mind to look for the good in the world; it becomes part of you and you act accordingly. We act the way we think. As you continue to look for and reflect upon your achievements, there is an inner force that convinces you to grow. This doesn’t mean that you won’t make mistakes or that you won’t think about acting differently or better in some situations. The difference is that because you are aware of the possibilities, you look at these as opportunities for growth. The mind is a wonderful thing and scientists say that most of us use less than 20% of its capability. Imagine what we could accomplish if we learned to change that figure in a plus direction.
Never Say Never
Now that you have developed a stream of consciousness, you are less likely to use words like won’t, can’t and impossible. How many times have we seen other people accomplish what we thought impossible? How many records are broken each year that were once thought unattainable. It takes no courage to give up and quit a worthy cause. If we strive for the best we will stay on a track to get it. Good people deserve the best that life has to offer and no one should ever settle for less.
Become A Purpose Driven Person
Our greatest energy comes when we find meaning in what we do. Decide on a worthy cause, have clarity of purpose, determine what you want and why, mentally focus on how you will achieve it, never sacrifice quality in what you are doing and look for the driving force within you that will carry you onward and upward. The key word here is worthy. If you are going to be driven by purpose you must be able to differentiate between love versus discipline, freedom versus control and respect versus manipulation. I don’t know or remember the author but I have often heard a story about a young Indian boy and it stuck with me. It goes like this:
One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.
One is evil, it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other is good, it is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one that you feed”.
The choice is yours; it always has been and always will be.
The “IT” Factor
Some years back I was the recruiting and selection manager of an insurance company. I was given that position because of the success I had in recruiting new producers. Years later I was in a different position in that company and I was called by an executive who was in the process of hiring an upper level manager. He had a particular person in mind but, for some reason, wasn’t ready to move forward with an offer. He asked me if I would take some time and interview this candidate. I agreed and was introduced to this person and we set up an appointment to meet.
My involvement in this process was to simply get a feel about this person. After a 90 minute interview I, too, had some reservations and I couldn’t put my finger as to why. I called the executive and shared these feelings of being on the sidelines with a firm decision. All I could say is that, for some reason, I didn’t think the candidate had “IT”. Of course, he asked me what was “IT”. I responded that it is an intangible that you either have or don’t have. If you don’t have it, you’ll never will and if you do have it, you’ll never lose it. To my surprise, the executive admitted to me that he had come to the same conclusion. It should be noted that some people have “IT”, but they keep it suppressed. If that is the case it’s necessary to dig a little deeper. However, that wasn’t the case in this situation.
Do you have a goal, a dream or a desire? Is it big and audacious? Is it challenging, yet exciting? Is it aligned with your purpose in life. When you have a longing, you know it. It eats at you from the inside out and you can’t get rid of it. To help you deal with this dream I have a couple of thoughts. First, how did the dream get there? Second, why is it there. Remember not everybody has “IT” and even if someone else does have “IT”, it is never quite the same. Finally, what are you going to do about it? Reflect on these and determine how it personally fits you. Again, the choice is yours. You can be a player in the arena of life or you can be a spectator on the outside looking in, alongside the people who don’t have “IT” and never will.
Francis A Castelli 