My
take-away from How to Get from Where You are to Where You Want to Be by Jack
Canfield
Principle 4: Believe It’s Possible
Photo is by Dee@Cooper and Wild on Unsplash
Real powerful stuff covered
through this principle and I believe it’s possible, mostly.
NapoleonHill planted the germ of this belief in the minds of the millions of people who
bought his books or who were exposed to his ideas in ten words; “Whatever the
mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
The verse is short. It is simple. It has rhythm.
While
your reading life is splattered, commonly with hard to remember axioms. This
one is hard to forget.
Science is backing Hill’s
enlightening discovery. Your brain will make you believe what it wants you to
believe. Its decision is based on your past experiences. [And the “as if”
principle put forward by the eminent William James and the British professor
and prolific author of psychology books, Richard Wiseman. Simply put, whatever
you want to be, you’ll be more successful if you act as if you are.]
Canfield used one of the
numerous placebo effect case studies as illustration. In Texas, doctors were
asked to perform surgery on a group of people who had sore and worn out knees.
Unknowingly, some patients were given pretend surgery. Doctors acted as if they
had performed surgery on their knees but did not carry out the usual
procedures. Two years later they found that those who had the pretend surgery
felt as well as those who had been professionally treated. The conclusion; the
brain expected the “surgery” to improve the knee and it did.
[Great result but…
1. Is
this ‘act’ too risky?
2. Is
this ‘deception’ legal?
3. Will
it work for everybody?
Taking sugar pills is
alright. Pretend treatment when you need a surgery? No mingling with CEOs and celebrities for me.*]
[*To understand this blabber,
you have to read the intro to this series.]
This type of experiment
falls into the study of the expectancy theory. It is said, “when you believe
what you want is possible-your brain will actually take over the job of
accomplishing that possibility for you.” [My
rational brain keeps telling me there must be more to this. My other brain
throws up pictures of people piercing their check with spears, when in trance.]
Phillies pitcher, Tug McGraw
hardwired his brain for the triumph of the 1980 World Series through
consistent, disciplined training. He conditioned his brain to believe that he
could struck out the batter Willie Wilson and he did.
Another example used to illustrate the power of belief is a feat by modern day
Superman, Tim Ferriss. He won a national kickboxing competition six weeks after
being introduced to the sport. Ferriss, it seems credited his success to the
power of belief. In the final match, he closed his eyes and visualized
defeating the opponent in the first round.
These are inspiring stories.
I think belief is a good start. When Ferriss said that most people fail because
they don’t believe they can reach it, He probably meant that
1. The
people who failed did not do enough to support their belief
2. They
did not believe long enough to carry them through
It takes extraordinary self-discipline
to keep on keeping on. We have varying level of self-discipline and tolerance
for hardship, physically and mentally. The
idea is not to break down struggling for a breakthrough. Belief is a good
thing. Believe and as long as you are moving forward, it’s good enough. You
would be encouraged to pursue better. It was six weeks for Ferriss, for that
specific goal, but it need not be six weeks for you. Go for it at your pace.
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| Photo by Picsea on Unsplash |
The story told of Ruben
Gonzalez is also a story of belief. It’s a little stronger than self-belief.
Gonzalez had someone who believed in him to make him believe in himself when
his spirit sagged. This is a powerful concept.
Gonzalez wanted to be an
Olympian. He did and went on to race in a few Olympics. You might just want to
qualify for the Million Dollar Round Table. Or strive to be the department
head. Or create a fruitful fruit garden. Whatever makes you happy and well.
Principle 5: Believe in Yourself
The opening quote of
Principle 5 by Max Lucado will make any human being proud to be a human being.
Specifically, it makes you proud to be you. Lucado is an author and pastor. His
books will wrap you in hope and encouragement. A sense of comfort/worthiness is
raised just by reading the titles of his books. I bet you would want to read
this quote again and again; “You weren’t
an accident. You weren’t mass produced. You aren’t an assembly-line product.
You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on
Earth by the Master Craftsman.”
Again,
“You
weren’t an accident. You weren’t mass produced. You aren’t an assembly-line
product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned
on Earth by the Master Craftsman.”
The feeling you get reading
is the same like when you see the photo of a professionally taken portrait of
you for the first time. Wow!
This chapter is simply
highlighting the truth that before you can achieve what you want, you must
believe you can.
[I am trying to think of
moments when I wanted to achieve something that I was sure that I can’t. I
think the key is that the want must not be replaceable or dismissible, in your
mind. Everything is in your mind at this stage. It must be a laser focused want.]
[My experience is that if
you start thinking with, “If I could…” Don’t waste time anymore. Like, “If I could
I want that top of the range model…” or “If I could, I want to mingle with CEOs
and celebrities.” My chances had been
better if I just know there is a next level of achievement to strive for, and if
I feel it’s a natural progression. I know that I would be laser focused on the
goal when I start to figure out what it would take for me to get there and when
I develop a detailed action plan for the mission.]
Canfield misses a small big
deal when he summarizes what it takes; “Whether you call it self-esteem,
self-confidence, or self- assurance, it is a deep-seated belief that you have
what it takes-the abilities, inner resources, talents and skills to create the
desired results.” [ And I want to add the one thing that frequently fails in my
system: self-discipline. With not enough self-discipline, you can’t follow
through. I would like to blame the myriad distractions and the digital lures
but it is the weakness in self-discipline that is my bottle cap.
I like it when Canfield says
that believing in yourself is a choice. I don’t like it when Canfield suggests
that you blame your parents for limiting beliefs. [A real problem is that sometimes
we are not mindful about our ability to choose. Parental influence started
to wane with television, and with the infectious digital swamp, it is the
shortest bar on the bar chart of influence.]
I like it when the author
redeems himself; “But remember, the past it the past. There is no payoff for
blaming them for your current level of self-confidence. It is now your
responsibility to take charge of your own self-concept and your beliefs.” [Great
stuff.] He continues, “You must choose to believe that you can do anything you
set your mind to-anything at all-because, in fact, you can.” [Not totally
convinced.]
The next bit of information
is from Science, so it’s hard to argue. “It might help you to know that the
latest brain research now indicates that with enough positive self-talk and
positive visualization combined with proper training, coaching and practice,
and one can learn to do almost anything.” [But, “learn to do almost anything”
is “do almost anything?” My point is when you choose the anything, tamper with
reality. Mindfulness?]
Canfield has interviewed
hundreds of supersuccessful [my Word keeps telling me to break up the word; not
a chance because supersuccessful looks more super successful than super
successful] people. Almost every one of them told him, “I was not the most
gifted or talented person in my field, but I chose to believe anything was
possible. [Did Elon Musk believe than he could be richer than Jeff Bezos when Bezos
became the richest man in the world? Or before? Or even bothered?] I studied. Practiced,
and worked harder than others, and that’s how I got to where I am.” [Studied. Practiced. Worked Harder. This is
the engineering part.]
The result you produce is a
self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think it is achievable you will work to get
it. If you think it is impossible, you will not work towards it. [Sounds about
right.]
Never knew that Stephen
Cannell was blessed by football. Could not imagine he was that bad at school.
Football built his self- esteem and that fueled him to producing hard punching
TV series and writing books. The moral of the story? “…it is not what life hands you but how you
respond to it, mentally and physically, that matters most.
True.
The words I can’t actually disempower
you. [You can’t say “I can’t” and surge forward to do something. Except to give
the other guy a punch on the nose as with, “I can’t take it anymore.”]
Now, a physical challenge. The
simple proof of that you are physically as tough as your brain allows you. A kinesiology
exercise recommended in the book. Ask your friend to raise a left arm. Push it
down to test its normal strength. Ask your friend to think what he or she can’t
do and say it out loud. Push the arm down. You are supposed to find it weaker
[offering less resistance.] Test the left arm again when he or she thinks and
says something “I can.” The arm should feel stronger. [Try this.]
An experience Canfield had
with Tony Robbins was that if you throw away all your “I can’ts,“ you can walk
on burning coals. [Don’t try this. Unless you are with Tony Robbins.] It’s easy
to believe that, “every other limiting belief about our abilities was also a
lie” once you have walked over burning coals. No tricks.
The next story, you’ve probably heard before. It may be true, but you will not use it as a possibility thinking example casually. It takes a lot of convincing that the event is not one off.
Probably, Laura Shultz, 63, at the time when she picked up
the back end of a Buick to get it off her grandson’s arm wasn’t even thinking. The
other part where she took up a geology degree and went on to teach at a
community college is to be appreciated. Once in a while you do see a story of
an 84 who clinched his MBA because he had long wanted an MBA. The point of the
story is, “Don’t wait until 63 to decide you can do anything you want. Don’t
waste the years of your life. Decide that you are capable of doing anything you
want and start working toward it now.” [Good point. But life is never wasted.
You’re always dreaming and doing. What you’ve done, if you are still here and
happy, is good enough. If you are chronically discontent, find out the why or
ask the question, “What must I do to be a little happier?” Explore. Think deep. Start working your own
recommendations. Caveat; don’t rate your life in the past based on your current
dreams.]
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| Photo by Emma Mathews on Unsplash |
[Zig Ziglar has many sayings
that will roll of your tongue. A
relevant one here is “It’s your attitude that
determines your altitude.” Something like that. Pardon if I did not get the
exact phrase.]
The next idea with this
principle is that a formal education is not needed to be successful. Larry
Ellison, Bill Gates and Dick Cheney were offered as examples. They are all
dropouts from somewhere. [But, don’t leave school because you want to be
successful. What is meant here is that if you are already a dropout, it’s not
the end of the world. You can still better your life.]
[Ellison,
Gates and Cheney are not successful because they are dropouts. They are
successful because they had the ideas, the opportunities and the support. And,
oh of course, the believe in themselves, the system and other resources. I am sure there
is the strong self-discipline factor in there.]
The last portion of this
principle is not to think about what others think of you. Just focus on
achieving what you want to achieve. Nobody [except those who have a vested
interest in you?] is thinking about you. You think they are thinking about
[includes judging?] you, and they think you are thinking about [judging?] them.
The final take-away is that nobody is thinking about anybody except about
themselves. What does that do for our need to engage?
Principle
4: Believe It’s Possible and Principle 5: Believe In Yourself Summary
Believe, believe, believe.
Believe it can be done, believe you can do it, have others believe in you. Get your
brain to buy in to what you want to achieve. Then study, practice like mad and
work harder like crazy. Practice until what you want to do becomes second
nature, like “you’ve been there a thousand times.” Whether you believe you can
or you can’t, do it long enough and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. [Get
real. Belief must be backed by hard work, looking out for opportunity and
support. It’s not real to want to play for Liverpool FC when you are 43 unless
it is on the computer. For the fun and proof, try out the kinesiology exercise.
I may be wrong but don’t walk over burning coal just because you believe you
can, or inject commercial cleaner into your blood stream or try to overturn an
election you’ve obviously lost or try to get a lot of people to die for you,
hoping that you can reverse an obvious result. These are dangerous stuff.]
Lastly, don’t think that people are thinking about you because people are too
busy thinking about themselves to think about you. Just go about doing your
business of focusing on your business.
If
you enjoy reading this, share it with your friends. If not, I
still believe in my work and myself.
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| Photo by Jordan Whitfield on Unsplash |