The Power of Your Thoughts

Our thoughts shape ourselves –> our relationships –> our work –> our lives. Put simply, this is how negativity leads to despair.

The good news is: this is also how positivity leads to a rich life.

It took me nearly 18 years to understand this fact. I’ve considered myself to be a realist for most of my life, but the truth is, we shape our own reality. If I want to see the world in a positive and uplifting light, I have to choose optimism every single day.

This logic makes life sound like one massive brain game, but that would be wrong. These are our lives, and we are more than pieces on an infinite game board. We’re stardust. And we’re capable of literally everything to which we set our minds.

That’s what Napoleon Hill’s extraordinary book, Think and Grow Rich, is all about. In his words from Chapter 2, “… nothing is impossible to the person who backs DESIRE with enduring FAITH.”

There is a lot of information covered in this book, so I listened to the audio version while reading along, which I highly recommend. On the other hand, Hill suggested that the book will need to be read multiple times for it to become a part of your being. While I believe this was a wise speculation, I encourage you to take this particular book slowly, chewing on the words before swallowing them whole or spitting them out. This isn’t a cute story. It’s a lifestyle. It’s what gave Napoleon Hill’s son the ability to hear without ears.

Here are a few notes from this book that hit home for me:

• Every achievement earned in this life begins with a single idea.
• “TRULY, ‘thoughts are things,’ and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a BURNING DESIRE for their translation into riches, or other material objects” (17).
• To achieve success in this modern age, you must be conscious of success. Look to the pioneers of past times for inspiration.
• “[Edwin C. Barnes] created a plan by which to attain [a position as Thomas Edison’s business associate]. But he BURNED ALL BRIDGES BEHIND HIM. He stood by his DESIRE until it became the dominating obsession of his life–and–finally, a fact” (39).
• “The practical dreamers have always been, and always will be the pattern makers of civilization” (45).
• “… EVERY FAILURE BRINGS WITH IT THE SEED OF AN EQUIVALENT SUCCESS” (46).
• Sometimes, our greatest obstacle is lack of faith in our desires. But, just as easily as you can convince yourself that you will never be enough, you can convince yourself that you have faith. You are enough.
• When everything else goes to hell, rest assured that you are still in control of one thing– your thoughts. And with your thoughts, you can build order.
• Knowledge is not power. Knowledge is potential power.
• The history nerd in me loved this bit: “September 5, 1774. Remember this date. It is more important than July 4, 1776. If there had been no DECISION to hold a Continental Congress, there could have been no signing of the Declaration of Independence” (219).
• Fear cannot exist where faith is found.
• In Chapter 14, Hill speaks of his “Invisible Counselors.” These are imaginary figures who inspired Hill and gave him a kind of “sixth sense.” Some of my Invisible Counselors are Rilla Blythe, Constance Contraire, Louisa Clark, Annabeth Chase, Scarlet Benoit, Kate Monrovi and Rachel Selby.

In the words of Bon Jovi, “Is who you think you are who you want to be?” If the answer is no, it may be time to change your thinking. Click here to purchase Think and Grow Rich, and start experiencing your life as more than an unwitting bystander in a giant universe.

And don’t forget: You are literally made of the same stuff as stars. Shine on, baby.