Self Improvement Information

The human species is an amazing being.  We possess the ability to think and create.  When I was in school and dinosaurs roamed the earth, I was taught that the reason the human was so adapt, and had moved to the top of the heap in the evolutionary pile, was because of our opposable thumbs.  H-m-m, I know monkeys have opposable thumbs, but unless you are a Planet of the Apes fan, monkeys may have been put in space capsules to orbit the earth, but they didn’t create the technology to build the capsule.  Could it be there is more to this creative thing?  Napoleon Hill’s Success Principal #11 is going to discuss our imagination and our creative vision.

Some people, including Napoleon Hill, believe that our subconscious mind is attached to the Universal mind.  Some even call our subconscious the Universal mind.  No matter what you believe about that particular subject, you can’t deny that somehow we have the ability to create.  Napoleon Hill, in this video, discusses the 2 different kinds of creative vision.  If you believe that humans have the ability to create, how do we, personally, tap into that creative mind?  Here’s a few tips that might prove helpful to you in your quest for success.

1.  Spend some time each day in mediation.  If you don’t know how to meditate, learn something about it.  Closing your eyes and counting your breaths can be very calming.  By becoming quiet and taking our minds off our daily routines allows our creative juices to flow.

2.  Take a leisurely walk in nature.  Exercise, fresh air, and nature stimulates our ability to get outside box in our thinking.  The bonus to this method is that it is also very good for our overall health and nourishes the brain cells.  Making them ever ready when you want to call upon the creative you.

3.  One way that works for me is to put on some soothing music such as classical, get comfortable in my favorite chair, close my eyes, breath deeply and concentrate on the music.  I allow my mind to flow with the melody.  After about 10 minutes, I feel refreshed and most often I have accomplished getting in touch with the creative me.

4.  Mastermind with others is a great way to take the lid of the creative bottle.  Be careful in your choice of mastermind participants.  Someone with another agenda can put a dam in the creative flow.

5.  Set a goal to spend some time writing.  A habit of writing in a journal is good, but sometimes just writing random thoughts can lead to some interesting and creative things.  It lets your mind run free.  A word of warning, don’t restrict your thoughts.  Write them all down no matter how stupid and meaningless you feel they are.  When you write them all down you are telling your mind that you accept whatever it wants to give you and it will release all its creative thoughts without fear of judgment.

Napoleon Hill is going to give you 6 minutes of wisdom about your imagination in this video. If you like it, pass it on.

Have you ever heard the expression, “in every cloud there is a silver lining”?  I have heard it many times from my Grandmother who was in control of her positive mental attitude.  In today’s world, the saying may seem a little hokey, or perhaps, clique.  When wisdom is tried and true and has held up for many generations, it gets repeated so many times that it loses it’s punch.  We look at it as “just another old saying”.  The idea that every adversity has a seed of opportunity is what Napoleon Hill is talking about in his Success Principals #10, Overcoming Adversity and Defeat.

I know this to be true from my own life.  No matter how bad something is that has happened to me, there is always good in it, if I choose to look for it.  Let me tell you a story that happened to me.  I woke up on a cold but sunny day in mid April in 1978.  The morning started out like any other morning.  It didn’t stay that way for long.  I received a phone call relaying to me that someone very close to me had been killed by the hand of an unknown robber.  I was completely devastated!  Thankfully, I was with the guy I had been dating.  Knowing that I was in shock, he took control of the situation.  He became my rock.  Not only was he my rock, but his family helped take care of the things my family, because of our deep loss, was unable to cope with.  They were an inspiration!  It was at that time I began to realize how much I loved him, and what an extraordinary family he had.  I have often wondered, if that terrible situation hadn’t happened, would I have realized how wonderful he is?  Would I have seen that deep loving soul that is his essence?  Perhaps, I would have found out with time, but out of that adversity our love has grown for over 30 years and we have built a life filled with blessings.

Napoleon Hill says, in this 10 minute video, that we should get into the habit of looking for the seeds of opportunity.  We can choose to have a positive mental attitude when it comes to the adversities in our lives.  Successful people have learned this lesson.  People who enjoy success haven’t been dealt a different hand then those who aren’t successful.  Sometimes, they have experienced worse things than the average person.  They have learned to pick themselves up from any adversities and  go on to triumph later.   Mr. Hill makes another even stronger statement saying that if you don’t use your positive mental attitude often enough, you will lose it.  His quote, that we should commit to memory is, “nothing can be called failure until you accept it as such.”

If you like the message in this article and you feel that your network of associates would enjoy it, feel free to pass it on!

Many times on this blog, I write about the differences between successful people and those that aren’t.  Successful people are wired differently.  They think in a totally different way than an average person.  Napoleon Hill talks about these difference in his Success Principal #9 which is about personal initiative.

In society today, we hear so much about “spreading the wealth around”.  It has become a buzz phrase.  Many people are adamantly against it.  Why is that?  Let’s look at personal initiative and the role it plays in moving individuals towards success and wealth and keeps our world moving forward.  What is personal initiative?  The dictionary definition is;

1.  an introductory act or step; leading action
2.  readiness and ability in initiating action; enterprise
3.  one’s personal, responsible decision
4.  of or pertaining to initiation; serving to initiate

It is very appropriate that in the dictionary definition of personal initiative, the synonyms are leadership, forcefulness, dynamism.

How does personal initiative impact the world?  When an entrepreneurial minded individual sets goals for personal wealth and success, takes personal initiative, he or she doesn’t wait for things to come to them.  They strike out with a great idea and they create something.  For instances, Bill Gates and Steve Job changed the way we live our lives by the invention of PCs and Apple computers.  They took personal initiative.  They didn’t wait for the wealth to be “spread to them”, they created an idea which created wealth. The world moved forward.

I was on a flight coming home from a business trip a few years back and I sat next to a very nice older man.  He told me he was 80 years old.  He was on my flight to visit his son who is a Doctor.  He was a fascinating man.  He had worked for General Foods all his life.  He and his team of people took personal initiative and create a new food product called Cool Whip.  It made General Foods millions!  That in turn increased his wages, retirement plan and bonuses.  And, Pie was never the same again!  The world moved forward.

If everyone waited for the wealth to be spread and didn’t use personal initiative the world would slow down completely.  Eventually, there wouldn’t be any successful people to take their wealth away from them.  Why would anyone choose to work only to have all their efforts transferred to those that don’t?  Productivity stops.  The world slows.

Napoleon points out in this 10 minute video that all the previous 8 success principals hinge on personal initiative.  A quote that really hit home for me was “Big success is made up of a great number of little circumstances which are so small and seemingly not worthy of notice.”  In my mind that says if we choose to be successful sometimes even the smallest things can keep us on that road if we take our own personal initiative to make it happen.

If you enjoy this video and feel it would be informative to your network of “peeps” don’t hesitate to spread the blog around!  Also, come tweet with me on twitter.  I am listed as NanMcAdam.  I would enjoy getting to know you!