WILL SMITH: SECRETS TO SUCCESS
I mean, I've always loved Will Smith but I've got even more time for his words of wisdom. I listened to a few of his videos on how he has manifested the life he has, pretty inspiring! Anyway, here's a few of his tips on the art of success.
1. Greatness is a matter of choice – not a godlike feature for only the “special people” among us. This is a vision shared by Jim Collins in the book “Good to Great”.
2. Believe to achieve. The first step to success is believing. “He who who says he can and he who says he can’t are both usually right” – Confucius.
3. Talent is Overrated. It’s important to separate the perception of talent and skill. Talent is natural and skill is developed. Talent will fail you if you’re not skilled and becoming better every day. This one’s covered in the book Talent is Overrated and I wrote about it earlier in You’re not Talented and Why it Doesn’t Matter.
4. Don’t over complicate things. We often use complexity for excusing ourselves from trying. Don’t set out to build a castle; set out to lay a brick as perfectly as it can be placed. The castle will be built in the process.
5. Where you are doesn’t matter; it’s about where you’re going. Thinking about your past or where you’ve come from as an indicator of your future is detrimental to reaching where you want to go.
6. Focus on making a difference. If you are not making someone else’s life better, you’re wasting your time and will loose motivation over time.
7. Nothing is unrealistic. Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity. It’s unrealistic to flip a light switch and lights comes on. It’s unrealistic to bend a piece of metal and fly people over the ocean in that metal. Luckily the Wright Brothers and Benjamin Franklin didn’t think so. Thinking realistically hinders innovation and growth.
8. Our thoughts are physical in the universe. The universe is not a thing that will push us around. We are going to bend the universe to be what we want it to be. Decide intently who you’re going to be and the rest will get out of the way.
9. Protect your dream. Don’t let others decide your fate by telling you what you can or cannot do. Setting limitations on yourself or by others is a self fulfilling prophecy if you believe them.
A BELIEF IS A THOUGHT YOU KEEP ON THINKING
“The Man who says he can, and the man who says he cannot, are usually both right.”
Confucius
This is a well known quote, but I just felt the need to share.
For me it really emphasises the element of choice we have: that our own personal truth can change, depending on the story we want to tell.
There's a sense of relief that we're creators of our own lives, that it doesn't just happen to us, that we get to decide the story.
Once we decide, it's done. Fear may come along and try to knock us from time to time, maybe everyday!
When it does, we can relish in the feeling of what we want as if we have it, as often as we can, until we're spending lots of time with that feeling.
It's different to dreaming. Dreaming implies it may never happen.
It's a knowing.
A belief is only a thought that we keep on thinking. It gets stronger and stronger until we feel it. Until we know it.
So, there's a comfort in the fact we can change our thoughts at anytime to those that feel better.
Granted, this may require a bit of practice, especially if there's some momentum going on a 'nego vibe' hymn sheet.
In this case, the reset button is needed. We can sit still and clear the mind. We can become aware of the thoughts that arise as an observer rather than a consumer.
I find a good test is: The better it feels, the more in alignment you are with your true self.
The self that is connected to all things.
The self that is an intrinsic part of this universe.
Don't you want to take action and listen to inspiration from that place?
I think I do.
NO MORE FEAR
The fear is simply you're not living with life, you're living within your mind.
Sadhguru
Such an inspirational snippet with Sadhguru , Eckhart Tolle and Mooji. If you've got five minutes have a look.
This really resonated. The idea of fearing something that hasn't actually happened yet, so, therefore your fear is about something that does not exist.
I was caught off guard by a bad dream the other night. I find these days that most feelings I encounter when I'm awake, I'm able to sit with. Acknowledge the feeling (not always comfortable!) before any thought is attached to it, which would give it momentum to become a fear that I believe in.
However, this dream was potent and then lingered around. It started invading my thoughts, to the point I was quite freaked out and thought I'd be faced with the monster as I ventured into another room!
So, it's been another lesson in becoming an observer of thought and feeling without being totally consumed to the point they become a reality. AKA Insanity! ha!