Thoughts Become Things – The Ingredient – Season1E1

Inspired by - The Secret

There's something out there - an ingredient that very few people have discovered. It's been something that has been hidden from humanity for generations. Allowing the 20% of the world's population, to make more than the rest of the world! The classic 80/20 rule. It's what allows these individuals to succeed, time and time again.

Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Michael Jordan, Donald Trump, and the list goes on. These household names understood and learned what that ingredient was at a very young age. They had a belief and a STRONG conviction in what they wanted to achieve, stayed persistent, relentless, and lived the ‘never say die’ attitude that so many of us simply do not have. Old folk tales quote reasons for success including that 'I would have lost, but I was able to endure longer than my nemesis, therefore I succeeded.'

If anybody on this earth were to discover this ingredient, they would discover a life of health, wealth, happiness all while sustaining all of these virtues in life that we desire.

What is that ingredient? It's a belief - in whatever it is you want to achieve. Whether that's research, attaining the highest honour in your designation, achieving financial freedom, or becoming the religious figure in your community and eventually spanning larger geographies. A strong belief that 'yes, I can do this - nobody is going to tell me otherwise, I will not give up.'

I'm not talking about wishful thinking. It's much deeper than that. It's about picturing, dreaming, believing, and seeing yourself meeting your goals. When we believe in something, it can really show - the passion, exuberance, the glow when you explain your goals to others. You're releasing endorphins that signal to others, 'hey, this person really believes this.' Or, 'you look happy today.'

Some days we wake up, and we feel like garbage, and other days we feel like a MILLION bucks. THOUGHTS BECOME THINGS. As your mind starts develop negative thoughts, you start to produce negative results. If you wake up in the morning, find out there isn't any toothpaste, you get angry, you sulk; it starts to become a chain reaction of other negative results. You hop into the car and you notice you don't have much gas; you're almost late for work. You're releasing negativity to the world, and as soon as you enter the office, your co-worker says, 'wow, you look like (insert four letter word here).' And you can see what's happening here, a chain reaction of negativity, and once you get home, your wife senses you had a bad day. We all know about those cartoons we were raised up with where a character has a storm cloud following their every move.

On the flip side, you wake up, and you tell yourself that today's going to be a good day. You don't let that toothpaste annoy you and all of a sudden find an extra package of toothpaste in a cupboard and you continue. You don't let the gas worry you because you go and fill up anyway, and signal to your coworker that you will possibly be in 5 minutes after. You then realize your co-worker will be late anyway so you’re not affecting your team. You're suddenly not worried about gas and getting to work on time. Everyone notices your happiness at work, and a chain reaction of events signals to your wife that you had a GREAT day.

These small things add up. I wrote a note a while ago about the power of a smile, and how it leads to a chain reaction of others smiling. It's real contagious. Wouldn't life be a little more pleasant just from smiling? And obviously I don’t mean smile every second of your life as if you are Super Mario. Might sound fairy tale, but it's an example of how little things can create a ripple effect.

It was well-known that Michael Jordan actually didn't make the cut for his high school team. Either the coach overlooked Jordan, he was a HATER, or Jordan was really bad at basketball. Jordan didn't give up. He spent the summer working on all the little things in basketball to make him the best he could be. In his senior year, he lead his team to a magical season, and when college came around, he was recruited by one of the all-time greatest college basketball teams in the nation - UNC. The rest is history.

What would have happened if Jordan gave up? Millions of people all around the world wouldn't have this person affecting their lives. What does Jordan have anything to do with us? Most of us don't play pro basketball. It's his story that shows us that with belief and perseverance, anything is possible (Garnett's favourite phrase).

We can apply this to our religious beliefs, work, sports, hitting the gym, quitting smoking, etc... You have that choice. You can either take control of your situation, or you can sit back and watch life pass you by. You can sulk about how the economy is doing poorly and just sit there, or you can find creative ways to pay the bills and then some.

I've seen these things come to life from first-hand experience, and from those that know me, if there is something I put my mind to, I have no doubt that I will achieve it. Obviously there are situations that are out of your control, but all you can do is work at what you can. Better than giving up.

This is only the first of a series of notes. I hope it has been of value to you and feel free to drop me a line anytime.

Thank you,
MA