If you are reading this right now while sitting at your desk, depressed because you would rather be somewhere else in life – you couldn’t have stumbled upon this at a better time.
Everyone has choices in life. Whether you were born into poverty, or with a silver spoon in your mouth, you have a choice as to how you move forward.
The question isn’t whether you want to succeed in life, it’s “how much” do you want to succeed in life? Are you willing to overcome the roadblocks in your life, no matter how large or how small?
Some people are born into poverty, and they have a much harder time becoming both emotionally and monetarily wealthy. Not only is it difficult to find the resources to become successful when you’re born into poverty, but people born into poverty often have immense responsibility on their backs such as caring for family members and putting food on the table.
But no matter how difficult it might be, it’s all up to a person’s frame of mind as to where they go in life.
Let’s take the well-publicized story of Chris Gardner, of whom the popular movie, The Pursuit of Happiness, was based upon. Mr. Gardner fought homelessness, joblessness and providing for his son throughout his early days. He faced rejection, depression and hopelessness which nipped at his heels every day that he was trying to climb out of poverty. He describes in his seminars sleeping in a subway station with his son many nights when he couldn’t find shelter.
So how did Mr. Gardner overcome adversity?
Simple, he made the conscious decision to fight, claw and climb toward happiness for himself and his son, no matter what it took. He had nothing to lose, but everything to gain. He made the decision – I will not fail.
His story should be a lesson to all of us no matter how rich or how poor, that our success relies solely on our frame of mind.
Now before I lose you to excuses like, “well he’s a stronger person than me”, or “he must’ve gotten lucky and found somebody to help him”, let me stop you right there. He was not special or different than any other healthy, capable man. He had the freedom of thought, just like you do – and he thought about wwhat he needed to do to get where he needed to be, until he got there.
We are all inherently the same when it comes to thinking. The way we think starts exactly the same when we are born. It’s everything that comes after that that shapes how we will think, what we do and the directions we take in life.
The way we are raised is bar none the most powerful determinant of the life we live as an adult. Many times it starts with the parents, the values they instill in their children, the feedback that they give them when they take action, or make a mistake, the way they are disciplined; all have a profound impact on how that child grows up. In addition, our schooling and coaching and other authority figures also have a profound impact on us throughout childhood.
This explains why many children born into wealth, often have difficulty adjusting to the responsibility of adult life. Now I am certainly not saying that all children born into wealth become snobby little crybabies, but we all know the examples of children taking over their parents companies and driving them into the ground. And many of you might even know somebody whose parents dictated where they ended up in their adult life, regardless of where the child wanted to go.
It’s an unfortunate occurrence, but it’s all too often true.
A similar occurrence happens to children born into poverty. They often assume the responsibility of putting food on the table for the family, which results in them getting just any-old job to pay the bills, instead of following their dreams. Now you might think that they would learn to claw, and fight their way to survival – but that’s just it, they’re used to surviving, not thriving.
So it is no surprise that a study done by Pew Charitable Trusts, found the 70% of people born into poverty stay there during their lifetime. It can be inferred that there circumstances that cause them to be trapped in the lower income bracket are brought on by their environment, and the grip that it has on them.
So on to our question, how much do you want it?
Whether you’re born into poverty or wealth you have to make a conscious decision, regardless of what anybody else in your life thanks, as to how you want to live your life. You have to have laser focus and undeniable determination to be able to break down any barriers that get in your way of achieving your own success.
Again, I know you’re probably thinking “yeah this all sounds good and true, but I’m not that guy – I can’t just go out and get what I want. Too many people depend on me.” Or “I don’t have the resources to be able to live the life that I want.” But you are flat out wrong, in fact by thinking those thoughts right now, you are proving why so many people get stuck in the proverbial ‘rut’.
The most important thing that you can do to ensure that you have an unbelievably successful life, is to start by thinking like it. In the book Outwitting the Devil, author Napoleon Hill describes a hypothetical interview with the devil himself. During the eye-opening interview the devil describes mankind’s most powerful deterrent of success – is his own mind.
The way we think is literally the only thing holding us back between the time we are born and the time we die. While it’s not an easy task, training your brain to develop positive habits and cautious planning will guarantee us a life of unbelievable spiritual, emotional and monetary wealth.
So you want change, but you’re not quite sure how to start. Well, all The possibilities for inflicting change on your life are much too fast for this one article – but the mindframe you must be in is quite simple.
First, You must consciously monitor what thoughts go in and out of your brain, and regulate your emotional responses to everything from business decisions, to relationship interactions. You must stamp confidence into your every day life, and take charge of the direction that you want for your self, based on nothing else other than your own desire.
Second, you must cautiously plan the steps that you are going to take to get to the different points you want in life. People that stay in the same place in life are reactive, and simply bob and weave with the things that are thrown at them. The most successful people in life are proactive, plotting the the steps to get to every desired outcome in their life.
So it’s time to stop sitting on the sidelines, and being reactive. It’s time to proactively get your mind right, and take charge of the life you truly desire. It’s time to live an awesome life! And It all starts with what your are thinking right now!
