Training your Mind
To start off 2020 right, I read an all-time classic Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill to train my money mind. If you aren’t familiar the book was written in the 1930s after Hill spent 25 years at the behest of Andrew Carnegie to study successful people. The end result of the thousands of interviews is Think & Grow Rich.
If you’d prefer, you can watch the video here.
Mindset is everything
One of the reasons I chose to read Think & Grow Rich to start the year is because of the focus on mindset. In the New Year’s Goal Setting episode of the Silicon Alley Podcast, I went into great detail about my belief in the power the mind has. All of our actions are shaped by the thoughts and decisions we make. Thus if you train your mind to provide positive self-talk and reinforce your dreams then you will succeed in achieving them.
Let’s dive in a bit deeper.
What do you mean by Think & Grow Rich?
Simply, all outcomes start with a thought. Before you can become rich you must first think about being rich. If the thought never crosses your mind then you will not achieve it.
The next piece is putting emotion behind it. Is the thought of being rich merely a flash in the pan? Or is it something that has true desire behind it? You’ve daydreamed about being wealthier than you currently are, but have you truly desired it?
According to Think & Grow Rich the answer for most people is no. If you truly desired it then your thoughts would provide you with enough desire to take action. Thoughts lead us to make decisions and those decisions lead to action. Whatever repeated and thoughtful actions we take will lead to our desired outcomes.
Thus if you train your mind to focus on growing wealthy. Then you take repeated actions to become wealthy then you will achieve your ends. There is no crazy formula, but what you must overcome is the negative self-talk, distractions, and excuses that our subconscious creates.
We all have a voice inside of our head that incites fear of criticism, failure, and rejection to name a few. Unfortunately, that negative voice usually wins out. This is why we do not take action to achieve our dreams.
Planning
It is also imperative that you have a plan. Thinking, believing and taking action are great, but you must have a plan to achieve riches. Bouncing from idea to idea, never fully following through or becoming discouraged at the first roadblock is no way to grow wealthy.
Hill discusses how having a plan is of the utmost importance as it is purposeful actions that lead to achievement. You must create a plan in order to be successful. Failing to plan is planning to fail as the saying goes.
What if I don’t want to be rich?
If becoming rich is not your prerogative then the principles in Think & Grow Rich are still applicable. The idea is to train your mind to focus on your dreams and to overcome the common pitfalls that stop you from achieving them.
Hill published this book in the midst of the depression at a time when the US & global economy was floundering. Unemployment was crushing most Americans and many of Hill’s lessons strike a chord following the 2008 financial crisis.
As we move into 2020 the global macro-economy will go through cycles, but your micro-economy is in your control. I encourage you to read or re-read Think & Grow Rich and train your mind to focus on what it is you truly want.
You can also watch the video that accompanies this post.