"Truth?  What is Truth?"  Those were the questions posited by Pontius Pilate to the Great Master when he claimed after his arrest that he was a “witness to the truth.”  John 18:37.

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“What is Truth?” Part 1

[Ed. Note: This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, locales, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to real persons, either living or dead, and actual events, places and/or locales are purely coincidental.  In addition, any resemblance of any name, mark, trademark, brand, company or media appearing in this fictional work to real or existing, names, marks, trademarks, brands, companies or media, past or present, is also purely coincidental and unintentional.]

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“Truth?  What is Truth?” John 18:38

For regular visitors of this site, it is quite apparent that I have been “missing in action” for some time.  Indeed, my last post on this site is dated March 9, 2011 and it was the accompanying commentary to the free Success Ebook download for “The Law of Success – Lesson Fourteen: Failure” by Napoleon Hill.

As I noted in the last issue of the SuccessBeacon! Newsletter, which went out last week, in the words of the famous American author Mark Twain, it seems that the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.  Well, maybe just “exaggerated.” 

Truth?  What is Truth?  Those were the questions posited by Pontius Pilate to the Great Master when he claimed after his arrest that he was a “witness to the truth.”  John 18:37.

In Latin, Quid est veritas? 

There is Truth – the real, honest-to-goodness objective Truth. Objective Truth is neither good nor bad – it just IS. On the other hand, there is “truth,” the subjective truth, the kind that is built upon beliefs, opinions, and distorted perceptions.

There is Truth – the real, honest-to-goodness objective Truth.  Objective Truth is neither good nor bad – it just IS.

On the other hand, there is “truth,” the subjective truth, the kind that is built upon beliefs, opinions, and distorted perceptions.  I was soon to learn a lesson of how awful personal “truths” can become.

I never gave much thought to how we all color our worlds by building our own set of “truths” to support our beliefs, opinions, biases, distorted perceptions, and worst of all, our emotions.  “Truth crafted around emotion?” you ask.  You bet.  “But – isn’t emotion based on Truth?”  Well . . . .  sometimes yes; many times – no.

Most of the time, what we believe is (objective) Truth is really (subjective) truth.  Having the guts to question ourselves and our beliefs is a task that most of us are unwilling to undertake, and so, we continue to live as though our concocted "truths" are, indeed, the Truth.  It is difficult to admit that we may be wrong, especially to ourselves.  It takes a wise person to question him or herself and take to task how our beliefs, opinions, perceptions, biases – and emotions – actually change objective Truth to distorted, inaccurate "truth," so that we may continue to live in our self-constructed world in which we are the center – and always right.

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Imagine one beautiful, sunny morning that you are strolling down the street, enjoying the soft, gentle late spring breeze and the aroma of blossoming flowers, when, without warning, three police cars suddenly surround you in screeching halts.  Police officers jump out of their patrol cars, violently grab you, throw you to the ground, and place you under arrest.

You are a citizen of outstanding reputation, a professional, a family man with several children.  You are actively involved in the community and your church.  Having done nothing wrong and having lead a crime-free life all fifty years of your life, you are more than shocked.  In an effort to “survive” the ordeal, your mind switches to auto-function.  The world becomes dreamlike.  “This isn’t really happening to me,” you think to yourself, as the police throw you into the back of one of their patrol cars.

It is all surreal.  Too surreal.  The sweet aroma of hyacinths and daffodils is suddenly and starkly replaced by the pungent stench of sweat, stale coconut-scented car air-fresheners and the grimy hard-plastic backseat of a police car.  It is humid, 80 degrees outside and hot air is blasting full force from the car’s heater.  You struggle to breathe.  Panic sets in.  This isn’t real.

The sweet aroma of hyacinths and daffodils is suddenly and starkly replaced by the pungent stench of sweat, stale coconut-scented car air-fresheners and the grimy hard-plastic backseat of a police car.  It is humid, 80 degrees outside and hot air is blasting full force from the car’s heater.  You struggle to breathe.  Panic sets in.  This isn’t real.

Your mind continues to do things to protect yourself from the reality of the trauma that you are experiencing.  It is as though you are watching a movie.

Yet, you cling to the notion that the Truth will set you free.  The Truth will come out and everything will be all right.  This is just a mistake.

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Soon, you find out that someone allegedly identified you – yes, you – as the perpetrator of a crime.  Not just a crime, but a violent crime.  And, certainly, a crime that you did not commit.

And not just any “someone” – a “someone” that you know, love and trust.  How can this be?

Yet, you continue to cling to the notion that the Truth will set you free.  The Truth will come out and everything will be all right.  This is just an awful, horrible, HUGE mistake.

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As an attorney who has been practicing law for almost 22 years, I have learned the indisputable – and unfortunate – reality that many innocent people are falsely accused every day in the United States for crimes they never committed.  And, much worse, that the wrongly or falsely accused are sometimes even convicted for crimes that they did not commit.

As an attorney who has been practicing law for almost 22 years, I have learned the indisputable – and unfortunate – reality that many innocent people are falsely accused every day in the United States for crimes they never committed.  And, much worse, that the wrongly or falsely accused are sometimes even convicted for crimes that they did not commit.

In my younger years, I believed that such things happened, but that they happened only rarely.  False accusations and convictions were, through my rose-colored glasses, primarily a concoction of liberal media and their college professor cohorts.  However, as the power of DNA evidence has demonstrated over the past twenty years, that is not the case.  Such things happen far, far more often than we are willing to admit (or at least I was unwilling to admit).

In this country, we like to think that our justice system is the best and fairest in the world – and I do believe that it is.  That, however, does not even come close to making it perfect.  And, perfect it is not.  It is very imperfect because it is premised upon imperfect, subject truth – not the real Truth, but rather, the kind that we make up in our heads.

Indeed, so many individuals have been wrongly and falsely accused – and convicted – that some states in this country have placed moratoriums on implementing death sentences.  Executions have been stayed or even converted to life sentences.  One wrong death sentence execution of an innocent person is one too many.  [Whether the death sentence is morally right is another question which is beyond the scope of this post].

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The point is this: the scenario that I laid out at the beginning of this post is reality – a reality based on subjective “truth” that happens all of the time and nobody is immune from it.  My little hypothetical, after all, is not a hypothetical.  It can happen to anybody.

It can happen to you. 

It happened to my dear friend, Bob.  Bob Martin has been to hell and back.

Trust me, I know.

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Okay, I know you are wondering – what does Bob’s tail of woe have to do with achieving Success and the Success Manual site.  Well, it has a lot to do with it.  Stay with me over the next several posts as you learn more about what happened to Bob – and how God draws out the good from even the worst of matters.

Until next time . . . .

Peace Out, and - Namasté! 

To your Health, Wealth, Prosperity and Success, 

Richard 

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"The law is this: We reap what we sow.  When you select a rule of conduct which you use to guide yourself in your transactions with others, you will be fair and just if you know that you are setting in motion a power that will run its course (for good or bad) in the lives of others, returning finally to help or hinder you according to its nature."  -  Napoleon Hill

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Success Key: The Law of Compensation, Part I

[Ed. Note: Today’s Post is Part I of III on the highly crucial Law of Compensation.  Part I of this essay defines the Law, Part II examines the nature of the Law in greater detail, and Part III explores how we may implement the Law in our daily lives to our advantage and benefit].

The Law of Compensation, Part I

The Law of Compensation: Defined

In the Success Post that accompanies “The Law of Success – Lesson Nine: The Habit of Doing More Than Paid For” by Napoleon Hill (Posted in The Success Manual Free Download Library and The Napoleon Hill Success Library on January 22, 2011), we discussed, among other matters, The Law of Compensation.

Interestingly, after that Post was published, I came across several references to The Law of Compensation, which provided me with the Opportunity to further reflect upon the Law – what it is, how it works and how we may better invoke it to our benefit.  That reflection and study is embodied in this Post and the two to follow.

The Law of Compensation is such a simple law; yet, it works with amazing precision in our Lives – each and every day.

What exactly is the Law of Compensation?

Quite simply, it is that principle that “we reap what we sow.”  As St. Paul stated approximately two thousand years ago: “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.” Gal. 6:7.

In this case, the sowing concerns the Garden of Thought, Emotion and Action.  What we think, how we feel and how we act all determines what is returned to us – with mathematical precision.

In his master classic, Working with the Law, Raymond Holliwell defines it thusly: “Compensation means equal returns for that which is given; it means a balance of that quality or service that is extended to another . . .  You can only build on that which you create.”

It is also known as Karma and “what goes around, comes around.”

The cover to The Beatles' 1969 album, Abbey Road. Image the property of the respective copyright owner. All rights reserved. For educational purposes only.

Or, as two, young Brits in the 1960s lyrically penned it, “And in the end, the Love you take is equal to the Love you make.”  Perfectly stated.  (“The End” is a song by The Beatles composed by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) for the album Abbey Road.  It was the last song recorded collectively by all four of the Beatles, and is the final song of a 16-minute medley that dominates side two of the LP version of the album.)

Throughout his illustrious career as a preeminent Success Teacher, Napoleon Hill often referred to the Law of Compensation as “the Golden Rule” (he also referred to it, as noted in Lesson Nine of The of Success in Sixteen Lessons, as The Law of Compensation).  In an article in Hill’s Success Unlimited magazine, Napoleon Hill explained it thusly:

“Inherent in the principle of applied faith is the sustained application of the Golden Rule in your daily life.  For more than four thousand years, men have been preaching the Golden Rule as a suitable rule of conduct, but, unfortunately, the world has accepted the letter while totally missing the spirit of this universal injunction.  We have accepted the Golden Rule merely as a sound rule of ethical conduct but we have failed to understand the law upon which it is based.

“The law is this: We reap what we sow.  When you select a rule of conduct which you use to guide yourself in your transactions with others, you will be fair and just if you know that you are setting in motion a power that will run its course (for good or bad) in the lives of others, returning finally to help or hinder you according to its nature.

“It is your privilege to deal unjustly with others, but if you understand the basis for the Golden Rule, you must know that your unjust dealings will come home to roost.  The law does not mean merely the flinging back upon you your acts of injustice and unkindness toward others; it goes much further and returns to you the results of every thought you release.

“Therefore, not only is it advisable to 'do unto others as you wish them to do unto you,' but you must 'think of others as you wish them to think of you,' to avail yourself fully of the benefits of this great universal law.”

[See also Post, Success Key: The Golden Rule - A Lost Success Key?, March 3, 2010].

Similarly, Holliwell further notes that, “Sooner or later we must come face to face with this Law of Compensation, and inevitably, our own comes to us – and only what is our own.”

Because the Law of Compensation works to equally balance our “reaping” with our “sowing,” the Law may be invoked with accuracy and precision.  As Raymond Holliwell again profoundly instructs in Working with the Law:

“The Law that we reap what we sow is mathematically accurate.  Each experience through which we pass operates ultimately for our good.  If we attract the unpleasant, it is often because some dormant or neglected phase of our nature needs to be awakened and developed; also, we learn from the experience to create something better.  Hence the degree of contentment and satisfaction attained in whatever sphere of life we may dwell is largely dependent upon our ability to use constructively the experiences of life; for, in every case, the Law of Attraction will only bring what may serve us in our upward development.  To interpret this Law in a simple form, it should be stated that whatever we attract, we require and whatever we need is always good.  This is a correct attitude to adopt, because all experience is for our good and we must be able to see it in that light.”

Consider the last two sentences of this passage from Holliwell again: “To interpret this Law in a simple form, it should be stated that whatever we attract, we require and whatever we need is always good.  This is a correct attitude to adopt, because all experience is for our good and we must be able to see it in that light.”

If we can truly comprehend the full meaning and import of what Holliwell states here, the magnificence of the Law of Compensation cannot be overstated.  Whatever we attract, we require.  Whatever we require (need) is Good.  Therefore, ALL experience (what we attract) is for our Good.

God seeks to draw out the Good in us through each and every experience – the Desirable and the Undesirable.  As such, under the Law of Compensation, every experience is not only a manifestation (Effect) of what we have sowed (Cause) in the past (Result), every experience is a Divine Opportunity for us to GROW and PROSPER - Spiritually, Emotionally, Intellectually, Physically and Financially.  In fact, I would take this a step further and submit that every experience is a Divine-Mandated Opportunity to GROW and PROSPER.

In that sense, the Law of Compensation is more than just “what goes around, comes around.”  The Law of Compensation is our Infinite Creator providing us with what we need.

“We must be able to see it in that light.”

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Have a beautiful day . . .  come back soon for Part II - it promises to be good!

Until next time, dear Friend . . .

Peace Out, and - Namasté! 

To your Health, Wealth, Prosperity and Success, 

Richard 

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2. Success Strategy and Mastery Move: Working with the Law of Cause and Effect Understand and apply the Law of Cause and Effect in your daily actions, and your life will change – dramatically. Worked correctly, the Law of Cause and Effect can markedly alter the course of your life in the direction that you Desire. This is a Law that CAN be worked...
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Too often, we become so deeply ensconced in the daily busy-ness of our lives that we fail to realize the immense powerful impact that the Law of Cause and Effect plays in the results that we achieve (or fail to achieve).  Make no mistake, however – the Law is always at work.  Whether we consciously work it to our benefit, or whether we neglect it in its entirety, the Law of Cause and Effect operates to shape the Results of our lives.  We can choose, therefore, to work with the Law, or we can choose to ignore it.  Either way, the Law’s force and impact on our lives is still the same.

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Success Strategy and Mastery Move: Working with the Law of Cause and Effect

We live in a world of “cause and effect.”

Understand and apply the Law of Cause and Effect in your daily actions, and your life will change – dramatically.  Worked correctly, the Law of Cause and Effect can markedly alter the course of your life in the direction that you Desire.  This is a Law that CAN be worked tremendously to your advantage.

Too often, we become so deeply ensconced in the daily busy-ness of our lives that we fail to realize the immense powerful impact that the Law of Cause and Effect plays in the results that we achieve (or fail to achieve).

Make no mistake, however – the Law is always at work.  Whether we consciously work it to our benefit, or whether we neglect it in its entirety, the Law of Cause and Effect operates to shape the Results of our lives.  We can choose, therefore, to work with the Law, or we can choose to ignore it.  Either way, the Law’s force and impact on our lives is still the same.

So, it might be a good idea to revisit this important Success Key.  And, perhaps, re-discover a few refresher points along the way.

"Boott Spur from Wildcat." A dramatic winter scene in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Photo by Al Lambert on January 6, 2010. Copyright Mount Washington Observatory at www.mountwashington.org. Thanks, Crew!

Cause and Effect Refresher

The Law of Cause and Effect simply embodies the principle that every state (circumstance) that exists in the Universe is an effect created by an originating cause.  Or, stated conversely, every action is a cause that creates a resulting effect.

Consider the following fact pattern to demonstrate the Law of Cause and Effect (for those well-versed in this Law, please bear with me):

1. I saw or chop a tree (cause) and it falls down (effect).
2. I continue to saw the fallen tree (cause) and I create logs (effect).
3. I split the logs (cause) and I create firewood (effect).
4. I stack the firewood (cause) and I create a firewood pile (effect).
5. I leave the firewood pile sitting outside for one year (cause) and it becomes seasoned firewood (effect).
6. I take a piece of seasoned firewood and throw it into a fire in the fireplace (cause) and it burns (effect).
7. The firewood burns (cause) and the fire produces byproducts of ash, water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and other gases (effects), which spew forth from the chimney (further effect).
8. The combustion byproducts of my burning firewood (cause) increase the level of CO2 in the atmosphere (effect); the increased level of CO2 in the atmosphere (cause) creates an increase in the “green house” effect (effect); the increased “green house” effect (cause) results in warmer surface water temperatures in the Arctic Ocean (effect); warmer surface water temperatures in the Arctic Ocean (cause) result in less ice in the winter months (effect); less ice in the Arctic Ocean during the winter months (cause) means that the resident polar bears are unable to complete their migration, which requires a frozen Arctic Ocean (effect) . . . etc.  The cycle goes on and on and on.

The Law of Cause and Effect underlies our human ability to understand and manipulate our environment; the very nature of science and scientific experimentation depends on it.  All scientific theory is proven or disproven through application of the Law of Cause and Effect.  Under scientific experimentation, a particular theory is tested and results (effects) are obtained.  If the theory holds true, under the Law of Cause and Effect, its results (effects) may be reproduced again and again under identical causes (test controls).

The Law of Gravity has been well established under Cause and Effect.

So has Newtown’s Third Law of Motion, which may be stated thusly: for every action (cause), there is an equal and opposite reaction (effect).

The Law of Cause and Effect in Our Lives

Human logic is founded on understanding the Law of Cause and Effect.  So are the circumstances that we presently experience.

In fact, where we are – right now – in our lives is the aggregate effect of all past causes.  As such, the world that we currently experience – our present circumstances – is merely an amalgamation of effects.

In his book, Awaken the Giant Within, Anthony Robbins explains this phenomena as follows:

 . . . the most powerful way to shape our lives is to get ourselves to take action.  The difference in the results that people produce comes down to what they’ve done differently from others in the same situations.  Different actions produce different results.  Why?  Because any action is a set cause in motion, and its effect builds on past effects to move us in a definite direction.  Every direction leads to an ultimate destination: our destiny.

If we Desire a different world tomorrow (effects), then we must change and reestablish the proper course of causes today.  If we Desire to Succeed tomorrow, then all we must do is implement the proper Success Causes today.

Sound simple.  It is.  On a conceptual basis, the fundamentals of the Law are really quite elementary.  On a practical basis, however, the Law takes on much greater sophistication.

Why?

First, it is not always possible to establish a bright line nexus (connection) between all of our causes and all of our effects.  As a result, we cannot conclude with certainty today what our Actions will produce as tomorrow’s Results.

Yes, sometimes it is easy – as in the firewood example, above, when I cut the tree with a saw, the tree WILL fall down.  However, much of what we do, and what we fail to do – while all causes of future effects – are not easy to predict with precision.  In fact, our lives encompass such an intricate web of countless causes and effects – simple and multiple – with intervening variables that most of the time it is virtually impossible to connect a single effect back to a specific single cause.  In our fact pattern scenario, for example, it is hard to see how burning firewood may result in migration issues for polar bears.  (Okay, perhaps today we see a cause and effect, but surely nobody connected the dots one hundred years ago).

In fact, a cause may have many effects.  And, an effect may be the result of multiple causes, each contributing in its own way to the ultimate Result.  And, as Anthony Robbins aptly notes, effects can be causes for further effects.

It does get complicated.

Because we cannot conclude with precision how today’s Actions impact and determine tomorrow’s Results, we must work indirectly and in a general sense.  For example, if we KNEW exactly what Actions today would result – with 100% precision – in a specific financial Success one year from now, well . . .  we would do it . . .  right?

So, attempting to establish an Action-Result nexus in a Cause and Effect context is a difficult proposition – assuming that it can be accomplished.

Second, and what most do not realize, is that it is not just our Actions that are the causes of our Results. 

Indeed, our Thoughts are also causes, and attempts to establish the connection between a particular line of thinking and the results that we experience in our lives as a direct result thereof (Thought-Result nexus) is even more difficult than attempting to establish an Action-Result nexus.  But, as sure as the sun rises tomorrow, our Thoughts shape our lives.  As the Success Manual’s web site tagline succinctly states above: “Achieving Success One Thought at a Time!”

In his Success Manual classic, As A Man Thinketh, James Allen states it perfectly.  The following quotes from Chapter 2, Effect of Thought on Circumstance, are on point:

Man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth.  If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.

That circumstances grow out of thought every man knows who has for any length of time practiced self-control and self-purification, for he will have noticed that the alteration in his circumstances has been in exact ratio with his altered mental condition.

The outer world of circumstance shapes itself to the inner world of thought, and both pleasant and unpleasant external conditions are factors, which make for the ultimate good of the individual.  As the reaper of his own harvest, man learns both by suffering and bliss.

Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.

Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.

Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.

Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.  This is but saying that nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles.  Men understand this law in the natural world, and work with it; but few understand it in the mental and moral world (though its operation there is just as simple and undeviating), and they, therefore, do not cooperate with it.

Let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life.

A particular train of thought persisted in, be it good or bad, cannot fail to produce its results on the character and circumstances.  A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances.

Re-read that last paragraph again: “A particular train of thought persisted in, be it good or bad, cannot fail to produce its results on the character and circumstances.  A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances.”  That really sums it up – while we cannot directly chose tomorrow’s circumstances, we can choose our thoughts today, and today’s thoughts shape tomorrow’s circumstances.

This statement accurately summarizes the nature of the Law of Cause and Effect and how best to use it to our advantage.

The Law of Cause and Effect by Another Name

The Law of Attraction is based entirely on the Law of Cause and Effect.  And, Emerson has called the Law of Cause and Effect the “Law of Laws.”  It has also been called “Heaven’s First Law.”

We have all heard of “Karma.”  As I understand it, Karma, in Indian religions, is the concept of “action” or “deed,” understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect (i.e., the cycle called samsãra) originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies. (Anybody care to add some comments here?)

So, what does this all mean and what points can we take away from this discussion to assist us on our Path to Success?

Plenty.

Success Is an Effect

Success is an effect.  Understand and execute the cause(s), and you, too, will Succeed.

In his Success Manual Classic, How to Get What You Want (or, as I like to call it, How to Succeed in Anything), Wallace D. Wattles states the following:

Getting what you want is success; and success is an effect, coming from the application of a cause.  Success is essentially the same in all cases; the difference is in the things the successful people want, but not in the success.  Success is essentially the same, whether it results in the attainment of health, wealth, development or position; success is attainment, without regard to the things attained.  And it is a law in nature that like causes always produce like effects; therefore, since success is the same in all cases, the cause of success must be the same in all cases.

The cause of success is always in the person who succeeds; you will see that this must be true, because if the cause of success were in nature, outside the person, then all persons similarly situated would succeed . . .

It is, therefore, mathematically certain that you can succeed if you will find out the cause of success, and develop it to sufficient strength, and apply it properly to your work; for the application of a sufficient cause can not fail to produce a given effect.  If there is a failure anywhere, of any kind, it is because the cause was either not sufficient or was not properly applied.

The cause of success is some power within you; you have the power to develop any power to a limitless extent; for there is no end to mental growth; you can increase the strength of this power indefinitely, and so you can make it strong enough to do what you want to do, and to get what you want to get; when it is strong enough you can learn how to apply it to the work, and therefore, you can certainly succeed.  All you have to learn is what is the cause of success, and how it must be applied.

Because Success is an effect, in order to Succeed tomorrow, we MUST execute the right causes today that produce Successful results tomorrow.

So, where do we begin?

The Causes of Success

What are the primary causes of the effect of Success?  Well, that is what this site is all about.  That is what each of the books available in our Success Manual Free Download Library is about.  It all begins with Thought – the original Cause of the Effect of Success.

What kind of Thought (cause) results in Success (effect)?

We can start with what Wattles calls “Active Power Consciousness” in his book, How to Get What You Want.

Or, as Anthony Robbins explores in Awaken the Giant Within, “the Power of Decision.”

Or, as Napoleon Hill asserts throughout Think and Grow Rich, the proper “State of Mind.”

In each case, it is Thought.  Sow the right Thoughts – Thoughts of Success – and you will reap Success.  What we Think, we become.

As an excellent starting point, we MUST act as the gatekeeper of our Mind, and bar (and refuse to entertain) thoughts of fear, doubt, worry, failure, negativity, resentment, jealousy, and the like.  Our Mind, as James Allen points out, is like a garden and we are the gardener.  If we don’t plant – in affirmative fashion – Successful Thoughts, then whatever seeds do happen to fall in (random thoughts) will grab hold and overtake our garden.  Regardless of whether, and to what extent, that we tend the Garden of our Mind, it will bring forth, it will produce.  It is only a matter of whether it is useful fruit or useless weeds.

Random gardening is no way to cultivate and harvest a bountiful crop.  Similarly, random thinking is no way to Succeed.  Why leave your Garden to chance?  Tend it carefully!

I strongly urge that you read James Allen's  A Man Thinketh and Wallace D. Wattles' How to Get What You Want every day for the next thirty (30) days.  This is a surefire way to tend your Success Garden well and initiate the proper root causes today in order to achieve the effects of Success tomorrow.

Happy Gardening!

Until next time . . .

Peace Out, and - Namasté! 

To your Health, Wealth, Prosperity and Success, 

Richard 

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Mount Washington image with permission from the Mount Washington Observatory.  Thanks, Crew!

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1. Success Master: Wallace D. Wattles, Law of Attraction Author, Sage, Teacher and Author Wallace D. Wattles’ brand of motivational self-improvement philosophy is best expressed in this quote of his: “The scientific use of thought consists in forming a clear and distinct mental image of what you want; in holding fast to the purpose to get what you want; and in realizing with grateful...
2. Success Key: The Law of Compensation, Part I The Law that we reap what we sow is mathematically accurate. Each experience through which we pass operates ultimately for our good. To interpret this Law in a simple form, it should be stated that whatever we attract, we require and whatever we need is always good. This is a...
3. Free Success Ebook: How to Get What You Want by Wallace D. Wattles – FREE Download Getting what you want is success, and success is an effect, coming from the application of a cause. The cause of success is some power within you; you have the power to develop any power to a limitless extent, for there is no end to mental growth. All you have...

"It is one thing to want – everyone wants more – but it is something entirely different to be Worth more!  Many people mistake their “wants” for their “just dues.”  Your financial requirements or wants have nothing whatever to do with your Worth.  Your value is established entirely by your ability to render useful service or your capacity to induce others to render such service."  -  Napoleon Hill, "Think and Grow Rich"

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Success Key: Take Annual Inventory of Yourself - 28 Questions You Should Answer

[Editor's Note: I promised a "don't miss" post for New Years Eve on "Resentment and Forgiveness," which I did not post after all.  For several reasons, which will be disclosed in the post when it is published, I decided to wait until a later date.  I trust that you will find it in your heart to forgive me - please!  When the article does post, I think you will find it worthwhile ;-)]

Happy New Year to everyone!  Thank you for joining us and for making 2010 a GREAT year for The Success Manual!

Today's post is a Success Passage (and Success Key) taken directly from Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich.  The Passage is from the Chapter on Organized Planning and consists of a 28-question Self-Analysis Questionnaire for Personal Inventory.

Okay, I realize it would have been best to post this Self-Analysis Questionnaire last week, but better late than never and let us remember - each day is a new start.  There is, as I have often stated here, nothing magical about the start of a new calendar year.  We get a chance each and every day to begin our lives anew and when better to start than right now.

The Annual Self-Analysis Questionnaire for Personal Inventory: How well do you score? Take Napoleon Hill's Personal Inventory Survey and find out!

A critical point to be made about this Self-Analysis Questionnaire is to undertake it with total, absolute and brutal honesty - something that is always difficult when it comes to ourselves.  Let's face it - it is easy to see the faults of others (the splinter in their eye) and not our own personal defects (the beam in our eye).  The Ego detests being wrong and considers itself the center of the Universe (or so I have been told or read somewhere).  In order for this Personal Inventory to be effective - and why do it if you don't want results - it is imperative that we lay aside our personal biases and dig deep - real, real deep. 

The Truth will set you Free.  So, suck it up for some brief pain in order to obtain an honest assessment that will enable you to make real, substantial positive gains in your journey to Succeed.

"Your annual self-analysis should be made at the end of each year, so you can include in your New Year’s Resolutions any improvements which the analysis indicates should be made.  Take this inventory by asking yourself the following questions, and by checking your answers with the aid of someone who will not permit you to deceive yourself as to their accuracy."  -  Napoleon Hill, "Think and Grow Rich"

Lastly, while Napoleon Hill's Self Inventory Questionnaire is geared towards "Personal Services" (as a means for determining your "market value"), the analysis is not limited to that purpose; it may be used for measuring any aspect of Personal Development, Self Improvement and Success Achievement.

Use it wise, grasshopper . . . .

We have a TON planned for 2011, so hold on tight.  This is going to be a GREAT YEAR and we hope you join us for the ride.  Fasten your seatbelts, it promises to be a wild ride . . .

Until next time.

Peace Out, and - Namasté!

To your Health, Wealth, Prosperity and Success,

Richard

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Take Inventory of Yourself: 28 Questions You Should Answer

It is one thing to want – everyone wants more – but it is something entirely different to be Worth more!  Many people mistake their “wants” for their “just dues.”  Your financial requirements or wants have nothing whatever to do with your Worth.  Your value is established entirely by your ability to render useful service or your capacity to induce others to render such service.

Annual self-analysis is an essential in the effective marketing of personal services, as is annual inventory in merchandising.  Moreover, the yearly analysis should disclose a decrease in faults, and an increase in Virtues.  One goes ahead, stands still, or goes backward in life.  One’s object should be, of course, to go ahead.  Annual self analysis will disclose whether advancement has been made, and if so, how much.  It will also disclose any backward steps one may have made.  The effective marketing of personal services requires one to move forward even if the progress is slow.

Your annual self-analysis should be made at the end of each year, so you can include in your New Year’s Resolutions any improvements which the analysis indicates should be made.  Take this inventory by asking yourself the following questions, and by checking your answers with the aid of someone who will not permit you to deceive yourself as to their accuracy.

Self-Analysis Questionnaire for Personal Inventory

1. Have I attained the goal which I established as my objective for this year?  (You should work with a definite yearly objective to be attained as a part of your major life objective).
2. Have I delivered Service of the best possible Quality of which I was capable, or could I have improved any part of this service?
3. Have I delivered Service in the greatest possible Quantity of which I was capable?
4. Has the Spirit of my conduct been Harmonious, and Cooperative at all times?
5. Have I permitted the Habit of Procrastination to decrease my efficiency, and if so, to what extent?
6. Have I improved my Personality, and if so, in what ways?
7. Have I been Persistent in following my plans through to completion?
8. Have I reached Decisions Promptly and Definitely on all occasions?
9. Have I permitted any one or more of the “Six Basic Fears” to decrease my efficiency?
10. Have I been either “over-cautious,” or “under-cautious?”
11. Has my relationship with my associates in work been pleasant, or unpleasant?  If it has been unpleasant, has the fault been partly, or wholly mine?
12. Have I dissipated any of my energy through lack of Concentration of effort?
13. Have I been open minded and tolerant in connection with all subjects?
14. In what way have I improved my ability to render Service?
15. Have I been intemperate in any of my Habits?
16. Have I expressed, either openly or secretly, any form of Egotism?
17. Has my conduct toward my associates been such that it has induced them to Respect me?
18. Have my opinions and Decisions been based upon guesswork, or accuracy of analysis and Thought?
19. Have I followed the Habit of budgeting my time, my expenses, and my income, and have I been conservative in these budgets?
20. How much time have I devoted to unprofitable effort which I might have used to better advantage?
21. How may I re-budget my time, and change my habits so I will be more efficient during the coming year?
22. Have I been guilty of any conduct which was not approved by my conscience?
23. In what ways have I rendered more Service and better Service than I was paid to render?
24. Have I been unfair to anyone, and if so, in what way?
25. If I had been the purchaser of my own services for the year, would I be satisfied with my purchase?
26. Am I in the right vocation, and if not, why not?
27. Has the purchaser of my Services been satisfied with the Service I have rendered, and if not, why not?
28. What is my present rating on the fundamental Principles of Success?  (Make this rating fairly, and frankly, and have it checked by someone who is courageous enough to do it accurately).

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We create our stress.  The External Factors, which we blame as the cause of our stress, are NOT our stress, nor do they create our stress.  The Factors just are – they are merely external events and circumstances.

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Success Key: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - A Stress-Free Holiday Season

Well, it’s that most wonderful – and stressful – time of the year.

People around the world, and in particular, here in the United States, are in full swing of preparing for the most Holy of Days, Christmas.  While a Christian Holy Day celebrating the birth of Christ, Christmas has evolved into a commercial holiday (of almost comical proportions) celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike, depending on applicable customs and cultures.

While we often hear “‘tis the season to be jolly,” the fact is that many of us don’t experience a “wonderful” Christmas season; we experience a stressful Christmas season. In fact, the number of individuals who experience unhealthy levels of stress, anxiety and depression reach epic highs during the Christmas season.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Bob Proctor once stated that “Stress is a state of Mind.”  He is absolutely right.

All Stressed Out? It doesn’t have to be that way. "Stress" is only a Mental State, having no existence outside of your Mind!

Think about it.  What is “stress?”

It doesn’t exist outside of the Mind or your Being.  You cannot point to it; it doesn’t have a color or size.  It is not a tangible, inanimate object.

Some may say that stress is caused by an increase in the collective influence of external events, circumstances and other human behavior that causes us to feel overwhelmed, helpless and fearful.  That is only part right.

The part that is right concerns the increase in the nature, level and extent of events, circumstances and other “undesirable” human behavior that we come in contact with during the Christmas season.  During the Christmas season, the nature, level and extent of items on our respective plates does increase.  There are more events and activities taking place.  Time is precious.  And, we are more likely to encounter other human behavior that we may perceive as undesirable, such as increased traffic, competitive shoppers, and other (like ourselves) irritable individuals.

But, those are all external events and circumstances.  They just are (although some, perhaps most, of many of the external events and circumstances are within our direct control although we may deny it).  Let’s call these collective external events, circumstances and behaviors “External Factors.”

Some may say that stress is caused by an increase in the collective influence of external events, circumstances and other human behavior that causes us to feel overwhelmed, helpless and fearful. That is only part right.

Stress is nothing more than our internal response to those External Factors – how we perceive them, what we say about them internally, how we respond (or react) emotionally, our behavior towards them, and, of course, our physical (bodily) response to those External Factors.

We create our stress.  The External Factors, which we blame as the cause of our stress, are NOT our stress, nor do they create our stress.  The Factors just are – they are merely external events and circumstances.

As such, in order to reduce and/or eliminate our experience of stress, we MUST start (and end) with ourselves: our own Mental State.  As Mary Morrissey teaches, we must “pay attention to what we are paying attention to.”

If our internal thinking and responses to these External Factors are along the lines of “This is awful . . .   I will never get all my shopping done . . . .  I really cannot afford to be buying all of these gifts . . .  I shouldn’t be doing this . . . .  I simply don’t have time for all of this . . .  [etc.],” we necessarily increase our State of Stress.  Of course with that kind of thinking we are going to feel overwhelmed.

In fact, this is precisely HOW we create our own stress.

What happens when we think and respond in such fearful, negative fashion?  Besides broadcasting such negativity (negative thoughts) into the Universe – which has its own repercussions – our brain and bodies release harmful stress hormones, corticosteroids and other chemicals into our physical being.

These chemicals are great for a real “fight or flight” situation.  But, this is not that.  This is everyday life.  And the result is that continued exposure to these chemicals does awful damage to our bodies.  We become “stressed out.”

Moreover, such negative, anxious thinking not only causes us to experience the Emotional and Mental State of stress, but it further manifests itself in physical symptoms.  Such as, you ask?  Symptoms like headaches, neck aches, indigestion, other digestive problems, heart palpitations, fatigue, irritability, insomnia . . . and in rare cases, stroke, heart attack and death.

Stress can kill.  Over the long term, constant exposure to high levels of “stress chemicals” eats away at your body and eventually it can kill you.

Since all stress originates in the Mind and is nothing more than a Mental State, the obvious recourse is to take Personal Action and reduce and/or eliminate it.

As I said, it doesn’t have to be this way.

So, what are the immediate Action items that you can take to reduce and/or eliminate your Stress starting RIGHT NOW?  Here is a great starting (and not all-inclusive) list:

1. Immediately start “paying attention to what you are paying attention to.”  Remember, stress has no existence in and of itself, and certainly no external existence outside of your Mind.  You create your stress by your thoughts and emotions.  When you catch yourself engaging in such “stressful” thinking – STOP!
2. Put a limit on planned activities.  You can’t do everything; there must be some limitations.  Remember, work continues, routine family obligations continue, life goes on.  Without the holidays you are already busy and your schedule is packed.  Now, you need to find even more time for shopping, parties, decorating, etc.  There is only so much you can do without your rain barrel overflowing, so recognize that fact and put limits on that to which you will (and can) commit.
3. Don’t engage in behavior and activities that are incongruent with your Core Principles.  What does that mean?  As an example (and an example only), if you are already deeply in debt, and it is already an issue in your life, don’t go deeper into debt with the shopping simply because you feel you “have to.”  Tell friends and family that you are cutting back on spending this year.  They will understand.  And, if they don’t – that is their problem, NOT yours.  Remember, Christmas is not about spending the most (you already know that), so don’t engage in spending behavior that is going to create additional problems for you down the road.
4. Overburdened with things on your “to do” list?  Put some of the items away – for now.  A psychologist friend of mine long ago taught me the “storage shelf” technique.  When we have too much on our plate – more than we can possibly handle at any one time and we feel overwhelmed – we need to prioritize as to what is MOST Important Now (See my WIN Post here).  As to those items that can wait, put them away on an imaginary storage shelf, to be addressed at a later time.  This is important: Actually vision yourself taking the item and placing it on your Personal Storage Shelf.  See it, feel it, believe it.  As soon as it is placed there, FORGET ABOUT IT.  It is now out of your hands and it should be out of your Mind.  You will deal with it later and it is no longer a present concern of yours.  Let it go.  If you employ this technique just as described, you will actually experience a sense of relief as you place the item/task on your Personal Storage Shelf.  Just knowing that it need not be addressed immediately brings on a welcomed sense of relief.  Experience the Relief!
5. Take daily time for yourself – this is an absolute MUST.  Find ten minutes (at least) in the morning and ten minutes (at least) in the evening for reflection, meditation, prayer, stretching, exercise, a hot bath, anything where you are doing something that YOU enjoy and that brings YOU peace and serenity.  I can hear you: “But I don’t have the time!”  Baloney.  You DO have the time.  It’s a funny thing – it is when we most need the time for ourselves that we are most likely to deprive ourselves by claiming that we don’t have the time!  You absolutely, positively need time to recharge, reconnect and relax – and it only takes a little time to realize huge benefits.  Just do it.
6. Remember, you WILL get through this time period and everything and everybody – yourself included – will be just fine!  As such, why not re-frame your perspective?  Instead of viewing tasks as “drudgery,” why not view them as a “challenge,” or even better, “a Mission from God?”  Years ago, I would intentionally wait until Christmas Eve to do all of my shopping because I actually enjoyed the challenge of waking up at 5:00 am, hitting the stores, getting what I needed and getting it all done by 3:00 in the afternoon.  Okay, now with three young children that doesn’t quite work for me anymore, but, years ago, I enjoyed the thrill of the challenge.  I LOVED it.  Make it fun!
7. Maintain your sense of Gratitude.  Be Grateful for the things that really matter (and you know what I mean).  Keep that in Mind and Heart at all times.  The stuff “out there” is just the stuff “out there.”  (See my Attitude of Gratitude Post here).

Peace be with you during this most Holy Season!

Until next time . . .

Peace Out, and - Namasté!

To your Health, Wealth, Prosperity and Success,

Richard

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In order to achieve Success in any endeavor, keeping FOCUS is an enormous challenge.  Think about it.  We are bombarded constantly by people, events, circumstances and things that easily distract us, causing us to waste precious time, attention and resources. That is where “W.I.N.” comes in:  "What’s Important Now?"  Does what I am doing NOW move me closer to what I want, faster than whatever else I could be doing?  The more honest you can be in answering this question, the faster you will achieve your Goals and attain the Success you seek.  It really is that simple.  The difficulty lies in 1) Actually engaging in this self-analysis, and 2) Being brutally honest with ourselves.  If what we WANT is that important, we can overcome this perceived “difficulty.”

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Simple Success Key: W.I.N. – What’s Important NOW?

Most of my Success Key posts tend to be on the lengthy side.

I am a lawyer by training, specializing in Intellectual Property Law, and have been practicing law since 1989.  That’s a long time.

Being an effective lawyer in just about any practice area requires the ability to write with clarity.  Whether drafting briefs in support of an important motion to argue in court, crafting last wills, trusts and estate documents, constructing complex contracts (such as, in my case, licensing agreements that may comprise more than 50-70 pages), drafting patent claims – whatever – the objective of the lawyer is to achieve precision and clarity in the written word so as to convey the intended meaning of the message.

Clarity removes ambiguity.  And, in the world of legal work product, ambiguity is bad – very bad.

Yet, as a whole, lawyers are often awful when it comes to a competing goal: brevity.  Hence, once I jump on a topic, I tend to say too much.  Just like I am doing now . . .

So, to the point (after this lengthy introduction), this Success Key will be brief.  Or, at least I will try.

Today’s Success Key is “W.I.N. – What’s Important Now.”

In order to achieve Success in any endeavor, whether financial, losing weight, getting into physical shape, being a better parent or spouse, etc., keeping FOCUS is an enormous challenge.

Distracted and Unfocused. Does what I am doing NOW move me closer to what I want, faster than whatever else I could be doing? Making paper airplanes is a sure way to Succeed! ;-)

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Think about it.  We are bombarded constantly by people, events, circumstances and things that easily distract us, causing us to waste precious time, attention and resources.

There is television, other items screaming for our attention, our children and our parents, house projects, texting, messaging, telephone calls to family and friends (to talk about nothing), and, of course, the Grand Master of Distraction: The Internet.

How much time do we waste on the computer?  Whether Facebook or Twitter, shopping or perusing, jumping from one insignificant site to another (or worse), we all are guilty of spending excessive amounts of time online doing things that do nothing to further us in reaching our Goals.

I am not saying that any of this is not important; there is a time and place for everything.  But, if you are spending 4 hours a day on Facebook conversing with friends under the pretense of building your Social Network for your online business, you may just be kidding yourself.

That is where “W.I.N.” comes in.  What’s Important Now?

The more honest you can be in answering this question, the faster you will achieve your Goals and attain the Success you seek.  Really.

We must always pay attention to what we are paying attention to.  That is how we can stay Focused.  There are plenty of free Success EBooks on this site that fully address the importance of maintaining a proper Focus and that is not the import of this post.  But, if you think there isn’t a relationship between staying Focused and attaining Success or achieving a Goal, then you better go back and re-read that material.

An online colleague, Paul Myer, who has the best darn Internet Marketing Newsletter (in my humble opinion) offers the following idea.

On our monitors – or wherever else we need to see it – we should post the following note:

“W.I.N. – WHAT’S IMPORTANT NOW?  Does what I am doing NOW move me closer to what I WANT, faster than WHATEVER ELSE I could be doing??”

If we can honestly answer “yes,” than we are on Focus and should continue the activity.

Working Hard or Hardly Working? Staying focused on the most important task at hand is a major key to attaining Success and achieving your Goals. Make it a habit and you will attain Success and Prosperity faster than you can imagine!

If, on the other hand, our honest answer is “no,” then we need to stop what we are doing and shift gears.  We have lost Focus and we need to redirect our attention to WHAT’S IMPORTANT NOW.

It really is that simple.  The difficulty lies in 1) Actually engaging in this self-analysis, and 2) Being brutally honest with ourselves.

If what we WANT is that important, we can overcome this perceived “difficulty.”

Make W.I.N. a Habit.  If you do – and it really is not that difficult – you are well on your way to attaining Success and achieving your Goal.

Start immediately.

[PS - As a shining example, you would not believe how distracted I allowed myself to become in trying to track down suitable images for this post!]

Thank you for supporting our site!

Until next time . . . .

Peace Out, and - Namasté!

To your Health, Wealth, Prosperity and Success,

Richard

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The Thanksgiving holiday is grounded in deep tradition, originating hundreds of years ago when early settlers of this country, escaping from religious persecution in their European homelands, gathered with native Americans to partake in their annual rites of feast and celebration to “give thanks” after bountiful harvests of grains, vegetables and fish.  The symbolism is as profound and meaningful today as it was in the 1600s.  We gather together, family and friends, to enjoy the abundance in our lives and to give thanks.  It is as simple as that.

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Success Key: Thanksgiving and the Art of Gratitude

Here in the United States, Americans gathered with family and friends yesterday, and, indeed for this entire four-day weekend, to celebrate the most cherished of our country recognized holidays: Thanksgiving.

The Thanksgiving holiday is grounded in deep tradition, originating hundreds of years ago when early settlers of this country, escaping from religious persecution in their European homelands, gathered with native Americans to partake in their annual rites of feast and celebration to “give thanks” after bountiful harvests of grains, vegetables and fish.

The symbolism is as profound and meaningful today as it was in the 1600s.  We gather together, family and friends, to enjoy the abundance in our lives and to give thanks.  It is as simple as that.

The heart of Thanksgiving – a true recognition of the abundance of which we have been blessed and to give thanks to our Creator for all of the good in our lives – is a powerful mental and spiritual attitude.  Much has been written on the “attitude of gratitude” on this site and elsewhere.  Being grateful for all that is good in our lives, despite the fact that there may simultaneously exist undesirable circumstances and events, is immensely powerful and empowering.  When we focus – and give thanks – for that which is good, we shift our paradigm from that which is “bad” (or, more accurately, from that which we perceive as “bad,” for, as Shakespeare stated, what makes something good or bad is only our saying so), to the “good.”

Seeing (and being grateful for) the good in life is a major paradigm shift.  We are all aware of the oft-repeated adage that we may either look at the “glass half empty” or the “glass half full.”

And so, on Thanksgiving Day, Americans from all walks of life gather together, refrain from looking at the glass “half empty,” and express, to the best of our abilities, true gratitude for all that we have been blessed.

Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday.

"Frosty Morning." A frosty chill greets the sunrise in the White Mountains of New Hampshire on a mid November morning. The Presidential Range drapes the horizon, with Mount Washington taking center stage. Photo by Jim Salge on November 22, 2009.

But, how many of us return to our old ways after the holiday?  Indeed, the day after Thanksgiving has been named “Black Friday,” in reference to the mad, insane shopping and sales phenomena that takes place on that day in anticipation of the Christmas holy day yet a month away (Thanksgiving always takes place on the fourth Thursday of November, so the following day – Black Friday – is always on a Friday).

Black Friday is insane.  Stores open at 3:00 and 4:00 am.  In fact, one famous department store chain opened at midnight!  Traffic is a mess, as a significant portion of the population takes to the roads to hit their favorite stores looking for bargains.  Customers begin lining up at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning – some never even taking time to rest or sleep after their Thanksgiving feast!  Patience in many tends to run short.  Tempers occasionally flare when customers compete for limited stock (or at least at the bargain prices).

Other than the dinner leftovers in the refrigerators, Thanksgiving is already forgotten within the following 24 hours.

Don’t get me wrong – I love the excitement of the entire weekend and the anticipation of the Christmas holy season, too.  Even the insanity of Black Friday has a certain appeal, as we are now into the “official Christmas holiday (commercial) season.”  In fact, many of my family members partake in the annual Black Friday shopping ritual because, in addition to obtaining great bargains on items that may not be available in a couple of weeks, they simply find it fun. They enjoy the madness, “go with the flow,” and don’t take the extravaganza too seriously.

Yet, I question what happens to our so-called “Attitude of Gratitude” from the previous day.

We need to maintain, and strengthen, our Gratitude EVERY day.  It is easy for just about everyone to find it in their hearts to give thanks and express some level of Gratitude on Thanksgiving Day.  It comes easy, it comes naturally.  It is an annual tradition and ritual, and consciously or not, we prepare for it emotionally and spiritually.  When Thanksgiving Day arrives, we have been so conditioned over the years, that it is simply natural to put aside or trials, tribulations and differences, gather with family and friends, feast and give thanks.

Can we cultivate that natural flow of unconditional expression of Gratitude every day?  Yes.  Do we?  Not really.  But, what if we did . . . ?

Honest and sincere Gratitude, like many character virtues – most obvious being Patience – MUST be practiced in order for us to become Grateful.  The only way to become a Patient person is to practice Patience, particularly when the events and circumstances in our lives seemingly compel anything but Patience.  The only way to become a Peaceful and Serene individual is to practice Peacefulness and Serenity, particularly when the events and circumstances in our lives seemingly compel anything but Peacefulness and Serenity.  The only way to become a Kind and Loving person is to practice Kindness and to Love, particularly when the events and circumstances in our lives seemingly compel anything but being Kind and giving Love.

And so on and so forth.

Gratitude is more than an “Attitude.”  It is an Art.  Attitudes can come and go; they are fleeting.  But, when practiced, we may transform that which changes like the weather into that which is stable and lasting.  Maintaining a true and lasting state of honest and sincere Gratitude is an Art to be practiced and cultivated if we are ever to reap the fruit.

I urge you to practice and develop the Art of Gratitude.  It takes time, effort, and of course, Patience.  Take time, as much as possible, to reflect and meditate (usually in solitude, if only for a few minutes at a time) on that for which you really are Grateful.  Read Success Manuals that teach and expound upon the Power of Gratitude.  Write your “Gratitudes” in your personal Success Manual Journal – often (daily, if you can).  When you find yourself overwhelmed with negativity of any kind, you must find time to stop and reflect and “break that funk.”  Repetition, repetition, repetition.  That is how the Art is developed.

Live in Thanksgiving everyday, for everyday that we live, we must be Thankful.  Thanksgiving should not be a one-day annual event.

The true Student of Success will come to understand and realize the miraculous Power and Art of Gratitude and the amazing impact an inner State of Gratitude has on the external events and circumstances of our lives.

Do you seek Success in your Life?  Start by being Grateful for that which you have been blessed.  Abundance, Prosperity and Success abound, but you will fail to see, realize and experience the bounty if you cannot, or will not, work with the Law of Gratitude.  The Power of Gratitude cannot be overstated.

Live the Art of Gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone – in the U.S. and all around the world.

Until next time . . . .

Peace Out, and - Namasté!

To your Health, Wealth, Prosperity and Success,

The Success Manual Team

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Mount Washington image with permission from the Mount Washington Observatory.  Thanks, Crew!

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3. Free Spiritual Ebook: “The Door of Everything” by Ruby Nelson The submerged mind is like a sunken treasure chest, chock-full of wonders, waiting for you to discover it and draw it to the surface. For the most part, it lies neglected and untouched even though I have stored within it all my powers, all my wisdom, all the truth in...

We must understand that the undesirable events, conditions and circumstances, which we refer to as "problems," are EXTERNAL to us; the identification of those events, conditions and circumstances as a “problem,” on the other hand, is INTERNAL – a product of our thinking, beliefs and conditioned habits.  The latter is a creature of our Mind; the former is simply a set of facts without any inherent meaning – they just are.  The only meaning of those external events, conditions and circumstances is the meaning that we ascribe to these facts internally in our Mind.

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Success Strategy: The Ten (10) Step Technique to Universal Problem Solving

How to Solve ANY Problem

Are you presently facing a “problem” that appears to have no solution?  Yes?  Good.  This Post may be just what you need.

Throughout Life, we all face what we commonly refer to as “problems.”  In fact, many individuals view Life itself as a series of problems – one after another – some large, some small, but all problems just the same.  Some unfortunate Souls actually perceive Life itself as one giant “problem.”  How sad!

People “struggle” with “problems.”  And, that is quite unfortunate, because it really doesn’t have to be that way.

In fact, I would suggest that there are no such things as “problems,” and that there doesn’t have to be any “struggling.”  “Problems,” in and of themselves, are nothing more than mere creatures of the mind; they have no existence on their own, and to the extent that we “struggle” with them, that is of our own doing.

Stay with me here . . .

Of course, if you presently face a significant challenge in your life (notice that I did not use the word “problem,” thereby already changing the meaning and significance of the undesirable and unwanted set of circumstances that most would refer to as a “problem”), you may find little comfort in such Wisdom.  After all, these few simple words will likely not provide the resolution or solution you seek.  It is, however, a start.

Indeed, there is a magical, surefire way to solve or eliminate ANY “problem” that may be plaguing you.  Follow these Ten (10) Steps – honestly and diligently – and I assure you that you will realize one of the following three (3) outcomes: 1) You will solve your “problem,” 2) The problem will resolve itself, or 3) You will simply no longer view the “problem” as a “problem” – it will simply seek to exist.

Regardless of which of the three outcomes you experience, the result is the same: Freedom from the “problem.”

It is really quite simple and the beauty of it is that – IT WORKS!  I personally use this technique consistently and it has never, ever failed me.  It has been thoroughly developed, re-tooled and time-tested, and it is powerfully effective.

Step One: Every Problem Has a Solution

Every “problem” has a Solution.  Not some, not most – ALL.  All “problems” have Solutions and are resolvable.

In fact, there are likely many possible resolutions to a particular undesired set of facts and circumstances.  More than one possible solution may even be optimal.

The First Step in resolving any “problem” is to know, understand and believe that there IS a solution, there is an answer.  To realize the ultimate Solution, all that is required is that you increase your personal Level of Awareness to discover the possible Solutions and then implement the one that provides the greatest benefit towards your Desired outcome.

You MUST understand and accept this fact – that every “problem” has a Solution – as TRUE.  If you do not accept this proposition as the Truth, the likelihood that you will realize the Solution is highly unlikely.  Think about it: if you do not believe that there is a Solution to your dilemma, what are the chances that you will attempt to realize it?  You won’t.  And, your “problem” will remain unresolved and continue to fester.

The simple fact is that, at present, you simply do not see the Solution.  For if you did, then the “problem” would no longer exist; it would be resolved.  Simply start with the unconditional Believe and Faith that your “problem” has a solution – many solutions – and all that is needed is for you to discover it.

Step Two: De-Personalize the “Problem”

Having accepted the Truth that there is a Solution to your so-called “problem,” the next step is to “de-personalize the problem.”

What does that mean and why is it important?

What it means is that YOU are NOT your “problem” (okay, sometimes we are our own worst enemies, but you get the point).  You are separate from your “problem” – it exists entirely outside of you.

Wait a minute – didn’t I just say earlier that “problems,” in and of themselves, are nothing more than mere creatures of the mind; they have no existence on their own, and to the extent that we “struggle” with them, that is of our own doing?  Yes, I did.  To avoid undue confusion, let’s immediately reconcile these concepts.

First, we must define what we mean when we use the term “problem.”  After all, “problem” has many meanings (e.g., “Did you finish your math problems in your homework assignment?”)  Essentially, what we all commonly refer to as “problems” are mere UNDESIRABLE conditions and/or circumstances.  “Undesirable” to whom?  The person who claims them to be a “problem.”  What may be one person’s “problem” may be another persons’ joy.  In other words, the nature, level and extent of a particular “problem” are in the eye of the beholder.

As such, we must understand that the undesirable events, conditions and circumstances are EXTERNAL to us; the identification of those events, conditions and circumstances as a “problem,” on the other hand, is INTERNAL – a product of our thinking, beliefs and conditioned habits.  The latter is a creature of our Mind; the former is simply a set of facts without any inherent meaning – they just are.  The only meaning of those external events, conditions and circumstances is the meaning that we ascribe to these facts internally in our Mind.

And that is where we need to draw the line and depersonalize the “problem.”  The undesirable events, conditions and circumstances are external facts.  They are not us – they just are.  So, as part of the Second Step, we need to distinguish and understand that the nature of the “problem” is something outside of ourselves; how we perceive a problem, contrarily, is internal and a function of Mind – something over which we may assert control and change.

We must depersonalize the “problem” and personalize the Solution.  The “problem” lies without; the Solution will be realized within.

Step Three: Open Your Creative Mind

Some “problems” may be resolved through simple, deductive reasoning (e.g., 2+2=4).  Other “problems” are not that easy – there are too many intangible variables – and, therefore, more is required.

Most so-called “problems” require something more than deductive reasoning, for if it were that simple (relatively speaking, of course), then “problems” wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) linger on without resolution – assuming that one is making bona fide attempts to resolve the “problem.”  So, how do we resolve “problems” that elude conscious analyzation?

The answer is to open your Creative Mind, your Subconscious, to the Infiniteness of Universe and all that is possible.

We have already accepted the fact that every “problem” has a Solution (Step One).  And, we have depersonalized the “problem,” and have further accepted as Truth that the Solution must come from within (Step Two).  If you don’t have the Solution now, and you have been working on resolving your “problem” for some time, from whence shall the Solution come?

When you open your Creative Mind to what is possible, you allow the answer to come to you.  Let’s face it: our Conscious Mind is not always the best “problem” solver; in fact, it probably gets us into “problems” more than it gets us out of them.

The Wright Brothers had a firm belief that they could build a flying-machine. The ability to build a “flying machine” – today a fact not even questioned – has been in existence as long as the Universe, and the Wright Brothers knew that. It (the Principle of Flight) merely required that man finally achieve the requisite Level of Awareness where the principle of fixed wing flight could be realized.

Think of the Wright Brothers and their firm belief that they could build a flying-machine.  People at that time thought the Wrights were crazy.  Moreover, their own father, a minister, harshly admonished them, claiming that they would burn in hell merely for suggesting the idea!  Yet, the ability to build a “flying machine” – today a fact not even questioned – has been in existence as long as the Universe, and the Wright Brothers knew that.  It (the Principle of Flight) merely required that man finally achieve the requisite Level of Awareness where the principle of fixed wing flight could be realized.  Nonetheless, the Principle of Flight, and the scientific laws governing that principle, always existed.

In fact, every law and principle of what may be possible in the future already exists here and now – simply waiting to be discovered.  Think of it: a unified theory of the Universe, from the grand to the subatomic, which has eluded scientists since the time of Einstein already exists.  We just don’t know it – yet.  As a race (human race), our Level of Awareness requires greater Understanding.

The same holds true for the Solution to your “problem.”  You just don’t know it yet and the way you will discover it is to open your Creative Mind.

Step Four: Remove Obstructions to Overcome Obstacles

So, how does one open his or her Creative Mind?

The crucial first step is to remove all Obstructions.  You will not realize the proper Solution to your “problem” if your Mind is clogged with needless, destructive clutter - Obstructions.

What are “Obstructions?”  Fear.  Doubt.  Worry.  Anxiety.  Negative thinking.  These are all States of Mind (mental states) that not only will fail to resolve your “problem,” but will actively and affirmatively work against realizing a Solution.  As long as you harbor Obstructions, the likelihood that you will solve your “problem” is very, very slim.

Obstructions such as Fear, Doubt, Worry, Anxiety and Negative Thinking literally clog the channels of your Creative Mind.  You cannot think in a constructive, creative fashion when you are focused on the negative and gripped with Fear and Worry.  It is simply not possible.

Moreover, Obstructions are just that: Obstructions.  They block the flow of Creative Spirit through your Conscious and Subconscious Minds.  If you were so ensconced with Fear and Anxiety – to the point of paralysis – do you think you would hear God whispering the answer to you?  God rarely shouts, and outside of Biblical accounts, I don’t know of anyone to whom God appeared or spoke accompanied by bolts of lighting and fire. 

God speaks to our Heart and the way to hear God in this fashion is to quiet the Mind.  Obstructions are anything but quiet and can produce compulsive thought and action.

In Step One we accepted the uncontroverted Truth that all “problems” have Solutions.  Truly knowing that – with unconditional Faith and Believe – is usually sufficient to instill a Peace of Heart that clears the Obstructions.  If you find yourself still hindered by these negative States of Mind, work (but don’t struggle) to remove the blockage.

Step Five: Understand that Obstructions Are a Result of Ignorance

So, how do we remove Obstructions with Peace and without struggling?  Through Understanding, Knowledge and Awareness.

We must increase our Level of Awareness, gain Knowledge and Understand the causes of Fear, Doubt, Worry, Anxiety and Negative Thinking.  While tomes may be (and are) written on the subject, it is critical to UNDERSTAND that such destructive Mental States are caused by or a result of Ignorance.

Ignorance of what?

First, not knowing WHERE the answer or solution lies.

Consider.  A young couple is deeply in debt and they both lost their jobs.  With each passing month, they sink deeper and deeper into debt.  Their levels of Fear, Doubt and Worry increase.  Negative Thinking persists.  They see no way out.

Therein lays the problem: They see no way out.

Suppose I had a bona fide magic crystal ball and could convince the young couple that the crystal ball really could show the future.  Taken a step further, I consult my crystal ball and show them the winning multimillion dollar lottery numbers for the following week.  All they would need to do is play that winning combination of numbers on the right day and they become instant winners of $50 million.

What do you think would happen to their Doubt, Worry, Anxiety, Fear and Negative Thinking (at least with respect to their debt and unemployment “problem”)?  It would immediately vanish into thin air!  Why?  Because they now see their Solution!

When we see the Solutions to our “problems” – even if those answers are not immediately available – the levels of our Obstructions immediately drop, if not completely dissipate.  As such, it is the Ignorance as to the Solution that gives rise to the Obstructions.  We fail to see from where the Good that we Desire is going to come and that fuels our Obstructive Mental States.

If we can begin to truly and honestly Understand that there IS a Solution (or multiple solutions) to our “problem,” and all that is required is that we raise our Level of Awareness to realize the Solution, an immediate effect is that we begin to overcome the Ignorance giving rise to our Obstructions.  Just knowing that there IS a solution already begins to bring Peace, which, in turn, opens our Creative Mind to receive the answer!

As long as we remained locked in the Negative, we will not see the Positive.  We need to clean the House of our Minds, and like a skilled surgeon who removes blockage from diseased arteries, we must remove the Obstructions of our Creative Mind and allow Life to flow freely.

Step Six: Reframe the “Problem”

All along, I have been using the word “problem” to describe and define the undesired set of conditions and circumstances.  Step Six is to “reframe” the nature of “problem,” including the very word “problem.”

We may start by no longer using the word “problem” as the definition or indicia of the undesired conditions and circumstances.  The term “problem” immediately delivers a negative connotation – almost signifying a situation to which there is no Solution.  That is why I have been using quotes with the word throughout this article – to establish the significance (or, more appropriately, the insignificance) of the actual word.

Instead of the word “problem,” use either the terms “Challenge” or “Obstacle.”  Immediately your perspective changes towards the undesired conditions and circumstances, for both words convey a more positive meaning and both inherently suggest that there exist solutions or answers.

Think about it: who likes “problems?”  In fact, we try to avoid “problems.”  It is human nature to run from “problems” (who awakes in the morning thinking “Boy, I can’t wait to deal with the scourge of my problems today!”)

“Challenges,” on the other hand, are an invitation for Action! (Some definitions for the word “challenge” include: “an invitation to someone to compete or fight, especially in a sport; to invite someone to compete or fight; used in the names of competitions, especially sports competitions; to test someone's skill and abilities”).  Who can turn down a legitimate Challenge – whether from someone else or ourselves?

Really, reframing the term “problem” to “Challenge” or “Obstacle” should be done as soon as one begins thinking that he or she has a “problem.”  In terms of actual timing, therefore, Step Six should be tackled right along with Step One.  Thinking of your undesired conditions or circumstances as a Challenge or mere Obstacle ab initio will do wonders for your Mental State and accelerate your progress in realizing your optimum Solution.

Next, it is highly important to understand – and further reframe the undesired conditions and circumstances that we now call a Challenge or Obstacle – that ALL Challenges or Obstacles are invitations to Growth.  Yes, indeed!  When faced with a Challenge or Obstacle, your present inability to solve or find the Solution stems from your present Level of Awareness.  In Step Five, we explored how this Ignorance gives rise to fatal-thinking Obstructions and how they must be eliminated.  This MUST be true, for if your present Level of Awareness was sufficient, you would already have the Solution.  As such, to realize the Solution, you must Grow your current Level of Awareness.

The fact that you don’t have the Solution is evidence that you must increase your present Level of Awareness.

Understand that reasons for Growth are usually irrelevant, for Growth is inherently Good.  Nature is always seeking further Expansion, Expression and Growth.  By Growing – whether intellectually, Spiritually, emotionally, physically – you are fulfilling one of the greatest of our human duties.  We were born to Grow and it is God’s calling that we all Grow and live to our full Potential.  Face it: We were not born to spend our lives on the sofa watching television.

It is therefore critical to Understand that whatever your Challenge or Obstacle, it is an invitation to GROW.  And, in some strange fashion which we may not readily comprehend, it may be a Divine mandate to do so.

When you realize the Solution to your Challenge or Obstacle, you will necessarily be at a higher Level of Awareness.  And, if the nature of your Challenge or Obstacle was most difficult – perhaps oppressive – your Level of Awareness will be even higher.  You may have even developed Character along the way, one of the greatest of all personality traits.

Lastly, keep in mind that all Obstacles are mere stepping stones to achieving a greater Good – a certain Goal or Success.  In order to achieve any objective, you must necessarily face and overcome the Obstacles or Challenges along the way requisite to attaining that Success. (See Posts, "Success Strategy: Converting Obstacles to Stepping Stones: The Key to Victory," March 7, 2010, and "Success Key 5: Embrace Obstacles, the Stepping Stones to Success," January 23, 2010).

Step Seven: Take Action

Step Seven is simple: Take Action.

What kind of Action?  Any Action.

The key here is that you need not necessarily know precisely what to do to – just begin.  If you knew the precise set of Action Steps to realize the Solution, you would have already taken that course and the Obstacle resolved.  What is important is that you begin solving the Obstacle by taking any Action – as long as it is not impulsive and based on irrational emotion or Obstruction.

Action is Empowering.  Action increases Levels of Awareness.  Action creates Opportunity.

Once you have taken that first Action step, you are on the path to finally addressing the undesired conditions and circumstances.  Even if those first Action steps are just tiny steps, you are nonetheless on the way and knowledge of the simple fact is quite empowering.

It is important to note that, while the initial Action Steps may not lead you in the right direction, valuable information – in the form of feedback – is always gained.  At the very least, you will discover what doesn’t work – and you may move on to Plan B.  No Action taken ever results in failure; valuable information is always obtained.  The key is to keep trying, keep moving, and keep taking Action.  You will find the way!

Sometimes taking Action is 50% of the process towards realizing the Solution.  You may think that attaining the resolution will take much time and effort, but then after taking that first Action step, you come to realize that the Challenge is not as substantial as you previously thought – perhaps it is even easy.  I cannot tell you how many times that the “bark” that I feared was actually worse than the “bite.”  The so-called “problem” turned out to be an easy, no-brainer and I regretted the fact that I had not taken Action earlier – it would have saved me significant time, energy and resources.

You will usually discover as you take Action that what you perceived to be insurmountable isn’t, and that solving the situation will not be the effort that you imagined.  You will not come to that realization, however, unless and until Action is actually taken.

Roll up your sleeves and get started.

Step Eight: Time and the Law of Gestation

Everything has its season and the Universe works in cyclic, rhythmic fashion.

If your present Challenge is to find a way to feed your family today, the solution is not planting corn.  There is the Law of Gestation: after planting, the corn seed must geminate, sprout, grow (and grow and grow and grow) and bear fruit.  The fruit, the ears of corn (really a grain) must properly mature and then you must harvest it.  All of this will take a certain amount of time over which you have very little control.

All seeds – including Seeds of Thought and Greatness – have a gestation period.  There is a Law of Cause and Effect, but there also is the Law of Gestation, which states that the Effects of the Cause will take the time that the Universe (Nature, through our Infinite Creator) requires.

Depending on your particular Challenge or Obstacle, and the Action steps that you take – and the ultimate Solution desired – there will be the factor of time as determined by the applicable Law of Gestation.  Often, we don’t know how long it may take for fruit to bear, but as long as we remain steadfast and true to realizing the Desired result, there will be fruit.

This is also another reason why it is important to be consistent – and persistent – with our Action steps.  With continued Action, Persistence and Perseverance, it is possible to accelerate the process of realizing our Solution within the confines of the Law of Gestation.

For example, suppose that realizing the Solution to a particular Challenge by a particular individual necessarily must require a total of fifty (50) hours of bona fide, consistent Action (by application of the Law of Gestation).  If the individual only dedicates one (1) hour per day towards that objective, it will take fifty (50) days before she finally realizes the ultimate Solution .  However, by devoting two (2) hours of bona fide, consistent Action per day (instead of only one hour), she can accelerate the process and realize the ultimate Solution in half the time: twenty-five (25) days.  Now, if she was really motivated and determined, in theory, she may dedicate ten (10) hours of bona fide, consistent Action per day towards overcoming her Challenge.  Assuming that fatigue, Obstructions, and other inhibiting factors are kept at bay, she can further accelerate the process and realize her ultimate Solution in a mere five (5) days!  So while the Law of Gestation may establish certain time constraints over which we have no or little control, we may accelerate the overall process by more continuous, consistent and persistent Action.

Another insight to understanding the Law of Gestation is a quote from Anthony Robbins: “God’s delays are not God’s denials.”  In other words, God works on a different calendar and clock than we do.

Why is this so important?  Because when many individuals fail to realize the Solution to their Challenge or Obstacle immediately, they simply quit.  Give up.  Abandon ship.  When that happens, one thing is for certain: they will NOT solve the Challenge.

Quitting is “game over.”  Failure.

If you do not immediately realize your Solution, keep trying, keep taking Action steps, keep working these Ten Steps.  You WILL realize the solution.  Chances are that the mess you are in didn’t happen overnight, so it may be unreasonable to think or expect that it may be cleaned up overnight.

Time itself may be just another aspect or feature of the Challenge that you face, so view it as such.  Reframe the nature of the Challenge or Obstacle to further include the time variable.  Don’t make the issue of time another, separate “problem.”  Patience may be required and that virtue is yet another characteristic of Growth.

Persevere.  Persist.  Work it.

Step Nine: Have Faith

The importance of Faith – Faith in yourself and Faith in God – cannot be overstated. 

We could write volumes on the significance of Faith to finding a Solution to your Challenge or Obstacle; time and space do not permit that here.

Napoleon Hill has stated many times, “The man who can is the man who thinks he can.”

If you already accepted the notion that every Challenge or Obstacle has a Solution (Step One), then why not accept the Faith and Belief that you will realize that Solution?

“Ya gotta believe, baby, ya gotta believe.”

If you do not Believe or have no Faith that you will realize a Solution, will you honestly pursue the Solution?  If you answered this question in the affirmative, then you must fancy in chasing ghosts.

Step Ten: The Attitude of Gratitude

Finally, as Step Ten, despite the nature, level and extent of your Challenge or Obstacle, remain Grateful for all that you have.  Seek the Good in your Life and by doing so, the significance of the Challenge or Obstacle will diminish.

Relinquish resentment.  Drop jealousy and envy.  Adopt the Attitude of Gratitude.

Studies have shown that patients with the most severe illnesses fair best in treatment when they are grateful for the Good in their lives – despite the illness – and they reject negative attitudes such as resentment, anger, jealously or envy.  Such mental states are nothing more than Obstructions, discussed in Steps Four and Five.  They not only block your Creative Mind, but they stain your Spirit and become a focal point of your concentration.  This eventually leads to self-absorbed self-pity – and there is no way you will overcome your Challenge or Obstacle if you are engaged in that game.

Be grateful.  Rejoice in the Good all around you!  If you focus on the Good, more Good will come; contrarily, if you focus on the Negative, then you will receive more of the Negative.  This is the Law of Attraction, pure and simple.

If you have trouble seeing the Good and finding Gratitude, grab a notebook and pen and find a quiet, comfortable place to sit by yourself for an hour or so and begin writing all that for which you are grateful.  It may take a little time to get started, but once the juices start flowing, you will be astounded at how much you have written – how much there is in your life for which you should be Grateful.  By the time this exercise is done, you will feel profoundly different and view your Challenge or Obstacle in an entirely different light.

When I feel overwhelmed by a Challenge or Obstacle and see myself starting to slide in a negative fashion, I work my “Gratitudes” by stopping whatever I am doing and spending some time with my children.  An hour of building blocks, reading or just playing with them – and seeing the unconditional Love and excitement of Life in their eyes – has an amazing impact.  Problem?  What Problem?

Adopting the Attitude of Gratitude with honesty and sincerity is the quickest way to jump start out of a “stuck” position.  It works – every time.  But, you need to actually work it, and if that requires some quiet time in isolation with your thoughts and a notebook, then do it.

Conclusion

That’s it.  The Ten Steps to Universal Problem Solving.  With continued practice and patience, you will find these Ten Steps will work Miracles in your Life.

Believe.

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Playing the “Blame Game,” on the other hand, is destructive and dis-Empowering. Every time you seek to unjustly assess blame where it doesn’t belong, you effectively hand over Control to outside factors. You relinquish Control and become a slave to that which you blame. The “blameworthy” person, event or circumstance now owns you – at the very least, in YOUR Mind! You are not in Control. Now, why would you do that?

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Success Key No. 35: Drop the "Blame Game" and Empower Yourself to Succeed

We all do it – some more than others – but assessing “blame” is a common human reaction when matters don’t turn out the way we want.

No wonder.  In this complicated modern world, it is easy to blame others for many of the conditions and strife we encounter.  We blame the government, politics, our parents, our children, religion, foreign countries, our superiors, Republicans, Democrats, the Supreme Court, liberals, conservatives, criminals, the wealthy, the poor, Wall Street, insurance companies . . . . .

I could go on, but I am sure you get the point.  It seems that everyone at all levels these days is engaging in a constant Game of Blame.  “It is everyone else’s fault – NOT mine!”

Guilty as charged, Your Honor.

Playing the “Blame Game,” i.e., assessing blame against others where: 1) the subject of our blame is truly not at fault and/or responsible and/or 2) the real responsibility lies within ourselves, is an absolute death knell to attaining Success and Growth. 

I am only a Student of Success, but this much I have learned: As long as I engage in the Blame Game, by assessing blame on other individuals and/or external events, I am not progressing towards Success.  Nor am I building Character and Leadership – two ecumenical traits to the attainment of extraordinary levels of Success.

True Leaders do not blame.  And, the greatest Leaders are those who have the ability to attain the highest levels of Success, for they have the ability to motivate others towards the attainment of their goal.

But, what is “blame?”  And, how is assessing “blame” different from there being a legitimate “reason,” the latter of which is the cause of an effect?  And, what is an “excuse?”

Understanding the differences is crucial.

Let’s use a simple hypothetical to demonstrate the differences between “blame,” “reason” and “excuse.”

The weather predictions for yesterday and today in the Northeast U.S. have been dire, with heavy rain and high wind.  In fact, we are told by the weather experts that we are having our first Nor’easter of the new season.  If predictions hold true (but already it appears that the weather event has been oversold – at least in the State of New Jersey), we may even experience some creek and stream flooding, particularly because the water saturation levels in the ground are already high from recent rainfall.

And, so, in our example, it rains.  And, it rains very hard, causing some flooding.  The Assumpink River rises above flood stage, and water pours into the basements of some homes located along the river.

This is a classic case of pure “cause and effect.”  Heavy rains cause the river to flood, which, in turn, cause flood waters to flow into the basements.  This is a simple fact and no human interpretation is required to understand what is happening.  The “reason” for the water in the basement is because the swollen Assumpink River has flooded after a record-setting 6 inches of rain in 12 hours.

Notice that in this example we are dealing with simple observed “cause and effect” facts.  The “reason” for the effect (flooded basement) is a cause (6 inches of rain causing the river to rise above its banks).  There is no “blame” here; only a “cause and effect” reason for the basement flooding.

Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with noting a factual reason (cause: flooding rains and river) for the occurrence of an event (effect: flooded basements).  In fact, science and human logic depends on it.  If we were not able to make such “cause and effect” observations, we would not have been able to advance as a civilized species.

The key here is to understand that there is no shifting of fault, responsibility, etc.  It just is.

Not, let’s continue with this same hypothetical, but now bringing some of the “Blame Game” into the picture.

I am an avid outdoorsman.  I LOVE to hike, hunt, fish, camp, ski (or used to, anyways) . . . anything outdoors, ever since I was a young boy.  It so happens that I made plans to take my son on his first small game hunting expedition this weekend, but the rain is now a variable that I must take into account.  After all, it will be rainy and cold – raw – and that’s not fun for a young fellow out on his first hunt.  Besides, animals dislike bad weather as much as humans and will most certainly be hunkered down and out of sight.

So, we end up not going hunting, and in offering my “explanation” to my son, I “blame” the weather for ruining the weekend.  My son is upset, too, and because – like father, like son – he also blames the weather for ruining our plans.  We have been looking forward to this day for weeks and the weather is at fault for ruining what would have been a great experience.

Really?  Who ruined what?  The weather is just the weather.

Unlike the first scenario, where the flooded river and flooded basements were a direct causal effect of the heavy rain – a natural, factual causal relationship – our not going hunting is not.  In truth, I DECIDED not to go hunting.  The fact of the matter is that we still could have gone hunting – rain or not.  As such, the true responsibility for the fact that we did not go hunting is because I made that decision.  The rain didn’t.

By assessing fault on the rain and not accepting personal responsibility for the decision that I made, I have laid blame on the weather.  That, in a very simple hypothetical, is playing the Blame Game.

True Leaders do not blame. And, the greatest Leaders are those who have the ability to attain the highest levels of Success, for they have the ability to motivate others towards the attainment of their goal.

If I was honest about it, I would tell my son that the REASON we are not going is because I don’t want to go hunting in the cold rain and I am fearful that he might not like it under such adverse conditions. (He would probably respond, “So what, Dad, let’s go anyways!).  With that approach, I state the REASON as to why we are not going on our planned trip.  There is no blame.  I accept responsibility for my Decision and Actions.  And, who knows – we may still go and he may have the best time just being with Dad.

Remember, blaming is shifting responsibility from you (where it rightly belongs) to a third party or event.  I could blame the weather or I could accept responsibility for MY Decision.  Yes, the weather may have been a consideration in my Decision, but it is still my Decision nonetheless.

The above hunting example may seem like splitting hairs.  And, to some degree we are, for the differences in how I respond to the adverse weather conditions and our planned hunting trip are subtle.  Indeed, the end result may be the same: in either case, we do not go on our planned trip.

But, understand that the mindset between both approaches is profoundly different and over time would have a significant impact on how we accept responsibility for our Decisions and Actions, shape our lives, and achieve our Goals and attain Success.  We need to be mindful at all times and guard the portal of our conscious thought processes.  That means, even in the most “innocuous” situations – perhaps like the hunting weekend example – we must not play the “Blame Game.”

So, why do we blame?

First, it’s easy.  It is human nature to not want to accept responsibility for Decisions and Actions that may be unpopular with others – or even ourselves.

Second, when we can “blame” a third party or external event or circumstance, it makes us right and the other (person, group, entity or event) wrong (blameworthy).  Again, it is human nature to want to be right – and usually all of the time.  Self righteousness is very powerful and deep-rooted.

Third, similar to number two, blaming justifies negative feelings, thoughts and emotions.  Being angry or upset is “justified” when somebody else is to blame.  We’ve been wronged, darn it, and we have every right to feel miserable.

Fourth, assessing blame can quickly resolve individual indecision.  Don’t know what to do in a particular situation?  Make a “decision,” but blame your decision (and the predicament “causing” your indecision) on someone or something else.  Assessing blame gives you an easy out – especially if you made the wrong decision.

True Leaders never play the Blame Game.  True Leaders accept responsibility for ALL of their decisions and for the decisions and actions of those under their command (a private reprimand may be in order, however).

Take a great football coach.  In the postgame press conference after his team has suffered a brutal loss, a true Leader coach will never blame any particular player or players.  Instead, we hear such phrases as “we failed to establish our ground game,” or “we could not contain our opponent’s pass rush,” or “we committed too many turnovers and failed to convert when in the red zone.”

No blame; just simple “cause and effect” facts, i.e., reasons why the team lost the game (shortcomings that will no doubt be addressed in the upcoming week’s practice).  A true Leader coach will further accept FULL responsibility for these shortcomings by his team.  After all, he is the coach, the leader of the team, and it is his job to coach the team to victories.

A true Leader will also not offer excuses.  Excuses?  What are excuses?

Excuses are assessments of blame that are “dressed up” to look and sound like “cause and effect” reasons.  But, they’re really not.

How can you tell when someone is feeding you an excuse (or you are using one, yourself)?  Listen for the word “but.”

“I’m sorry I am late, BUT . . .” (The other person’ doesn’t care WHY you are late.  All that matters is that you showed up an hour late for an appointment and greatly inconvenienced the other person.  Accept responsibility for your shortcoming.  Don’t attempt to assess blame on some other factor.)

“I would love to help, BUT . . .” (Nobody wants to hear how much you would LOVE to help them, only to be told “but.”  If you have another commitment, just say so.  If it is a situation where you don’t WANT to help, then maybe you need to ask yourself WHY.  If you cannot provide a truthful response on the spot, advise the other person that you have other considerations and that you will get back to them promptly – and do it.  But, don’t feed BS excuses).

All of this does not mean that you cannot properly assess fault against or responsibility with another human being.  If I sneak up behind you and hit you in the back of the head, you would be darn proper to say “That guy just smacked me in the back of the head.”  That is because it is a true cause and effect event.  Just don’t blame me as the “reason” when you arrive home mad and take your anger out on your spouse and children.

What does all of this have to do with achieving Goals and attaining Success?  Everything.

If you truly, honestly and sincerely Desire to achieve your Goals, attain Success and generate Wealth, you will not be able to do so as long as you engage in Blame Game antics.  It is a simple matter of accepting responsibility for YOUR Actions, Decisions, Feelings and Thoughts and not seeking to find fault, i.e., “blameworthiness,” in other individuals or events or circumstances for what rightly belongs to you.

Accepting full Responsibility for your present results is profoundly Empowering.  You take Control of your Life and become the Director of your future.  Nobody else is to blame or is responsible – only you.  How Powerful!

Playing the “Blame Game,” on the other hand, is destructive and dis-Empowering.  Every time you seek to unjustly assess blame where it doesn’t belong, you effectively hand over Control to outside factors.  You relinquish Control and become a slave to that which you blame.  The “blameworthy” person, event or circumstance now owns you – at the very least, in YOUR Mind!  You are not in Control.  Now, why would you do that?

Successful individuals don’t blame.  They accept responsibility for their Thoughts, Feelings, Decisions and Actions.  If they make a mistake and are wrong – they own it, learn from it, and move on.  There is huge Power in that – Power that can propel you to Success.

Blame cannot help you achieve Success.  It can only hurt and dis-Empower you from attaining the Success that you Desire and deserve.

Until next time . . . .

Peace Out, and - Namasté!

To your Health, Wealth, Prosperity and Success,

The Success Manual Team

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Everyone visualizes, whether he knows it or not.  Visualizing is the great secret of success.  The conscious use of this great power attracts to you multiplied resources, intensifies your wisdom, and enables you to make use of advantages which you formerly failed to recognize.  -  Genevieve Behrend, "Your Invisible Power"

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Success Passage: The Power of Principle Over Precedent and the Law of Attraction

Yesterday, we added the Classic Success Manual The Law and the Word by Thomas Troward to The Success Manual Free Download Library.  In the accompanying post, we mentioned that Genevieve Behrend, a New Thought author in her own right, was the only personal student of Judge Troward.  Given the heady writing of Judge Troward, Ms. Behrend's writings - which are de facto Troward teachings - are refreshingly less difficult to read and understand.

Your Invisible Power is probably Ms. Behrend's most popular book and is included in The Success Manual Free Download Library.  I have found certain passages in this work by Ms. Behrend as truly capturing the sum and substance of Troward, most notably, the concept of "Principle Over Precedent."  In sum, Principle Over Precedent means that the past has absolutely no bearing, no relevance on what you can accomplish today and tomorrow UNLESS you allow it.  You have the POWER to take Action today, make Decisions (real Decisions) and implement sincere, lasting and positive change in your Life.

Galaxy NGC 2683, an island universe within the Universe. Expand your thinking, understanding and awareness through the Power of Principle Over Precedent.

Following below are those Success Passages from Your Invisible Power which I have highlighted, underscored and written many notes on in my personal copy of Ms. Behrend's book.  In these Success Passages, Genevieve Behrend focuses on Visualization, the Law of Attraction and the Power of Principle Over Precedent.

I think you will agree this is good stuff.

Until next time . . . .

Peace Out, and - Namasté!

To your Health, Wealth, Prosperity and Success,

The Success Manual Team

 _________________________________________________ 

Success Passage: Principle Over Precedent and the Law of Attraction

Excerpts from Your Invisible Power by Genevieve Behrend

The exercise of the visualizing faculty keeps your mind in order, and attracts to you the things you need to make life more enjoyable in an orderly way.  If you train yourself in the practice of deliberately picturing your desire and carefully examining your picture, you will soon find that your thoughts and desires proceed in a more orderly procession than ever before.  Having reached a state of ordered mentality, you are no longer in a constant state of mental hurry.  Hurry is Fear, and consequently destructive.

In other words, when your understanding grasps the power to visualize your heart’s desire and hold it with your will, it attracts to you all things requisite to the fulfillment of that picture by the harmonious vibrations of the law of attraction.  You realize that since Order is Heaven’s first law, and visualization places things in their natural order, then it must be a heavenly thing to visualize.

Everyone visualizes, whether he knows it or not.  Visualizing is the great secret of success.  The conscious use of this great power attracts to you multiplied resources, intensifies your wisdom, and enables you to make use of advantages which you formerly failed to recognize.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

We now fly through the air, not because anyone has been able to change the laws of Nature, but because the inventor of the flying machine learned how to apply Nature’s laws and, by making orderly use of them, produced the desired result.  So far as the natural forces are concerned, nothing has changed since the beginning.  There were no airplanes in “the Year One,” because those of that generation could not conceive the idea as a practical, working possibility.  “It has not yet been done,” was the argument, “and it cannot be done.”  Yet the laws and materials for practical flying machines existed then as now.

Troward tells us that the great lesson he learned from the airplane and wireless telegraphy is the triumph of principle over precedent, the working out of an idea to its logical conclusion in spite of accumulated contrary testimony of all past experience.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

With such an example before you, you must realize that there are still greater secrets to be disclosed.  Also, “That you hold the key within yourself, with which to unlock the secret chamber that contains your heart’s desire.  All that is necessary in order that you may use this key and make your life exactly what you wish it to be, is a careful inquiry into the unseen causes which stand back of every external and visible condition.  Then bring these unseen causes into harmony with your conception, and you will find that you can make practical working realities of possibilities which at present seem but fantastic dreams.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

In visualizing, or making a mental picture, you are not endeavoring to change the laws of Nature.  You are fulfilling them.  Your object in visualizing is to bring things into regular order, both mentally and physically.  When you realize that this method of employing the Creative Power brings your desires, one after another, into practical, material accomplishment, your confidence in the mysterious but unfailing law of attraction, which has its central power station in the very heart of your word-picture, becomes supreme.  Nothing can shake it.  You never feel that it is necessary to take anything from anybody else.  You have learned that asking and seeking have, as their correlatives, receiving and finding.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

When you first begin to visualize seriously, you may feel, as many others do, that someone else may be forming the same picture you are, and that, naturally, would not suit your purpose.  Do not give yourself any concern about this.  Simply try to realize that your picture is an orderly exercise of the Universal Creative Power specifically applied.  Then you may be sure that no one can work in opposition to you.  The universal law of harmony prevents that.  Endeavor to bear in mind that your mental picture is Universal Mind specifically exercising its inherent powers of initiative and selection.

God, or Universal Mind, made man for the special purpose of differentiating Himself through him.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Nothing can prevent your picture from coming into concrete form except the same power which gave it birth – yourself.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

We all possess more power and greater possibilities than we realize, and visualizing is one of the greatest of these powers, it brings other Possibilities to our observation.

Your personal advance in evolution depends on your right use of the power of visualizing, and your use of it depends on whether you recognize that you, yourself, are a particular center through and in which the Originating Spirit is finding ever new expression for potentialities already existing within Itself.  This is evolution; the continual unfolding of existing through outwardly invisible things.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

The seventh and great thing to remember in visualizing is that you are making a mental picture for the purpose of determining the quality you are giving to the previously undifferentiated substance and energy, rather than to arrange the specific circumstances for its manifestation.  That is the work of Creative Power itself.  It will build its own forms of expression quite naturally, if you will allow it, and save you a great deal of needless anxiety.  What you really want is expansion in a certain direction, whether of health, wealth or what not, and so long as you get it – as you surely will, if you confidently hold to your picture – what does it matter whether it reaches by some channel which you thought you could count upon, or through some other of whose existence you had no idea.  You are concentrating energy of a particular kind for a particular purpose.  Keep this in mind and let specific details take care of themselves, and never mention what you are doing to anyone.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Never forget that every physical thing, whether for you or against you, was a sustained thought before it was a thing.

Thought, as thought, is neither good nor bad; it is Creative Action and always takes physical form.  Therefore, the thoughts you dwell upon become the things you possess or do not possess.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

This first concrete fruition of my study of Mental Science as expounded by Troward’s book had come by a careful following of the methods he had outlined.  In this connection, therefore, I can offer to the reader no better gift than to quote Troward’s book, “The Edinburgh Lectures,” from which may be derived a complete idea of the line of action I was endeavoring to follow.  In the chapter on Causes and Conditions he says:

“To get good results we must properly understand our relation to the great impersonal power we are using.  It is intelligent, and we are intelligent, and the two intelligences must co-operate.

“We must not fly in the face of the law expecting it to do for us what it can only do through us; and we must therefore use our intelligence with the knowledge that it is acting as the instrument of a greater intelligence; and because we have this knowledge we may and should cease from all anxiety as to the final result.

“In actual practice we must first form the ideal conception of our object with the definite intention of impressing it upon the Universal Mind – it is this thought that takes such thought out of the region of mere casual fancies – and then affirm that our knowledge of the Law is sufficient reason for a calm expectation of a corresponding result, and that therefore all necessary conditions will come to us in due order . . .

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

You may feel the necessity for improvement in your finances, and wonder how this increase is to be brought about, when there seems suddenly to come from within the idea itself, the realization that everything – even money – had its birth in thought, and your thoughts turn their course.  You simply hold to the statement or affirmation that the best, and all there is, is yours.  Since you are able to capture ideas from the Infinite through the instrument of your intuition, you let your mind rest upon that thought, knowing full well that this very thought will respond to itself.  Your inhibition of all doubt and anxiety enables the reassuring ideas to establish themselves and attract to themselves “I can” and “I will” ideas, which gradually grow into the physical form of the desire in your mind.

In the conscious uses of the Universal Power to reproduce your desires in physical form, three facts should be borne in mind: First – All space is filled with a Creative Power.  Second – This Creative Power is amenable to suggestion.  Third – It can only work by deductive methods.

As Troward tells us, this last is an exceedingly important point, for it implies that the action of the ever-present Creative Power is in no way limited by precedent.  It works according to the essence of the spirit of the principle.  In other words, this Universal Power takes its creative direction from the word you give it.  Once man realizes this great truth, the character with which this sensitive, reproductive power is invested becomes the most important of all his considerations.  It is the unvarying law of Creative Life Principle that “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”  If you realize the truth that the Creative Power can be to you only what you feel and think it to be, it is willing and able to meet your demands.

Troward says, “If you think your thought is Powerful, your Thought is Powerful.”  “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” is the law of life, and the Creative Power can no more change this law than an ordinary mirror can reflect back to you a different image than the object you hold before it.

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