Mitch

Positive Thinking Is Only the Beginning


There is tremendous power in positive thinking—but positive thinking alone will not give you everything you want.

Positive thinking determines the direction. Everything that follows determines whether you ever arrive.

You can believe with absolute certainty that you are going to succeed, but belief without action is only a dream. Success requires turning thought into intention, intention into action, action into habit, and habit into results.

Positive Thinking — Choose the Direction

Positive thinking does not mean pretending everything is wonderful or believing that simply wanting something will cause the universe to deliver it.

Positive thinking means believing that improvement is possible and approaching problems by looking for solutions instead of excuses.

Instead of asking:

“Why can't I do this?”

Ask:

“What do I need to do to make this possible?”

That small change in thinking can completely change what happens next.

Positive thinking gives you the courage to begin.

But then the work starts.

Desire — Know What You Actually Want

Napoleon Hill placed enormous importance on having a definite purpose.

Saying “I want to be successful” isn't a goal because “successful” doesn't tell you what to do tomorrow morning.

What do you actually want?

Define it.

Write it down.

Give it a target.

Give it a deadline when possible.

You cannot create a useful plan until you know where you're trying to go.

A dream becomes a goal when it becomes specific.

Discipline — Do What Needs to Be Done

Discipline is creating procedures that move you toward your goals and following them even on the days when you don't feel like it.

Motivation is powerful, but motivation comes and goes.

Discipline remains.

The person who only works toward a goal when they feel inspired will constantly start and stop. The disciplined person continues moving forward regardless of whether today feels exciting.

Eventually discipline creates habits.

And once productive behavior becomes habitual, something that once required enormous effort becomes simply what you do.

Motivation gets you started. Discipline keeps you moving. Habit makes moving normal.

Hard Work — Turn Thought Into Reality

There is no substitute for doing the work.

You can visualize success.

You can write down your goals.

You can repeat affirmations.

You can read every motivational book ever written.

Eventually you still have to get up and do something.

And then do it again tomorrow.

Hard work becomes much easier when discipline turns that work into habit. What initially feels like sacrifice eventually becomes part of your normal routine.

The objective isn't necessarily to work harder than everyone else forever.

The objective is to work hard enough, consistently enough, and intelligently enough that your effort begins producing momentum.

Planning — Build the Road Between Here and There

A goal tells you where you want to go.

A plan tells you how you intend to get there.

Break large goals into smaller objectives.

Break objectives into tasks.

Break tasks into actions you can take today.

Then periodically ask:

Is what I'm doing actually moving me toward my goal?

Being busy and making progress are not the same thing.

You can work incredibly hard running in the wrong direction.

Hard work needs direction.

Action — Start Before Everything Is Perfect

Planning is necessary, but planning can also become another form of procrastination.

Eventually you have to act.

You will probably not have every answer when you begin.

That's okay.

Start with the information you have.

Take a step.

See what happens.

Learn from it.

Adjust.

Take another step.

Many opportunities only become visible after you begin moving.

You don't need to see the entire staircase to climb the first step.

Persistence — Keep Going When It Gets Difficult

Almost every worthwhile goal eventually becomes difficult.

This is where many people quit.

They interpret resistance as evidence that their idea isn't working.

But difficulty doesn't necessarily mean you're failing.

Sometimes difficulty simply means you're doing something difficult.

Persistence means refusing to allow temporary setbacks to become permanent defeats.

Change the strategy if necessary.

Change the schedule.

Change the process.

Get help.

Learn something new.

But don't abandon the destination simply because the original road didn't get you there.

Adaptability — Be Committed to the Goal, Not the Method

Persistence does not mean repeatedly doing something that clearly doesn't work.

There is an enormous difference between persistence and stubbornness.

Persistence says:

“I will find a way.”

Stubbornness says:

“I will keep trying the same way.”

Your original plan was created using the information you had at the time.

New information should create new decisions.

Changing your approach isn't failure.

Sometimes changing your approach is exactly what prevents failure.

Failure — Turn Mistakes Into Information

Failure is one of life's greatest teachers if you are willing to study it.

When something doesn't work, don't simply ask:

“Who screwed up?”

Ask:

“Why didn't this work, and what can we learn from it?”

Every failure contains information.

Maybe the idea was wrong.

Maybe the timing was wrong.

Maybe the execution was wrong.

Maybe the plan was almost right but one assumption was incorrect.

Find the lesson and the failure suddenly has value.

A mistake that teaches you something becomes part of the cost of learning.

Accountability — Own the Result

You cannot control everything that happens to you.

You can control what you do next.

Blaming circumstances, competitors, coworkers, the economy, your childhood, bad luck, or anything else may occasionally be completely justified—but blame alone doesn't improve the situation.

Ask instead:

“What can I control?”

Then work on that.

Taking responsibility doesn't mean everything that happens is your fault.

It means you refuse to surrender control over what happens next.

Continuous Learning — Never Assume You Know Enough

Success requires curiosity.

Learn from people who know more than you.

Learn from people who disagree with you.

Learn from your competitors.

Learn from your employees.

Learn from your customers.

Learn from your failures.

And sometimes learn from the beginner who asks the simple question nobody else thought to ask.

The moment you believe you already know everything you need to know is often the moment you stop improving.

Knowledge isn't simply something you possess. It is something you continually acquire.

Association — Choose Who Influences You

Napoleon Hill called attention to the power of the Master Mind—people working together toward a definite purpose.

The people around you influence what you believe is possible.

Surround yourself with people who challenge your thinking, contribute knowledge you don't possess, tell you when you're wrong, encourage worthwhile ideas, and expect something from you.

This doesn't mean surrounding yourself with people who constantly agree with you.

Quite the opposite.

The best team isn't a room full of people who think alike. It's a room full of capable people committed to solving the same problem.

Standards — Decide What You Will Accept From Yourself

Goals describe what you want.

Standards describe what you expect.

There is an enormous difference between:

“I'd like to exercise more.”

and

“I exercise four days every week.”

One is a preference.

The other is a standard.

Raise the standards you hold for your work, your relationships, your finances, your health, your education, and most importantly, yourself.

Your life will often rise—or fall—to the standards you consistently accept.

Patience — Understand That Success Compounds

People dramatically underestimate what consistent effort can accomplish over several years while dramatically overestimating what they should accomplish in several weeks.

Small improvements accumulate.

Knowledge accumulates.

Skills accumulate.

Relationships accumulate.

Reputation accumulates.

Money can accumulate.

Experience accumulates.

At first the results may seem insignificant.

Eventually all of those small improvements begin working together.

Success often appears sudden to the person who wasn't watching the years of work that created it.

Courage — Be Willing to Risk Being Wrong

Every meaningful decision contains uncertainty.

Eventually you have to make decisions without knowing exactly what will happen.

That requires courage.

Not the absence of fear.

The willingness to act despite it.

You will make some wrong decisions.

Everyone does.

Make the best decision you can with the information available, observe the result, and adjust.

Fear asks, “What if I fail?”

Courage asks, “What happens if I never try?”

Gratitude — Appreciate Progress Without Becoming Satisfied

Ambition without gratitude can create a strange kind of misery where nothing you accomplish ever feels like enough.

Celebrate progress.

Recognize the people who helped you.

Enjoy victories.

Remember where you started.

Then continue moving.

Gratitude and ambition are not opposites.

You can appreciate everything you have while still working toward everything you want.

Integrity — Don't Sacrifice Who You Are to Get What You Want

Success without integrity isn't success.

There will always be shortcuts.

Some may produce money, recognition, or power faster.

But if reaching the destination requires becoming someone you don't respect, the price was too high.

Your reputation takes years to build and minutes to destroy.

How you succeed matters just as much as whether you succeed.

The Formula

So yes:

Think positively.

But understand that positive thinking is only where the process begins.

Think positively so you believe something better is possible.

Define your desire so you know exactly what you're pursuing.

Set goals so the dream becomes measurable.

Make a plan so you have a path forward.

Take action so the plan leaves the paper.

Practice discipline so action doesn't depend upon motivation.

Work hard so effort becomes progress.

Build habits so discipline becomes easier.

Keep learning so today's knowledge doesn't limit tomorrow's possibilities.

Adapt when reality proves your assumptions wrong.

Persist when progress becomes difficult.

Accept failure as information rather than defeat.

Take responsibility for what you can control.

Surround yourself with good people because nobody achieves anything significant entirely alone.

Maintain integrity so success remains worth having.

Practice gratitude so you don't spend your entire life chasing tomorrow and forget to experience today.

And then repeat the process.

Positive thinking doesn't magically create the life you want.

Positive thinking creates the belief that you can build it.

Everything you do after that is what actually builds it.

Thought creates direction.
Action creates movement.
Discipline creates consistency.
Failure creates knowledge.
Persistence creates progress.
Habit creates momentum.
And all of them together create results.

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