I'm in the process of finally writing my book and I'm happy to share this sample chapter thus far. This is a labor of love inspired by my long career advising hundreds of business owners and leaders navigating change and transformation to take their business to the next level.
“I hold it true that thoughts are things endowed with bodies and breath and wings”. – Henry Van Dyke
Thinking in a certain way.
Most people are aware of the commonly accepted principal that if you’re going to create anything in the physical world you must first create it in your mind. It is a great self-evident fact and law of nature, which cannot be too often repeated–as you think, so it becomes.
Every human being is their own designer, builder, creator. This is especially true for 21st entrepreneurs. And like a creator, creations are made within before they materialize on the outside.
So, If this is such a self-evident fact of life most people can intellectually agree to, why bother spending time presenting an obvious well-worn trope here?
For starters, as obvious as this principle may be, living in our chaotic, complex, cluttered world, is getting exponentially more difficult for human beings to think straight about anything. Look about you. Our modern 21st century world is not exactly a Zen Garden of blissful existence. There’s way too much nonsense and negativity embedding itself into our consciousness clouding our natural ability to “think in a certain way” to make life better.
It's the core discipline of thinking that creates the power to invent, change, transform and elevate our life experiences for the better. Because the mind is the governing factor and power in the quality of our life experiences, the progress of any individual is determined by the ruling state of mind. It is the quality of our thinking that determines our state of living. Thinking in a certain way takes Jedi-level-mind-trick discipline requiring vigilance to be fully present in every moment.
If you don’t agree with this ideology, nothing stated in this book past this sentence will be of much interest or value to you. You can put this book down now.
On the other hand, if you’re an enlightened, open-minded human with wide and tolerant views coupled with wholesome convictions about building your bigger future in life, you’re in the right place. Read on.
The small mind, however, need not remain small and underdeveloped. It can grow and expand into higher expression and creative power. The practice of thinking in a certain way is simple and straight forward–as one improves their convictions, ideas, and mental pictures, they improve their experiences. Anyone can do it. This truth is governed by law. Like gravity, it is always operating. The law tells us the mind is no greater than its conceptions. As one aspires to realize this fundamental truth, one must inevitably grow in understanding and application. The greater the power of mind, the greater the competence to conduct the affairs of life for greater advantage. The ruling state of mind is the governing power of creativity, innovation, and abundance.
If you’re breathing, it’s impossible to stop thinking.
You can’t stop thinking but you can control and change your thoughts. Because thoughts become things, it’s a really good idea to be aware of what you’re thinking about. A person who dwells on thoughts of lack will gravitate toward like conditions and draw in others who are like minded.
Prosperity and poverty in life are not two things; they are merely two sides of one and the same thing. They are but one power rightly or wrongly used. The mind can only hold one thought at a time. We cannot think about plenty and fret about our lack at the same time. Our experiences are the result of the dominant frame of mind. Consequently, our thoughts must be directed to the one thing we desire in order that the desire may be fulfilled.
Nature does not differentiate between the seed of a flower and that of a weed. She causes both to grow. The same creative energy is used for both. And so it is with the mind. Your ideas determine what is planted and grows in your life experience. Nature takes no chances. There are no ifs, ands, or buts involved in her naturals laws. If you throw a rock into the air, it will fall back to the ground. Our thoughts are governed by law with the same exactness.
As a 21st century entrepreneur, if you want to transform your business to higher levels of success, you must first transform your thinking to higher levels of thought. In an unforgiving marketplace, you simply can’t afford the luxury of negative thinking. If you fear your competitors, and believe their presence controls your success, they will. On the other hand, if you believe there is an abundance of opportunity always available, and your thinking is always in that inspired direction, opportunity will always be present for you.
The power that creates your bigger future takes place in the fire of an inner forge–the white-hot center of your intention, invention, intuition, inspiration, intensity, and innovation.
Intention is your desire to create products that people love and can’t live without.
Invention is your capability to bring products from the formless into form.
Intuition is the voice that tells you where opportunities are to be found and what course of action is right to pursue.
Inspiration is what moves you to create more value for people.
Intensity is the measure of your grit and commitment to go “all in” on your ideas.
Innovation is creating new value in the marketplace rather than compete for the value created by others.
This requires the discipline of maintaining a creative frame of mind. For a very small segment of entrepreneurs, these powerful inner forces are forged and strengthened with mastery. These forces become the tools for them to build bigger futures for all concerned. These entrepreneurs are the ones who build remarkable companies. Some of them have become icons and legends we all read about.
Every remarkable business that ever was, is now, or will ever be starts with a formless idea inside the head of an entrepreneur–that incredibly foolish, courageous, committed idealist with a passion, purpose, cause, to improve the condition of a customer’s life. Creating greater value for your customers requires you hold higher thoughts despite the evidence of unfavorable circumstances. If your business is to thrive in an economy driven by ideas, you’ll have to choose between thinking and operating from the competitive plane or the creative plane.
When your business operates on the competitive plane:
It can only win when somebody else loses. You will only bring products to market that are based in incremental user needs, and abundantly available from other sources. You’ll be forced to compete at the lowest price. Crazy ideas that are without form and are unproven will be discounted in favor of safer known concepts and the status quo. Your culture will be motivated by control, competition, and survival.
When your business operates on the creative plane:
There will be no shortage in the supply of opportunity. You’ll innovate and design products that redefine the category, delighting customers with the unexpected, making competition irrelevant. Your customers will experience more use value than they pay in cash value–making price irrelevant. Your culture will be focused on turning possibilities into realities. You will not count transactions but create experiences people love and build trust that marketing and advertising money simply can’t buy.
Make some time to think and take in an honest assessment of the current circumstances in your life and in your business. Whatever things you see around you now is the physical evidence of the quality of your past thinking. We attract only what we think and get whatever is our own.
Thinking in a certain way is the first principle in this Manifesto and the first discipline to master.
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