Changing Your Mind
I have been completely obsessed with a couple books that are changing the way I think about life, work, and success.
The first has been my first-of-the-day read for about a year and a half. It’s the first book that’s taken me a year to read — on purpose. Napoleon Hill’s Positive Action Plan contains 365 entries (one for each day of the year) that give you a specific action/attitude/concept on which to focus for that day.
Sections are broken into monthly topics — April was Goal-Setting, May focuses on Action — with an daily dose for each day of the month. It’s a sure-fire way to begin each day in the right frame of mind and develop your mental attitude over the course of a year. I hope I’m a little better this year than I was last year — but I don’t know for certain. As Jeffrey Gitomer says, I’m going to keep doing this for another 30 or 40 years and then decide.
The book is very easy to zip right through, and sometimes I find myself skipping ahead a few days — but I always go back and address that single thought/action for that one day. You won’t feel overwhelmed by the content, and you can make lasting changes over time (not over night!)
The second book is almost the opposite — The Success Principles by Jack Canfield is one big mo-fo of a book! It’s over 500 pages long (vs. Positive Action Plan’s 208). But the same basic principle applies — small changes in your attitudes and actions will lead to big rewards in life. Not just financial (although it will help you increase your wealth as well), but it will help you build a more rewarding work life and family life.
The hardest thing about this book is lugging it around with you. It’s only available in hardback right now, so the hardcover added to the 500+ pages makes it quite the paperweight.
It reminds me of the old joke about “how do you eat an elephant?” The answer is “One bite at a time.” So, I’ve decided to simply start chewing on this great content — a minimum of 5 pages per day. At that rate (only reading the minimum number of daily pages) it will take me over three months to complete! But this is valuable stuff, folks. I’ll be a much richer person when I’m finished eating this elephant, and chances are (from the content I’ve read so far) that I’ll go back for second and third helpings.
In 100 days my mind will be full of enough nourishment to keep me growing as a person for a long time — and you’ll just be 100 days older.
I suggest you start chewing.
————–
PS: Many thanks to my buddy Michael York for telling me I simply HAD to read Jack Canfield’s new book. This is a perfect example of why I always want friends who are smarter than me. Thanks, Michael!
