Today my thoughts come from John C. Maxwell's book, How Successful People Think.
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When I hear the word "successful" many things come to my mind.
I think of someone who seems to have it all together, a person who takes good care of their family, someone who is doing good as far as money and material possessions go. It could also possibly be someone who is in good health, or it could be someone who is simply content and at peace with themselves, or maybe even someone who is focused on being successful in the next life by serving God and others in the process.
I say that to say that I cannot and will not try to define success for
you. However, I do believe the truths that Maxwell lays out in this book can enable
any one of us to move towards what we view as our definition of success.
Read on and I will share some of the highlights from "How Successful People Think".
Whatever comes to your mind when you think of success, this is a book about how successful people think. This book is primarily concerned with the thought process that enables people to be successful.
He says in his book "Thinking is something that we rarely think about".
I hope after you read this post, you will think more about your thinking and better yet, go out and read Maxwell's book to get even more in depth on this important subject. Here is where you can get the book here if you decide you want to read more.
Maxwell says "Reject popular thinking, think for yourself." Another similar quote I like that was not in the book, but from Mark Twain is this, "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
I ask the question. What thought processes in your life are a result of just following what everyone else is doing?
One big concept from the book is "If you want to change your life, change your thinking". This is a critical concept. The Bible similarly says "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" Romans 12:2.
In other words, the only way to have a transformed life, comes through what you are feeding your mind and how you are using your mind. The proper operation and control of the mind is a critical aspect of becoming who you were meant to become.
The good news is that We can all change the way we think. Today is a new day and you are reading this post.
You have a great opportunity right now! You can literally start a process today that could drastically impact your life and has the potential to positively affect generations to come.
Maxwell writes "You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts will take you."
I think this is a very true concept that many people unfortunately miss. At the end of the day if you don't like where you are, or sense yourself getting in a rut, not being challenged, or not fulfilling what you believe you are called to do. I suggest you perform an objective evaluation of any thinking trends that you may have in your life. In one of my previous posts The Danger of Defending What We Are Doing I talk about the danger of defending the status quo in our lives and how it is better to change who we are, rather than defending who we are. Changing our thinking is one of the key ways we can do this.
In Maxwell's book he points out what Socrates said, "An unexamined life is not worth living." Make sure to examine how you are thinking and as a result, living from time to time.
He also wrote "that we need to look back to appreciate what comes ahead." Shakespeare said that "Experience is a jewel". It is important to learn from the good and bad experiences of life and view those experiences as a treasure to be cultivated.
One often missed point, is the value of other people's experiences. You have the opportunity to read and learn about other successful people who have "been there, done that, got the t-shirt." I have learned that learning from other people's experiences can benefit you greatly.
There is no shortage of biographies, historical accounts, etc for you to get started! Why try to go through everything for yourself when there are thousands of years of experience documented for you to learn from today!
As we see there is no shortage of good ideas and experiences out there, a quote from the book says
"The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas, as in escaping from the old ones." - John Maynard Keyes
As you look at your life and reflectively examine your current thinking trends, recognize that there is no shortage of proven and supportive ideas that will be new to you, however the greater challenge is pin-pointing and escaping from the old ideas that have become engrained in your life.
One step you can take is to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. He says in his book "Smart people collaborate with other smart people. Surround yourself with people smarter than you." This simple step can help you stretch your thinking.
Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Computers said "Never be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people - or find a different room."
Maxwell says that "Smart thinkers expose themselves to different ideas and types of people."
The question I ask you is. What kind of people are you surrounding yourself with?
He also talks about the power of big thinking. He says to "Think big to be prepared".
How many times have you seen someone seize an opportunity that seemed to be placed on their lap?
I am not saying that every person who gets an opportunity was thinking and preparing for the big picture ahead of time, but I am saying that those who do think about the bigger picture and prepare for opportunities in advance are often ready and actually attract more opportunities to themselves.
This concept is not much different than people who are purposeful about changing their eating and exercise habits to get physically fit. You have to be purposeful about it to see effective, lasting results.
As you think about the big picture and the future, don't lose sight of where you are right now and how that fits into the bigger picture. Maxwell writes that
"Seemingly mundane, trivial details lead up to the grand scheme. Even the most medial task can have significance."
This is especially true when you do what you are doing with excellence and a good attitude. Just because you are not necessarily where you want to be today, does not mean that you will not get there.
How you think, act and respond to your current situation will directly impact your future opportunities.
This brings us to the culmination of this post and a foundational concept in the book. There is a quote in the book by Winston Churchill that says
"There comes a special moment in everyone's life. A moment for when
that person was born. When that moment comes, that person seizes it."
This quote from Churchill may excite you, or it may even scare you.
I hope it more importantly motivates you to continue to grow, to continue to cultivate your thinking and be prepared for that special moment that you were born for!
In closing I will use the wise words of the most interesting man in the world (Dos Equis).
Oh, okay, at least what I think he would say about this subject!
"Stay thinking my friends!"
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