Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 22 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Believe you can succeed and you will – Part 1
— From The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz, Ph.D. (Read an excerpt here.)
The dedication of The Magic of Thinking Big is one of the most beautiful ones I’ve ever read: it tells the story of David J. Schwartz’s son, Davey, feeling “mighty big” when he graduated from kindergarten. Schwartz asked Davey what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he responded, “I want to be a professor.” When Schwartz asked what kind of professor Davey wanted to be, he responded, “a professor of happiness.” And so the author dedicated his book to “a fine boy with a grand goal.”
And the reason why this is relevant to today’s idea is because we’ve previously talked about quitting (here, here, and here), but we haven’t talked much about the mindset of success itself and the importance of setting of grand goals.
Success means different things to different people, yet they’re all good, wonderful, and positive things. “Every human being wants success. Everybody wants the best this life can deliver. Nobody enjoys crawling, living in mediocrity. No one likes feeling second-class and feeling forced to go that way.”
Schwartz goes back to the old adage that says that faith can move mountains. “Believe, really believe, you can move a mountain, and you can.” Not many people believe in themselves and in their grand goals, and thus, not many are able to move their mountains.
The author is quick to point out that some people will think, “It’s nonsense to think you can make a mountain move away by just saying ‘Mountain, move away.’ It’s simply impossible.’ People who think this way have belief confused with wishful thinking. And true enough, you can’t wish away a mountain. You can’t wish yourself into an executive suite. Nor can you wish yourself into a five-bedroom, three-bath house or the high-income brackets. You can’t wish yourself into a position of leadership.”
But, Schwartz says, “You can move a mountain with belief. You can win success by believing you can succeed. There is nothing magical or mystical about the power of belief.”
The belief—the deeply entrenched belief—that Schwartz is talking about is the “I’m-positive-I-can attitude [that] generates the power, skill and energy needed to do. When you believe I-can-do-it, the how-to-do-it develops.”
Let’s remember the quote by Goethe that says, “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.” That act of definitive committing is nothing but the belief that we can do it. And we’ve all experienced—in major or minor ways—how providence moves with the opportunities, coincidences, chance encounters, ideas and the myriad resources that present themselves to help us forge a path towards achieving our goals once we’re fully committed.
“Belief in great results is the driving force, the power behind all great books, plays, scientific discoveries. Belief in success is behind every successful business, church, and political organization. Belief in success is the one basic, absolutely essential ingredient of successful people. Believe, really believe, you can succeed, and you will.”
Stay tuned: tomorrow’s Part 2 will share three steps to develop the power of belief.
ACTION
TODAY: Think of a few times in the past when you’ve fully committed to something (big or small) and made it happen. Do you remember the deeply-entrenched belief you had in yourself to complete your goal? There was zero hesitation as to whether you’d complete it — it was a given that you would. That is what we’re aiming for here. If that belief is not readily available to you now, take a walk down memory lane and dig it up, it’s inside you, believe me. Keep that memory handy, as you will revert back to it when you need to evoke this feeling.
TOMORROW: Come back to read Part 2 of this miniseries.
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