Earl Nightingale: “We become what we think about.”
Marcus Aurelius: “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.”
Steven Covey: “Begin with the end in mind.”
Gandhi: “A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.”
Proverbs 23:7: “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.”
Napoleon Hill: “What the mind can conceive and believe he can achieve.”
Michael Ellison: “Think it, speak it and act upon it.”
Buddha: “What we think we become.’
At first glance it appears that these men are all talking about the same thing.
Guess again.
I have a friend who is encouraging those who subscribe to his marketing plan to spend fifteen minutes a day visualizing a prize that will be given in thirty days to the participant with the greatest increase in sales. I am one of those participants but I refused to play his game.
My reason is that these eight historical figures appear from the quotes selected to be in support of my friend’s contention that daily wishing makes our dreams come true. A lot of successful people believe this. many do not.
But let’s talk about these eight men. (I wish that he had included Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan.) Since all of these people are being quoted out of context, I am going to see if I can repair some of the damage.
Earl Nightingale was a pal of mine. I know exactly what he was talking about. We argued about it frequently. Earl was a materialist whose Golden Rolls Royce told the world, “This man is a successful genius.”
Marcus Aurelius was a little before my time, but I am a fan, not of his goals but of his beliefs about the sanctity of personal integrity. He wrote primarily about three areas of thought:
!. Desire and aversion.
2. Impulse to act or not to act.
3. Freedom from deception and hasty judgment.
Steven Covey understood the principles of self actualization and the importance of establishing effective habits. His writings were about being responsible for one’s habits and ultimately for the results of these habits. He obviously enjoyed the material things in life but my perception of the man is that he would have enjoyed the company of Marcus Aurelius but would have sought a quick exit if he found himself alone with my buddy Earl.
Gandhi: Here was a name that did not seem to belong in the company of MLM types. On the other hand he did understand the importance of Social Networking. If alive today he would probably have quite a presence on Facebook, employing scores of followers doing most of the posting. And I am certain that he and Earl would have been great friends given the opportunity.
Proverbs 23:7: I can easily imagine that there are those whose philosophy includes the existence of past and future lives who subscribe to the belief that Gandhi’s spirit occupied the persona of the author of this scripture.
Napoleon Hill: This man has probably sold more books than any other success guhru. Earl told me that Hill did not choose that title, Think and Grow Rich.
Michael Ellison: Another friend of mine and a former employer. He is a very wealthy fellow but his life is not wasted on visualizing material stuff. He seems to me to be truly focused on what he calls “being a good steward”.
Buddha? I already told you what that man said. As for this quote, I think that one of his students asked him after a lecture, “Master, I enjoyed your lecture. In a few words were you telling us that ‘What we think, we become.’? And Buddha replied, “Yeah sure, whatever.”
These people in my opinion belong in two groups. One group is talking about the high priority of the accumulation of material wealth. The other group is warning us of a few of the dangers of hanging out with the first group.
“Everybody” says “Great minds think alike.” Naaaaah. They’re just like everybody else. Great minds think. And they don’t let others do all the work and then reap the benefits. They actually get involved. That’s what my friend Blaine does. He’s a good guy and really focused. For every one of my objections, he acknowledged my statement and then rephrased his own. he has a wonderful family and they spend a lot of time together. Maybe he can teach me a thing or two.
Thanks for stopping by. In a couple of hours my grandson Christopher and his wife Tara have invited this big family of mine to meet at a favorite family restaurant for dinner. I wonder what he is up to.
amorphologyologyism 