The Strangest Secret - Plant a concrete, worthwhile goal.

An excerpt from

The Strangest Secret

by Earl Nightingale

George Bernard Shaw said, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them."

Well, it's pretty apparent, isn't it? And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.

Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn't know where he's going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety and worry - his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing... he becomes nothing.

How does it work? Why do we become what we think about? Well, I'll tell you how it works, as far as we know. To do this, I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.

Suppose a farmer has some land, and it's good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn't care. It's up to the farmer to make the decision.

We're comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn't care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn't care what you plant.

Now, let's say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand- one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds-one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land...and what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted.

As it's written in the Bible, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."

Remember the land doesn't care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants - one corn, one poison.

The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn't care what we plant...success...or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal...or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on. But what we plant it must return to us.

You see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.

The Strangest Secret is available for purchase at http://www.simpletruths.com/allbooks.asp

Reflections of 2010

It's late October, 2010, and I've been reflecting lately on the things I set out to accomplish this year.  You know, New Year's Resolutions.  The year isn't over yet, and I'm still working on achieving my goals.  Never give up, right?  So, I thought putting this in writing would be a good check up.  In no particular order, here are some that I've been working on.

Goal #1:  Lose weight.  How many times has that been a goal?  Well let's see, I've been an adult for... seriously, this is my year to accomplish goals.  So far this year, I've lost just over 54 pounds!  Yippee!  I'm halfway to my goal weight, although, honestly, my goal weight is just a number the computer spit out as what I should weigh.  I think I'll know when I get there when I'm at the weight I want to be, but having a number is a good start.

Goal #2: Make money.  Hmm, very vague, so, yes, I've accomplished that goal.  I'd like to make more money, so I will continue working at it, and set a more specific, achievable number in the bank that will mean I've succeeded and even surpassed this goal.

Goal #3: Help others.  Through my business, I have the ability to help people reach their goals.  It's a fabulous way to make a living.  I don't get paid, without helping other people.  I love the concept, and I enjoy the work.  I'm always looking for new people to help.

So the way things stand right now, it looks like my goals for 2011 will be a continuation of my goals from 2010.  I plan to be more specific, and set some real targets.  I think I'll accomplish more if I do.