The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale is a short book uncovering the fundamentals of daily living. The concepts in this book are like what we say "hiding in plain sight." With all the fads that are trending from time to time, it's important to know the fundamentals of living. So that you can judge for yourself, for your life, for your unique circumstances. In the day and age where you get unsolicited advice, be your own guide. As Jim Rohn says " Be a student, not a follower. Don't just go do what someone says."
THE BIRTH OF THIS BOOK:
Earl Nightingale was an American radio speaker who grew up during economically depressed times. He grew up wondering why some of his neighbours were well off while others like his family were struggling. The search for his quest since 9 years old ended in the autumn of 1949 when he was reading Napolean Hill's 'Think And Grow Rich', "we become what we think about."
In 1956 when he was 35, Earl recorded a spoken word which was to be played to a group of salesmen in his absence. The recording became such a hit among the salesmen that they asked for extra copies to pass on to their families and friends. Earl arranged Columbia Records to duplicate the recording and titled it 'The Strangest Secret', and soon over a million copies were sold with no real marketing. The recording was later converted into various print and video forms.
THE STRANGEST SECRET:
"Men simply don't think"
The Nobel Prize winner Dr. Albert Schweitzer when interviewed in London was asked "Doctor what's wrong with men today?" To which the doctor replied, "Men simply don't think." The book compounds on this- the reason why only 5% achieve success. When we take 100men who start even at the age of 25, by the time they reach 65, 1/100 will be rich, 4/100 will be financially independent and 54/100 will be broke. Why do only 5/100 make the cut?
The psychiatrist Rollo May in his book 'Man's Search For Himself' says " The opposite of courage is not cowardice; it is CONFORMITY." And therein lies the trouble today- everyone acting like the person next to him; one trying to duplicate the other without giving it any thought really! In a study done, 19/20 men did not know why they go to work or get up in the morning. Guess that's what everyone else is doing right? We are acting like the 95% who don't succeed. Reason? For lack of better knowledge.
"We become what we think about"
We think in terms of fate and luck and give power to external circumstances. We believe falsely that circumstances control our lives. Quoting Napolean Hill " Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve." This is not some baseless ideology, but the truth. We often undermine our potential and give up in the face of the slightest obstacle. Because for some reason we believe others can do it but we can't.
THE HUMAN MIND:
The human mind has immense potential. It can make whatever it deeply wishes into reality. Your mind is so powerful that it controls your entire body. If your mind is engrained with deep purpose, determined to see it through, it overrides the temporary jadedness of your body. Your mind gives your body the second wind/boost of energy it needs to keep going till the task is complete.
On the other hand, if your mind is void with no real purpose, even if your body is energetic your mind will tell it to go rest a bit and while away the day. Your mind can help you focus, it can also interrupt you a 100times in an hour. It can make you happy, it can also make you sad. It can give you energy, but it can also suck the life out of you; It's a double-edged sword.
Now you know why it's important to have a DISCIPLINED MIND. Do what you said you would do- that's the trait of a disciplined mind. Don't give distraction a vote. To understand your mind let's use the analogy of a farmer and his ground. The ground does not care what the farmer plants, it will return to him exactly what he planted.
So the farmer takes in his hand two seeds- one of corn and the other nightshade(a poison) and plants them. At harvest time up come the two plants- one corn and the other nightshade. In the same way, you can plant success or you can plant failure. The mind does not care. It will nevertheless return to you whatever you sow in it.
WHAT MAKES ONE WEALTHY?
The man who succeeds is one who has a CLEARLY DEFINED GOAL AND TAKES STEPS IN THAT DIRECTION. Sooner or later you will find him at his destination. Why? Because he knew what he wanted and took steps in that direction. Now, what do you want? What is your goal? Don't compare yourself to the next person. Your interests don't align with their goals.
I've learnt that conformity nor adjusting takes you nowhere in life. Did anyone award you for conforming? What about sacrificing in a workplace that constricts your growth? Did you become successful or wealthy adjusting to a job you know is a dead end or what about a bad relationship that brings you mental turmoil?
Now, I don't believe life is easy, I don't believe in the happiness myth either. If you haven't learnt it by now let me break the news to you. Life is a series of obstacles and annoyances to overcome/solve mixed with beautiful moments. Most times these are specific to each individual. Do you know why? Because whether you like it or not these obstacles/annoyances will be the ones leading you to your very unique/specific destiny.
Use life's whispers as a GPS system trying to help you reach your destiny. Every emotion you feel is life speaking to you, to either move in that direction or run away from it. Also, this is not an incentive to take hasty decisions. Do what you got to do to keep the lights in your house burning. But at some point in your life, you need to start taking cost-effective, calculative risks.
The right risks can speed up your process and put you in a better place. Now, I know everything takes time and effort and you need to put in the hours and you need to overlook the small annoyances. But holding on to a safety blanket, a comfortable place, is a problem because you will never grow as a person. Life is meant to be lived not hoarded.
The thing about life is it whispers to you, it always does! It will never force you, it will gently push you towards your destiny. It's up to you to pay heed to the subtle hints/messages it tells you from time to time.
THINGS YOU NEED TO DO- 30DAY EXPERIMENT:
HAVE A GOAL
Something you deeply connect with.
Something that gives you meaning and a sense of purpose.
Remember that money is the result of success, success is not the result of having money.
YOUR WEALTH WILL ALWAYS BE IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO YOUR SERVICE! (yet another secret hiding in plain sight)
2. MAKE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR
For instance, if you want a house- where do you want it? what's the location? how many square feet? do you want a pool? how many bedrooms? what's the floor colour? Do you see the details?
If today your planner asked how you wanted the house to be built? What would you say? You see the importance? You need to see it before starting to construct it?
3. MAKE A PLAN
How do you plan to turn your vision into physical form?
Write down all the steps you need to take in that direction.
4. ALLOCATE TIME, SPACE, AND TOOLS
Time allocation=Commitment
If it doesn't get scheduled, it doesn't get done.
Use all the resources/help needed.
5. OVERLOOK THE IRRELEVANT DISTRACTIONS/SMALL ANNOYANCES
Be willing to lose the battles to win the war.
Be sure to have your eyes on the prize.
Don't fall into one of those decoy traps.
6. EXECUTE
Execute the things you said you would execute.
Potential means nothing if you don't actualise it.
Your excuses may be valid but they will not take you anywhere.
7. HAVE FAITH
Believe in yourself.
It may sound corny, but the truth is whether you believe you can or can't you're right.
The mind is naive. It will return to you what you sow in it.
So, be sure to plant success and not failure.
8. JOURNALING
This is not the type of journal where you write about your day.
This journal is to simply think; To cultivate your creative, critical, and analytical thinking.
This journal is to write down your ideas on how can I be a better father, how can I be a better husband, how can I increase my efficiency at work, and how can I serve my community.
In conclusion,
remember that you are the sum total of your thoughts and that you can achieve that which you can conceive and believe in your mind.
Discipline your mind to execute the things you said you would execute and to have faith in the process.
Lastly, I urge you to read the book or listen to the audio clip; the entire audio clip is under 40minutes. Start with a thirty-day experiment and turn it into a lifestyle.
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