Value

“What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve”.  Napoleon Hill.

Hill was one of Americas earliest writers of personal-achievement compositions.  His research into the philosophy of success and personal achievement found him interviewing some of the greatest success stories of his time.  From Alexander Graham Bell to John Rockefeller, from Tomas Edison to President Theodore Roosevelt.

They say that when the pupil is ready the teacher will appear.  Well for me, at eighteen years old walking the aisles of Barnes n Noble, my first professor would fall at my feet, literally.

Think and Go Rich by Napoleon Hill.  Half of what I read I didn’t understand but what I did grasp, I absorbed like soil drinks water.  I trusted him.  My teacher was an advocate for Rags to Riches and I was certainly feeling pretty ragged.

I quickly realized that it wasn’t the kind of book that you read.  It’s the kind of book that you do.  So I did.  And when I was done doing that book I wanted more.  His first book, The Law of Success, broke down a persons potential in steps. Some of them made sense but some were totally greek.  But I check back in with my teacher every once in a while to see if any of these laws jump out at me.  I have spent lots of time with some of these laws over the years, while others have yet to introduce themselves.

Of course once I had one teacher I thirsted for so much more.   Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Carnegie, Og Mandino, Deepak Chopra.  The list is long.  But so is life, and you’ve got to fill it.

Creation, manifestation and undeniable faith define the pivotal moments in our lives.  Our own possibilities for greatness are endless and what we focus on becomes our reality.  I have been spending a lot of time with my friends lately having “pow wow” creative meetings.  We have pooled our resources and are launching a company together that I will share with you soon.

Yesterday we even came up with an idea for a new show and so we are moving forward with a plan of action to bring our idea to life.  The Universe sends down millions of ideas every second and many people receive these ideas in all different forms.  Some spring into action while others sit negatively griping, harping and beside themselves with jealousy.  Yuck.  Where’s the value in that?

We are all here to add value to life not to spread negativity.  On a hike with one my best friends and business partners, I had another epiphany and this is a visual I will never forget.

Being positive is really light.  It’s like a weight lifted off your shoulders.  You have a spring in your step, a hum in your voice and anything is possible.  But then there is also negativity.  Negativity is heavy.  Really heavy.  And there will always be these two types of people.  Negative and Positive.  And sometimes we will be one or the other in our lives.  And when someone is negative, whether they know they are doing it or not the positive wants to save them, help them, uplift them.  As much as we want to uplift them out of the dreary shackles of gloom chances are they will bring us down to where they are instead and here’s why.  Think about this for a moment.  Picture it.

You are standing on a ledge and in your hands you hold a rope and at the end of that rope is something really really heavy (negative).  You start to pull.  You pull with all your might.  But it doesn’t budge.  You can’t lift the heavy at all.   But now picture that you’re the heavy.  You too hold a rope in your hand and when you look up to see what is on the other end of the rope you see something light (positive) above you.  Without a second glance you give a small tug and guess what?  That light (positive) at the end of your rope is now lying in a puddle at your feet covered in negativity.

Sometimes we have to let people work through there own values.  They have to make their own choices.  We can be there for them but we shouldn’t try to lift them or pull them or engage in the negativity because chances are you will find yourself knee deep in unsurmountable turmoil that isn’t even yours.  We all need to go through our own processes.  We need to live and let live.  We can still share with the people we care about and let them know the importance of the value they bring to the world but that’s all you can do.  Suggest.

The way we speak and act toward others and the earth declares the value we bring to the world.  Are we setting good examples for those around us?  What are we saying about our friends and family?  Do we share our own stories or do we gossip about others?  Do we look to see what we can do to better ourselves and the world or do we seek ways to bring other people down to our level?

value |ˈvalyoō|noun1 the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance or preciousness of something 
Let’s find something about ourselves that we value and let’s embrace it for theentire day.  I bet that if we value something in ourselves we will be moresusceptible to seeing the value in others.
Care to wager?

By pcarlson Category: andrew carnegie, benjamin franklin, deepak choprs, manifestation, napolean hill, rockefeller, teachers, think and grow rich, trust, values