So you have had a hard day and you have lots of things coming at you – work, deadlines, bosses, personnel issues, organizing a family – and you feel overwhelmed with it all. Your brain is about to explode. Feel like this often? I do at times. How does it make you feel to know that, according to famous Harvard professor and psychologist William James, the average person uses only 10 percent of his mental power? Wouldn’t it be nice to use more?

How can we use more of our brain to not feel so overwhelmed, and more importantly to become the highest version of ourselves that we are seeking to become? An author that had a huge impact on me was Napoleon Hill, from the legendary book Think and Grow Rich. This book instills that your mindset and beliefs are what control your life. From all the research that Napoleon did with the wealthiest of men back in the early part of the 20th century, he realized that what you think about is what you are.

So let’s think about that. What are the dominating thoughts that are in your mind? Do you find yourself thinking and saying things like, “That is only for rich folks.” or “I will never earn enough money to buy a house like that.” or “He is filthy rich!” So what is so filthy about having money? Bill Gates and Warren Buffet don’t look so dirty, and on top of that, they are out creating jobs and bettering the world with all the great things they are doing with their money. If we think money is bad, dirty or evil, how are we going to attract it to us in the quantities that we really desire?

I found that early in my career, I had negative thoughts – like I wasn’t good enough to have lots of money or that it wasn’t possible. It was books like Napoleon’s and others I read that helped me set in place the right mind set to believe that I could have success and the money that I desired. You do this by creating positive statements about your success and wealth and stating them as if they are happening right now.

The subconscious will believe what you think about and set you in motion to get what you are after. This doesn’t mean that you can’t go backward once you have success or accumulated some wealth. Then, you have look at what you have been thinking about and determine whether your thinking is pushing you forward or holding you back.

I was reminded of how I was holding myself back, and how I still might at times, by reading Five Things You Need to Succeed According to Napoleon Hill. I know I let things get in my head that I don’t want there, and so I go back and read and implement things that are discussed in Think and Grow Rich and another great book like the The Answer.

Do you feel like you are getting all you can out of your brain or are you holding yourself back with negative thoughts? Change your belief and change your life, as many great ones have said.

Are you creating the world that you want to live in, or is the world you live in creating you? Is your life what you want it to be, or one you plan to change…someday? If there were a proven method to create the life you want to live, would you use it? What if I said that there is one, and I’ve used it, and it’s changed my life?

Back in the early 90’s I read the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I know it has one of those names that sounds too cliché to believe there is actually a powerful message found inside. It was written in the early part of the 1900”s, after Hill interviewed all the successful men of the day like Ford, Edison, Rockefeller and even a few presidents over the previous few decades.

Hill says “There is a difference between wishing for a thing and being ready to receive it. No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire it”. So how do you get to that level of belief? You do it by creating a reality statement. Then you repeat that reality statement aloud, to yourself, with passion. You work your subconscious into believing in the world you want to create. This passionate belief helps to attract the people and resources that you need to bring it into existence.

John Assaraf, in the book The Answer, says “that thought creates everything” and “Your thoughts not only matter, they create matter. Your thoughts are where your business comes from”. His book is more recent and gives the detailed explanation that Hill did not get into of how the brain works and how recent science can explain this phenomenon. Assaraf discusses how making a reality statement can allow your desires to manifest.

When I started working with my life coach, Steve D’Annunzio, about 10 years ago he helped me create a reality statement. I’ve had many over the years and they all have helped me create the reality that I wanted to live in.

In the next blog, I will share the necessary ingredients to making your own reality statement.

Did you know that if you have 2 piano’s in the same room, and you play a note on one piano, it will cause that same note to vibrate on the other piano without ever touching it?

You can create that same kind of vibration in your life, where you radiate a belief that attracts like-minded people. These people can help you manifest the kind of life that you want to live. This is a follow up to my last blog on reality statements, so if you didn’t read it, check it out here.

1 Brainstorm all the positive things you want in your life. The job, career or business you want to have, the relationship you want to have, the income, the net worth, what you want to give, and any material things or spiritual accomplishments.

2Write out your statements in a clear phrase, present tense (very important) and creating a vivid picture of the world you are creating. It isn’t good to use the word “want”, because that leaves you in a state of wanting something, rather than having it.  Instead, say “I will make a million dollars this year” or “I am giving a million a year to help parentless kids in India”.  Also, adding descriptive details helps you to paint a picture that sinks into your subconcious mind quicker by engaging your emotions.

3Practice autosuggestion and say the statement out loud 3 times a day with passion and emotion. Create the emotion by remembering a time that was a highly positive, emotional moment in your life and relive that moment while saying your statement. This creates the magnetic force that is the attractor.

4This should be done every day for at least 60 days to sink into your conscious mind. Saying it more often is good, and it can also be said in your head instead of out loud.

In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says on planting a seed in your mind “any idea, plan or purpose may be placed in the mind through repletion of thought. This is why you are asked to write out a statement of your major purpose, or definite chief aim, commit it to memory, and repeat it, in audible words, day after day, until these vibrations of sound have reached your subconscious mind”.

For a much deeper explanation of how to create your reality statement read The Answer or The Prosperity Paradigm.

By having the belief and faith around what you want your life to be….you can create it by feeding your subconscious mind the right messages that will set in motion decisions and actions along with attracting to you the resources you need.  Most importantly, it will help us get past our biggest obstacle, ourselves!

Tony Hsieh (Zappos), John Assaraf (from the movie The Secret, and author of The Answer), Guy Kawasaki (Apple), Sir Richard Branson (Virgin) and even George W. Bush (need I elaborate?). All of their messages were very educational and insightful, but there is one in particular I want to share with you.

(a marketing firm) and CEO of The Purpose Institute. This was timely given my recent blog on core purpose. His story was about the power of focusing on your purpose.

Roy has worked with Herb Kelleher (former CEO and Chairman) of Southwest Airlines for decades now, and over the years has helped to support their purpose around freedom of the airways.

Roy showed this video called Hallelujah to help us understand what purpose feels like:

He said when you have these 4 things you will know purpose.

1) You have to know the words to the song

2) You have to listen to one another

3) You’ve got to step up when it is your turn

4) It really sounds good when you sing together…