How important is having the right philosophy? Your philosophy is the root of who you are, which is your character and circumstances. The following chart shows how important ones core philosophies really are. Your philosophies dictate your attitude and your attitude drives your actions, your actions become your habits and then your habits create your lifestyle. Ultimately like it or not, your lifestyle designs your character, which is who and what you are and has much to do with your circumstances.
Some of my favorite quotes from As A Man Thinketh by James Allen are: “Circumstances does not make the person – it simply reveals the true self.” “People imagine that thought (or their philosophies) can be kept secret, but it cannot – it rapidly crystallizes into habit and habit solidifies into circumstance.” If you want to change who you are and what you have, focus more on the root of it all, which is your philosophies. Most people spend time trying to alter their attitude or habits, but it’s hard to make sustained changes if you don’t change your philosophies.
Jim Rohn says it best. “You can have every technique in the world and the best product in the world and the finest support system in the world but unless you have the philosophy that drives you to do the necessary things to make it work, then nothing works.”
So now that you understand how important your philosophies are then let’s study what makes up your philosophy. Most all of your philosophies are created by four major input sources. 1. The books you read. 2. The people that you associate with. 3. The things you see. 4. The things you listen to. Most of who you are and what you have are a sum of these four input sources: In the book The Slight Edge, Jeff Olsen tells a story about a shoe shine lady that read romance novels between customers. Over the years she had spent hundreds of hours reading these books. What was the result of all that input? She was after so many years still a shoe shine lady… Imagine if she had read different books that stretched her mind and motivated her into a greater realm of success. I often wondered why a person would settle for working all of his or her life in an 8’ x 8’ cubicle building someone else’s dreams. The answer is actually quite simple. They are surrounded everyday with other people that settle for the same type of lifestyle, thus their associations. They are not encouraged to read any books that would stretch their minds or drive them to want and to have anything more than what they currently have. They settle for insignificant raises and promotions. They listen to their boss or supervisor and that, over time, molds their philosophy into much of who they are.
How do you instantly change your lifestyle and become a different person? Well unfortunately you can’t; Your habits today will still be your habits tomorrow. Your attitude today will still be your attitude tomorrow. These things can all be changed, but they take time and discipline. But what you can change today that will have the biggest impact on everything about your life is your philosophy. If you don’t like your current circumstances then simply change the books you read, the people you associate with, the things you listen to, and the things you see. Change your inputs and you can change your philosophies.
Fifteen years ago I was living in an apartment, and earning less than $20,000 a year. I was 28 years old when I was introduced to the incredible world of personal development. I learned for the first time that I had total control over my lifestyle and circumstances. I learned that we all have our own personal sailboat and that it is not the wind that determines where you go in life, but the set of your sail. In fact, the same wind blows on us all. I began changing my associations, reading books like Think and Grow Rich, and listening to audio cassettes from people that had the success that I wanted. Amazingly everything in my life started to change including my bank account. That year I earned over $100,000 which was five times what I had earned the year before. Over the last fifteen years, I have earned over six million dollars in income and have created an amazing lifestyle for my family. I now make more every month than I used to make every year.
I challenge you to decide today that you will no longer settle for mediocrity and an average lifestyle. You were born to be great! Stop settling for table scraps when you can own the whole palace! Remember – changing your philosophies can ultimately change your life!
Your Friend,
Mark Riches
Uncategorized | admin January 31, 2010 | 
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