Their names are icons of American optimism. They are synonymous with success. They walk in notoriety. They are admired by millions of thousands and even millions not only in the United States, but throughout the world. Ziglar, Tracy, Rohn, Waitley, Canfield, Hansen, Robbins, Covey, Alessandra, “Tremendous” Jones, White, and many more. The old guard of positive thinking, inspirational, motivational, and dynamic speakers and writers, like Carnegie and Nightingale, passed their baton to a new generation years ago. Some of the veterans of the current group have already started to hand over to a younger group like Maxwell, Gitomer and Widener. This new and improved group also includes many women like Frapp, Podesta and Jiminez.
But despite all their good press and positive feel-good messaging, does what they have to say really make a difference? Personal development is an $8 billion dollar industry in America. But at the end of the day, will you be a better person because you listened to them? Will listening to them make you more successful in your career? Will you make more money? Will your relationships really improve? Can you really become a better leader just by listening to these experts?
You may be surprised to find that “yes” makes a difference. I think Earl Nightingale said in his classic seminar, The Strangest Secret: “We become what we think about most of the time.” Now, as simple and practical as it may sound, consider its implications for a moment, not just in the realm of motivational speaking, but in all walks of life. What does a surgeon spend much of their time thinking about before becoming a surgeon? Answer: surgery. What does a scientist spend most of the time thinking about before becoming a scientist? Answer: science. What does a professor of theology spend most of his time thinking about before becoming a professor? You guessed it: theology. What does a millionaire spend his time thinking about before becoming a millionaire? Making money.
So it stands to reason that this basic tenet of most success and gender positive thinking is true. We become what we think most of the time. So if you want to change your life, you have to change your mindset. IT’S OKAY. That makes sense. But do you become a doctor just by thinking about it? Of course not. You think about it and motivate yourself to follow a path and you think about it almost obsessively. The success gurus are saying something a little deeper than simply changing the content of your mindset. They are actually saying that you need to change your thought process. In other words, your mind has to be retrained. Your mind was trained to think like a child. You had very little control over that. Perhaps you received good training from your parents, teachers, and peers. Maybe you had lousy training from people who thought you weren’t worth the time or effort. Maybe they even put you down or put you down constantly. Maybe they told you things like you would never achieve anything, or called you a quitter or a loser. Every time you failed at some task, instead of thinking of that failure as a lesson learned, you just reinforced your old training.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where many more people are beaten than are lifted. Imagine what your life would be like if you had a few more people by your side believing in you and cheering you on. What dreams could you achieve?
As we said before, we are not responsible for the early training we receive. However, we are responsible for our lives. We don’t have to let the wrong training guide us forever. If it was wrong, we need to get rid of it and replace it with something that works for us.
Consider Matt Morris. Matt’s parents divorced when he was 4 years old. That leaves enough scars. A year later, his father broke into his mother’s house and killed his boyfriend. He was sent to prison. Matt grew up and failed in every business venture he tried. At 21, he lived in his car. But he believed that he could change. He invested in himself and positive motivational materials. Today he is the owner of one of the largest and fastest growing self-help sites on the Internet, Success University. His company has thousands of clients from more than 146 countries. Featuring America’s passion for personal development, Matt’s site is ranked the #1 personal development site on the web today. He is now a billionaire who is passionate about helping others succeed.
So what is the appeal of Success University and the entire genre of Success Motivation? Mainly, that it helps a person to change their thought process and also to learn some practical principles that can make a real difference. Because all of these speakers are resourceful and entertaining and generally fun and interesting to listen to, people can get daily encouragement, daily inspiration, and daily instruction in some specific area. Just by listening to a CD every day during the commute, a person can earn the class time equivalent of a college degree in just 2 1/2 years. In other words, anyone can become an expert on any subject in the world while driving to work. That is really amazing! Due to technological advances, we can use iPods, PDAs, Smart Phones, Laptops, Home Entertainment Centers, DVDs, Car CD Players, Home Computers, Wii, PS3 as listening and learning devices. Thanks to mp3, mpg and audiobooks, anyone can carry the wisdom of the universe in their pocket.
Does it really make a difference? The millions of followers of these self-help experts would give glowing testimonials to that fact.
I can say from personal experience that it has made a difference for me. The principles of people and relationships that I learned from reading How to Win Friends and Influence People as a teenager have helped me throughout my life. The Leadership Principles I learned from John Maxwell have helped me in my business. The motivational and relationship principles I learned from Zig Ziglar have become guiding principles in my life.
When I was going through a very difficult time in my life and it seemed that everyone in my immediate environment looked at me with disdain and contempt and did not believe in my leadership, it began to be very tempting to throw in the towel. . I was beginning to give in to the negative majority who did not believe we could accomplish the task ahead of us. I could literally feel myself sinking, being pulled down by his opinions. I remember seeing a Tony Robbins infomercial. I had a new program. I didn’t care how much it cost, I just knew I had to get it. I needed someone to believe in me and tell me that I could do it, even if they didn’t know me personally. It helped me turn my life and my organization around. We proceed to complete the task and see the success. But we never would have made it if I hadn’t been able to change my mindset and perspective first.
I recently came across the best Success Library gathered in one place. Success University has combined the principles of distance learning and personal development and created an amazing and surprisingly affordable resource. It includes the best motivational speakers and coaches of modern times. What makes it unique is that a person can not only get the continuing education of life from her, but also have the opportunity to benefit financially while learning. I have loved it ever since I found it and highly recommend it to anyone looking for the best of the best at the most affordable price.
So why not consider investing in yourself first, so you can make a difference in your family and in your world?