Personal Growth – You Control You
“If you let the outside world control you, you’re toast.”
– Bob Proctor
You Control You
I watched a video that Lewis Howes shared of a conversation he had with Bob Proctor about personal growth. In the video, Bob opened up with that line and boy, can I relate to that as of late. I think it’s safe to say that most of us can relate to that! I know of only just a few people who don’t seem to allow themselves to be pushed and pulled at every new wave in the sea of troubles we seem to be in in the present day.
This video was such a great reminder of the joy I get from listening to the wisdom of my elders. He went on to say that although the path to get to your goal may change, when you’re in control of you, the goal doesn’t change. If you’re being run by the world, your goal is being changed all the time. It’s important on your journey of personal growth to remember that only you are in control of you–if you so choose.
Habits
Habits are one of the first things you need to establish when it comes to you controlling you. Lewis asked Bob about any habits he may have that one might not expect he has. His answer was that he studies every day and he’s studied every day for the past 60 years. You might think that’s a typical habit of a successful person, but his answer actually has a bit of a twist. His study material has been the same book that he started back in 1961 – Think and Grow Rich. He reads portions of it every day. He said the one most important principle in the book is persistence.
“Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.”
-Napoleon Hill
Bob advises that you should figure out good habits and keep them for the rest of your life. He says that back around 1939, Albert E.N. Gray wrote, “The common denominator of success — the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful — lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do.”
A young man had asked Albert why successful people like doing those things and Albert replied, “They don’t. That’s why they turned them into habits”. Because habits are a mindless task, we do them without any conscious thought.
Repetition
Repetition– studying the same material. He said that he spoke with Earl Nightingale back in the day and he saw that Earl had a book sitting up on a bookstand on his desk. Bob asked why it was sitting there and Earl said he reads the same two pages for months at a time. He said eventually the principles in the book become a part of him.
“It’s through repetition that you program your subjective mind and it’s your subjective mind that controls your behavior.”
– Bob Proctor
Principle Over Precedent
Bob said the difference between the two is that ‘precedent’ is letting something in the past control you whereas ‘principle’ is knowing there’s always a better way. He explained that he was in high school for two months and then they kicked him out because he was such a lousy student. He ended up getting ‘dumb jobs’ and had a very low self-esteem. He said he was eventually introduced to the book Think and Grow Rich but didn’t feel worthy to read it and learn it.
The person said that his lousy ways were in the past, they were precedent, to let it go. He said it was tough for him to just ‘let it go’. Much like everyone else, he said he was programed to think that in order to be successful, you have to be really smart or have an education. The principle here, however, was that he was going to move forward knowing there was a better way.
Awareness is Key
Bob says this begins with the study of yourself. To know that you are not your body, you just have a body. He said we are all programed to live by our senses, what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch. He said every animal is run by these five senses. However, the difference between us and animals is that animals run purely off of instinct. He said we as humans need to study our greater abilities which are perception, will, reason, imagination, memory, and intuition. These give us the ability to create our own environment.
He says school doesn’t teach us that we can create our own environment. They’re more interested in the development of our own intellect rather than our own awareness. He said a person doesn’t earn $100K a year because they want to earn $100K a year. They earn $100K a year because they’re not aware of how to make $100K a month.
Bob said he never went back to school but with the help of a great team, he has been able to make an impact on people in 91 countries teaching these principles.
What Is Your Destiny?
Are you going to be tugged in every different direction the world pulls you or are you going to control yourself and maintain your goal? Are you going to try to find the secret recipe for getting rich or are you going to be persistent in the habits you know will serve you well over time? Will you let the precedent guide you or your principles? Are you aware of your full potential given all of your greater abilities? What’s your destiny?
I thoroughly enjoyed sharing with you what has inspired me to live better and more fully. I hope with this information you’re able to take on a new perspective and enjoy life for all it’s worth in the short-term and, most importantly, the long-term!
Until next time,
Monica, Account Manager
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