Inner Reflection = Outer Perception

“The mind is everything. What you think you become.”
-Buddha

“I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day.”

- James Joyce

What you are today is what you thought yesterday. Your life is much like a sculpture, one in which your thoughts mold its every shape. If your thoughts are inclined to be positive, your sculpture is destined to become a thing of beauty, bringing you good health, beautiful scenery, and happy feelings. Should they be sufficiently positive, this sculpture will likely attract many, inspiring them with its stature and beauty; leaving a positive impression on the surrounding people and your environment. If, on the other hand, they tend to be negative, that sculpture will become equally unattractive; bringing about bad health, bad habits, and undesirable circumstances in your life. Should you allow your thoughts to become negative enough, you may find yourself walking the earth as either the one who's walked on or avoided all together; of no more value than the concrete of the sidewalk, or perhaps more vile than the odorous pile of dog...well, you know, found on its side path

Sayings like “you get what you give”, “you are what you eat”, “you get what you deserve”, “you reap what you sow”, are all evidence that people are, at least at some level, aware of the relationship between one's actions and consequences. Since one cannot act without first conceiving that action in their thoughts, I find it perplexing how people seemingly struggle to grasp the concept that it's mostly their own thoughts that bring about their life's conditions.

The fact of the matter is, your thoughts become your reality. There's no way to avoid this. There's no way to cheat around it. No short-cut to take. No deals to cut. It is an inescapable, immutable law of life. If you think positively, you will naturally act positively. Acting positively brings about positive circumstances. Making the mental connection between those positive actions and their positive results will inevitably lead to positive habits, which will bring about even more positive conditions. This will, in all likelihood, cause you to develop a positive, happy, and attractive personality. Consequently, you will naturally attract other positive people towards you that can act as support, if not a catapult, to further your positive development.

Have I said “positive” enough?

As you can see, your positivity – new word! – draws to you positive things. That's not to say that negative things won't find their way into your positive “stream”, but they will be FAR outnumbered and easily overcome by the shear weight of all the positive “energy” that you've already accumulated, and continue to attract. It works much like a magnet, the only difference being that positive attracts more positive. The more positive reinforcement you get, the stronger the magnet becomes, until your level of magnetism becomes so great that you can't help but attract all that is good towards you. This positive energy is the key to your peace and happiness. It is the key to your satisfaction and your success. It's the key to reaching every goal that you could ever conceive

This is an example of the “Law of Attraction” (LOA) that you've likely heard a lot about since going viral circa the release of The Secret; a book, later made into a movie, which essentially claimed that LOA is the sole cause of every aspect of our life. One example used in the movie was of a person who was worried about being late. This person found himself hitting red lights at every intersection he came across. He even got stuck in an unexpected traffic jam, caused by road construction. The explanation that they gave for his unfortunate experience was that his worries about being late brought about those conditions that ended up making him late. That is, his worries literally manifested as his reality through the effects that his thought "vibrations" had on his surrounding environment.

This example demonstrates just how literal they were in their assertions about the power of LOA. Despite what The Secret might have you believe, law of attraction isn't s a universally accepted law. We are currently far from having the means to prove or dispel the notion that there's such a driving force behind our reality; an all-pervading universal law of existence, as it were. Such a proof would be akin to proving whether God exists. One can only choose to believe (have faith) that such a universal law exists – as it turns out, such a belief can have its own benefits irrespective of the level of truth to the beliefs, which I explained in an earlier blog entitled  "Power of Belief: You CAN Achieve Whatever You Believe."

Many would contest LOA on the logic that, if it were truly a law of the universe, you'd expect outcomes precisely in line with one's way of thinking, but that clearly isn't always the case. For example, optimistic people have bad things, even atrocious things, happen to them, despite their minds being ruled by good thoughts.  What they may not consider is the effect that other people's thoughts play on their conditions.  In other words, if the LOA is indeed a universal law, it must apply to all humans, and, therefore, the conditions of the world would be determined by the accumulation of all human thought, effecting all people within.  That would explain why bad things can happen to optimistic people and good things to pessimists.  That being said, it does seem obvious to me that optimistic people are more likely to bring about happier, more successful, circumstances in their lives than pessimists; which is in line with what you'd expect if such a law ruled the world.

But that's enough about  LOA.  While it's an interesting theory, one in which I believe there is much truth to, it's not the focus of this post.  It may very well be the driving force behind how the self-improvement principles of this article work, but it's WHAT WORKS that we'll focus on for now, not HOW it works.  I will attempt to explain how it works in a future article based more on my theory of spirituality.

“Whatever results you’re getting, be they rich or poor, good or bad, positive or negative, always remember that your outer world is simply a reflection of your inner world.  If things aren’t going well in your outer life, it’s because things aren’t going well in your inner life.  It’s that simple.”

-T. Harv Eker

I'm sure you're familiar with the common saying that your outer world is a reflection of your inner world? If not, I suggest that you pay careful attention to what I have to say in the following words. If, on the other hand, you have heard this saying before, I suggest that you pay even more attention, because you probably gave it about as much thought as you would concerning the current temperature on the dark side of the moon, before you kicked it to the wayside.

It is, indeed, a fact that your internal world creates your external world. It's not just some mumbo jumbo that some robe wearing bald dudes in Tibet contemplate over during their multi-hour long meditative sessions. It's a cold, hard fact; which is why your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. It's also why you should stamp this thought deeply into your mind, for it's one of the most important bits of knowledge that you could ever gather from your existence in this universe. Understanding this fundamental law of life presents you with the key to your happiness; happiness as your most common state of mind!

Your inner world creates your outer world. Am I too much resembling a parrot for your liking? Well, you still haven't heard it enough, so I'll say it again. Your inner world creates your outer world. Read this a hundred times, and still a hundred times more. Affirm this to yourself. Repeat it in your mind. Do it so much that it starts to hurt your head, then take an aspirin and affirm it to yourself some more. Do all that you can to make sure that this most important principle of life gets passed your so-called “logical” mind and into your unconscious mind. That is, do it until you firmly, truly, and wholeheartedly believe it; for it is only in this state of total belief that you'll be able to apply it for the betterment of your life and, consequently, the live's of those who are close to you.

Perhaps you aren't yet convinced that your level of happiness can be separate from your external conditions; your polluted environment, your broken family, your annoying neighbor, your boring job? Well then, they're obviously related for you; and you, in particular, should pay close attention to the following words.

As they say, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. You could say this is true simply because people have differing tastes or opinions, and you'd be partially right. It actually goes much deeper than that. I'm here to tell you that beauty can be found in everything, everywhere, for everyone; no matter what the form, no matter what the characteristics of the external objects or conditions with which any judgment can occur.

In fact, judgment itself is entirely subjective. Objects, as they are in nature, don't have a built in objective scale of how one rates or compares to another. Without someone being there to judge them; to allow their subjective perception of the object to obfuscate its true reality; the object simply exists, it just is as it is. We place on those objects the characteristics that we use to distinguish their perceived qualities and values with respect to our lives. We each set our own individual, subjective, scales for how things relate or compare. We decide for ourselves what is perceived to be beautiful as opposed to ugly; good and bad; weak and strong; positive and negative; light and dark – interestingly, light is present in all matter, although it may not be detectable to the human eye.

Even the concept of morality (sin), then, lies in the eye of the beholder. Again, whether something is perceived as bad or good is totally reliant upon one's own conceptions of what is bad and what is good. One person's view on the topic might be far askew from another's. In fact, in some cases, one's view can be nearly the exact opposite of another's.

An extreme example would be that of cannibalism I'm sure most people agree that it's a horrible thing to do. Most people would have you believe that they'd starve to death before they'd ever even consider eating another person. Yet, there are cannibalistic tribes out there that'll do it without thinking twice; not because they are evil, but because they were raised with the belief that it is a perfectly natural thing to do.

The fact of the matter is, we see in nature and in people – and, therefore, believe – what best suits our conceptions of reality. No two people's realities are alike. No two people share the same views on what is right and wrong, good and bad, attractive or unattractive. No two people will ever agree on all matters, and that's one of the many beauties of life. We are all individuals with our own unique opinions.

As it turns out, most people's conceptions of all these comparative qualities closely resemble one another because of being raised in a society that promotes a certain way of living, and the evolution of the brain that has resulted from those societies' past ways of living. Which explains why the American view of life is quite different from that of the Middle Easterner's, that is much different than that of the Russian's, Brazilain's, Chinese's, and Tribal African's. They each live under different circumstances, with differing needs given their particular living conditions. By nature, their views are more in line with what best helps them to get around their own set of obstacles. That being said, most any human will probably be more alike than they are different, just as any elephant is to another elephant or fly to another fly, as we have all moved through similar evolutionary paths, promoting life and longevity.

On the one hand this evolutionary process has helped us. Our planet now has over 7 billion people with an average life expectancy of around 68 years, when only 200 years ago there was roughly 1 billion people with an average life expectancy of less than 40 years! The evolution of our species and, more importantly, our brains has brought with it the evolution of technology. We now have better tools at our disposal to promote our health and creativity. Better shelters to provide for our comfort and warmth. We have more amenities, more options, more opportunities. However, with more people also came more competition for resources. More potential for destruction and war. More sources to evoke feelings of hatred and fear (e.g. evolution of weapons), jealousy and envy (e.g. increase in availability of material possessions). While human life is indeed flourishing more so now than ever before, each man is still left to himself to find happiness. For happiness too is subjective, and it is just as easy for one to conclude that the ways of life have improved over the ages as it is that they have deteriorated.

This is where one's perspective comes into play. This is where your slant, your conceptions of what is good and bad, right and wrong can and will create your reality. No matter how many people agree that the world is a beautiful place to live in, and no matter how hard they may try to convince you that it's true, you will never see it the same way unless you work to change the lens that you see the world through.

As impossible as that may sound, I'm here to tell you that it can be done. When using the right methods with a strong enough desire to change, you will change. It takes time and effort. It probably won't be easy, but it can be done.

No matter what your slant is on life. No matter how angry, depressed, or negative you may be, you can become a positive, happy, and healthy person. The catch is that you must truly desire this change to occur. You must overcome that initial fear of what you might become, of what you might lose if you change into a more positive person. You must open yourself up to the change, becoming vulnerable. You will likely be faced with the rather uncomfortable situation of interacting with people that expect you to act a certain way after knowing you for many years, or your whole life. You may even risk losing out on friendships, albeit friends that don't really care about you or your aspirations.

You may not like to hear this, but being uncomfortable is a necessary step towards your growth. You will face some difficult times along the way, but the ends will more than justify the means.

As you move along the path of changing for the better, your confidence in yourself will naturally grow along with it. You'll find that you begin to fear less, and suddenly it'll seem as though many doors will open up to you as the walls created by those fears finally begin to crumble. You'll be presented with opportunities that you may have never known even existed. You'll begin to “see the light”, to see the beauty in life. You'll start to become more attractive to other people; especially positive people, who more readily recognize such traits. Perhaps more importantly, you'll begin to become a source of happiness in others.

As you become more and more satisfied with giving to others, you will naturally begin to receive more back as people show their appreciation for what you bring into their lives. You'll become a magnet of happiness and positivity. You'll become known as the life of the party, the person with that magnetic personality. The free spirit, who lets his light shine for the benefit of all. Someone who can bring a smile to the face of even those who are most down. A source of inspiration for all those people involved in your life. A gift from God, sent down to earth to help the rest get back on track. A constant reminder to others of how joyous and prosperous life can be.

The road to this most desirable of destinations starts with yourself. Remember, your outer world is a reflection of your inner world. So you must begin by thinking positively about yourself and your future before it can ever become your reality. Highlight your positive traits and focus on developing them further. Begin to see the good in yourself, and stop dwelling on the bad.

Learn to accept your imperfections, for nobody is perfect. Learn to forgive yourself of your mistakes, realizing that everyone makes them. Most importantly, learn from your mistakes so as not to make them again, but never dwell on them. Instead, focus on how it might help you to grow into a better person. These are some of the key mindsets of the naturally happy and successful person, and the perfect “mental environment” to allow for your growth

In wholeheartedly committing yourself to doing these things, you'll inevitably find that it brings you positive results. This will naturally build your self-confidence. You'll begin to feel more independent as you realize more and more how much power you have over your own life's circumstances. As you finally build up enough evidence to begin believing in yourself – by far the biggest key in overcoming your obstacles – you'll have so much positive momentum built up that no obstacle could ever stop you from progressing. Before long happiness and success will become a habit, built into your personality. It'll seems as if you no longer have to even try anymore to bring pleasure to yourself.

Once all this is accomplished, there's no way to avoid reflecting this outward onto others. Your new positive attitude will naturally show in your actions, words, and mannerisms without any needed effort. You'll attract to yourself those people who most appreciate those traits, people like you; and, wouldn't you know it, you now naturally see the good in other people. Why wouldn't you? They're like you, and you love yourself. You'll begin to take pleasure in helping other people overcome their own issues, as you no longer feel the effects of your own insecurities. Freed from the constraints of your previous life, it'll all seem like some distant nightmare by now. Free to give your love and attention to all who open themselves up to you, you'll do so with passion and joy. As you give, so shall you receive. Your world will be one that fosters love, peace and happiness for yourself and all others that surround you.

Yes, you'll still have your doubters and your haters. Many people will be jealous of your happy attitude and attractive personality. Some will even have themselves convinced that you're a fake, a phony, a wolf in sheep's clothing. You'll especially rub the pessimists the wrong way, the one's who naturally see the bad in people and situations even when it may not be present. They are likely to see you as the delusional guy. The guy who drinks the koolaid. The dude who refuses to take off his “rose colored glasses.” They may even hate you. But the joke will be squarely on them. They will be sorely mistaken, for not only will you be a genuinely happy and optimistic person, but you could be the person that they needed in their lives to help inspire them to become a happy person like yourself. A gift from god, as it were. Why not? He supposedly works in mysterious ways, right?

“For myself I am an optimist--it does not seem to be much use being anything else.”
– Winston Churchill

“A Lifetime of Mediocrity is a High Price to Pay for Your Safety”

– Todd Henry

You might wonder whether such a happy, optimistic view on life would even be of benefit to you. After all, you're probably convinced that your ways of viewing life are more realistic. That you see things for how they really are. You're probably thinking to yourself, why become deluded? Why surround yourself with this illusion that everything is sunshine and lollipops when it clearly isn't?

This question begs of us to define what reality is. If you go back a little earlier in this discussion, you'll remember me saying that reality is never an agreed upon condition. No two people will ever agree to what is the true nature of the universe. That is, after all, why an opinion is worth only 2 cents. A “realist” is only ever a realist in his eyes and the eyes of those who share his opinion. A pessimist is likely seen as a realist to another pessimist, and so on. It's all relative.

Realizing this, why shouldn't you strive to see the positive aspects of life? Think about this.

The important message to take out of this is everyone has a natural inclination to see things a certain way. Some see things more negatively, while others see things more positively. There's no way to remove your feelings and emotions from the picture and, because of this, there's no way to avoid placing a bit of yourself in everything that you see. So, if you see everything negatively, odds are, you've got some internal problems brewing within that are surfacing in the form of your negative slants on reality. Problem being, you probably think that you view things realistically. You might even fear losing touch with reality, should someone present you with another way of viewing things.

Does any of this sound like it might be describing you?

If that's the case, try this hat on for size. You can agree that “realism” is truly a relative term, correct? Good. Now, think about this. Does your realism bring you mostly happiness? If not, you could potentially, even if only hypothetically, benefit from trying out optimism. So, why not try it out? If it doesn't work out, you could always go back to being a realist. It really can become that simple of a decision.

Luckily you have a choice in the matter. Even with all the painful memories of your past. Despite all the bad luck that accumulated in your life. Despite all the harsh treatment from others and from your environment, you can become happy, optimistic and even successful. Once you have the knowledge of how this all works, all it'll take is a strong desire to change and an unwavering determination to succeed. Think about this. Your incentive here is a life full of happiness for yourself and your loved ones. The motivation necessary to succeed shouldn't be too difficult to obtain as long as you keep this picture in your mind.

I never said it was going to be easy. In fact, it'll probably be the single biggest undertaking of your entire life. But the end will more than justify the means. All your temporary suffering. All the fear that you must face by straying off of the comfortable, safe, path of your current ways of living and your current views on life, will soon be met with all the joy and happiness that you could only once dream were possible.

I guarantee you that doubt will try to creep back up on you. Reality will try to stare you down and spit on all your efforts. Just try to remember that those are only the result of your past beliefs struggling to hold on. They are old residue, left behind by a muddied view of the world. Realize that an objective reality doesn't exist for you, it never has and probably never will. Try not to dwell on those things of your past that developed all your negative beliefs. Keep your eyes off of your rear view mirror, focusing instead on the road ahead. For, your undesirable past is no more than dead weight today. It's true that you can't change it, but you can let go of it. It doesn't have to become you. Realize these truths, and continue to push forward. Before you know it, all those old bad habits, the negative ways of thinking, all the limits that you once accepted will lose their grip on you. You will break free from your past, feeling like a new man. Re-born into a much better, happier, more fulfilling life.

I don't care who you are. I don't care what your past was like, or your present is currently like. You CAN become a happy and successful person. Even if you live in the ghetto. Even if your father abused you as a child, or your mother convinced you that you weren't good enough. Perhaps, you labeled yourself as a victim all along. Maybe you placed all the blame and burdens on yourself. Whatever the case, you CAN change. Your past doesn't have to hold you back. Break free from those rusty chains. Forgive yourself of your past mistakes and your lack of understanding. Forgive all others that you may have blamed for all that is wrong in your life, and move on.

If you must, look to others for inspiration. Search the Internet Search through every history book, if that's what it takes. Try to remain open to other's ideas and views, and allow yourself to become inundated with all the wonderful knowledge of our world's great thinkers. Find that spark that re-ignites your innate drive to realize your highest potential. I'm certain that it's out there somewhere.

There are people, somewhere out there, who've had it worse than you and still managed to live happy and fulfilling lives. Find out who they are. Discover how they overcame their obstacles. Put yourself in their shoes, try to feel how the must have felt. Try to think how they might have thought. Attempt to connect the dots on how they went from what they were and what they had to what they are and what they have. Allow their stories to build a foundation of faith and hope in yourself, that you too can succeed despite all your obstacles.

Should you find difficulty in being inspired through the aforementioned suggestions, look elsewhere. Artwork, music, poetry, documentaries, even a good fiction book can all be good sources of inspiration. Make finding inspiration your number one goal and you are sure to find it eventually. The most important thing is that you never give up. Giving up is the only sure fire way to destroy all your self-confidence and, consequently, any chance you may have ever had of being successful in your quest for a better life.

Remember, you get what you give in life. So, if all you plan to do is spend a couple of minutes between video game sessions, trying to bring about a big change in your life, you're setting yourself up for a sure failure. Be real with yourself. Try to understand that these kind of changes don't typically happen overnight. It may take months upon months of concentrated effort to succeed, but your tenacity is sure to pay off huge dividends in your future.

“Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man.”
– Thomas Paine

I'm of the opinion that people are inherently good. That being said, we're all given the freewill to choose our own paths in life. We literally have the choice to become whoever we want, however we want to express ourselves. We're born into a sea of infinite possibilities, providing us with a plethora of choices at any given moment that can have a huge effect on what we become and how our perceptions of the world around us is formed. Whether we side with the Jesus or Satan within is left up to each of us to decide.

Once again, good and evil are relative terms that not everyone views alike. What I refer to here is what I believe the vast majority of people would agree upon as representing good and evil. In the context with which I speak, to be good is to be in harmony with the greater good of man (e.g. to be selfless, caring, trustworthy, loving, compassionate, etc.). To be evil in this context would be to be in disharmony with others (e.g. to be selfish, deceitful, harmful, hateful etc.).

Although the media might make it appear like the evil outnumbers the good by always focusing their attention on the “attention grabbing” news like murders and other criminal acts, I think that a short study of human history would convince you that the opposite is actually true. For every Hitler and Mussolini there has been an Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and then some. It's interesting to note which side almost always prevails. There's a reason, and that reason is that the good outweighs the evil. Notice too that none of the people mentioned were 100% good or evil. I'm sure Hitler had people close to him that saw his good side, as I'm sure that Abraham Lincoln's wife saw how stubborn he could be about seemingly small matters. It's only human nature. We aren't perfect, but we do have the option to become as good as our self-beliefs will allow us.

As mentioned in my previous blog, self-belief is the biggest key to developing and maintaining your happiness, and why understanding and accepting that your internal world becomes your external world is so important.

“The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.” 
 - Frank Lloyd Wright

The power of belief; I'm sure you've all heard that said once or twice before – especially if you read my last article covering this topic. There is, in fact, a great amount of power that can be yielded by one's beliefs, likely a lot more than you could have ever conceived possible. How else do you think Luke Skywalker was able to discover the “force” inside him?

...well, ok, that was a bad example. Star Wars, although a great movie for its time, was most definitely, entirely, and 100% grade-A fictional. As much as I love me some wookie; alas, they don't exist and neither do light-sabers or the force, for that matter. What the power of belief can supply you with, however, is a clear path to riches, riches beyond your wildest imaginations.

Therein lies the problem, feelings of accomplishment, of self-worth, self-confidence, high self-esteem, and purpose can only be reached through using the powers obtain in one's self-belief. Sadly, many people lack this most fundamental of knowledge. Such people have a tendency to struggle with life, feeling as if they are at the mercy of their external conditions, destined to become whatever chance throws their way. Theirs is a world of fate. In acquiring the knowledge of the power of self-belief, a world of true freewill is opened up to you.

To take this point even further, we create our own limits in life. You heard me right, limits are entirely self-imposed. Feelings of lack. Lack of ability. Lack of love. Lack of strength. They are all self-fulfilled prophecies, imposed on you by your belief that you lack those things. Indeed, you'll find that your external conditions match your inner-beliefs, as it can only be this way. Your outer world is a reflection of your inner beliefs.

Something initiated these feelings inside you, these beliefs about yourself, some time in your past. Maybe it was one of your parents that sparked these beliefs. Perhaps it was a teacher, or a student, or even yourself. At some point, maybe further back than you can remember, a seed was planted in your unconscious mind. It could've been some innocent remark, said tongue in cheek, that was misinterpreted as being an insult. Maybe someone really did insult you, or you experienced an embarrassing situation. Whatever the case may have been, the minute you gave thought to the possibility that “they” might be right, you opened yourself up to the idea that it might be true; you planted that seed of doubt in your unconscious The more reinforcement those seeds got over time, the more they gave root and the stronger the belief became, until eventually you needed no more proof and came to accept it as fact. The result is a world created through the perceptual filter of your mind, a world in which you are lacking.

This “perceptual filter” that is your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If you think big. If you believe that the world is abundant with good and love, it will reward you with the best life has to offer. If, however, you are like the majority of people out there who think small; who place unnecessary limits on themselves, you will be punished with a life ruled by lack. Once your unconscious mind accepts an idea as a fact it will saturate your reality. It will BECOME your reality.

In fact, you will even be surrounded by evidence that confirms your beliefs, as your unconscious mind seeks to assure itself of its reality. Essentially, you'll begins to see whatever you want to see in your environment in order to maintain status quo, in order to protect the mechanisms in your mind that gave you the power of belief to begin with. What was essentially a mental process that had evolved to work for you, is now working against you, sending you spiraling down through a vicious cycle of self-fulfilled prophecies.

No wonder why you're convinced that you're no good. Your mind has created that illusion by magnifying only those things in your environment that reinforce that thought. It is blinding you with negative bias. Your own mind is deceiving you!

Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that way. With the knowledge that I'm sharing with you right now, you can begin to reverse the effects that those past circumstances currently have on your thought patterns and behaviors Conscious awareness of the power of belief is the first, and probably most impactful, step in recovering; in gaining back faith in yourself. It is the first step in realizing your true potential; the potential that God – or nature, if you prefer – intended.

To understand this power is to understand that we are the main cause of our conditions, not our environment, not our parents or our teachers, nor the government, but ourselves. The things we give thought to most tends to formulate our beliefs, which determines our actions that bring with it the appropriate results. Therefore, it should be clear that to control one's thoughts is to control one's conditions.

“Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end preexists in the means, the fruit in the seed”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

You might have been dealt a bad hand to begin your life, but you don't have to keep it. Muck 'em and save your chips for a better hand. While it's true that some people are set up with better,happier and success promoting conditions to start out, all it really amounts to is a good starting hand in a long game of poker. The ONLY reason why they are more likely to succeed than that of a young boy raised in the ghetto is that they had better initial external conditions to help them realize, direct, and formulate the power of their beliefs internally. It doesn't have to stay that way.

The minute you stop allowing the external world to effect you, to mold and shape your thoughts, a magical thing happens. All of a sudden you discover your ability to mold and shape your reality. While most people listen when so many others keep telling them how bad things are and how we are all powerless to change them, growing to accept it as fact, you don't have to.

You don't have to cement your fate to a world full of doom and gloom. You don't have to hand over the cause of the effects in your life to the multitude. You don't have to be at the mercy of your environment. Take your power back! See their words for what they truly are – opinions – and learn to have faith in your own beliefs. If you should happen to make those beliefs sufficiently optimistic, and should you hold them firmly, for long enough, before you know it your world will take a 180 degree turn for the better. You'll realize once and for all that YOU are the true creator of your life's conditions. You're the master of your reality.

Depending on how you go about utilizing this power, it can bring you success in the broadest sense of the term, bringing you from rags to riches; or it can bring you great happiness despite relatively poor living conditions. What it really boils down to is what you want out of life, and this is the biggest key to life after understanding the power we all hold in our beliefs. For those who are more ambitious, that probably means shooting for the stars. For those who are a little more laid-back, who prefer to go with the flow, that might mean happily accepting having a warm home with food on a table surrounded by a beautiful wife and children.

I don't know about you, but I've heard and read plenty of stories about the rich and famous being clinically depressed, and in some cases even suicidal. Yet, I've seen homeless people who can't wipe the smile off of their faces, granted they were likely high on angel dust... but still. But in all seriousness, there are plenty of people out there who are struggling to pay their bills, who are deep in debt, that are happy. They're happy because they've learned how to control their thoughts. They know how to focus their thoughts on the good in life, on the things to be grateful for. Perhaps they will remain limited to a life much like they've always had – a materially poor life – due probably to limited beliefs in themselves, but they will still remain happy because they've trained their minds to make the best out of what's before them.

Now, going back to the rich who are depressed. Why is that? How can it be that they have all that wealth, all those resources at their disposal, all that popularity, all that glamor and still not be happy? It seems to me that they must sense some void in their live's. They must feel that something is still missing. Maybe they never took the time to figure out what they really wanted out of life. Maybe it took them all that time, all those years of watching money stream to them as if it were magnetized to their wallets, before they realized that money and possessions had very little, if anything, to do with what they really wanted to accomplish in life. Perhaps they didn't foresee the trust issues that having so much money would bring to the surface. Can a person with trust issues ever experience the bliss of love? Perhaps they were focused on superficial happiness all along, when they should have instead focused on being sincerely happy. Maybe they look back and see it as time wasted; time that could have been used for more productive work; for developing true passions, and lasting relationships.

Who knows? The point is, only you can know what you want out of life; what your ultimate goal is. Once you get that figured out, and you truly believe in yourself; not superficially, pretending, even almost convinced that you believe in yourself, but TRULY believe in yourself, then you had better buckle your seat-belt, because you are set up for on heck of a fun ride.

On that note, I'd like to go a little more in depth over possibly the most important life tool in your possession – your self-image. How you visualize yourself and your future has a direct effect on your self-esteem and your future success. The way you view yourself in your mind's eye is, in fact, the grand total of your self-beliefs. Your visualization skills are what powers that thought mechanism that I mentioned earlier, what a man by the name of Dr. Maxwell Maltz in his classic self-help book, Psycho-cybernetics calls the “success mechanism.” It could just as accurately be called the “happiness mechanism” or even the “success in dating mechanism”, the important message to take out of this is that your imagination is what ultimately determines how pleasant or unpleasant your life experiences will be.

It seems kind of strange to me that in a world where we supposedly do all our “living” with our eyes open, that most of our future success is determined in the moments that our eyes are closed. Of course, you're actually visualizing all the time, whether you're awake or asleep, lazily reclined whilst cramming potato chips down your gullet; or caught in the heat of battle, with bullets whizzing past your ears in between every forceful beat of your heart. You simply aren't as aware that it is happening when your eyes are open, as most of your attention is split between all the stimuli of your surroundings.

The human mind thinks through its senses (sights, sounds, feelings, tastes, smells), not in words. The combination of these senses forms a moving, breathing “image”that forms the base of every thought. We have all trained our minds to almost instantly translate the more simple images into words, but the original thought is always in the form of an image. That's not to say that every word that you speak has attached with it an image in your mind, but rather that you hold an image in your mind with which you use to describe with your words. It may take only a few words to describe a simple thought, which would be a rather plain, uncomplicated image. However, a much more complex thought, or more detailed and complex image, might take a lifetime or more to describe. That's really all that communication ever is; an attempt to articulate the images of one's mind so that others can most accurately replicate those images in their own minds.

That's exactly why most people will agree that the best story tellers are the ones whose stories “come to life” with detailed images describing the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and physical sensations involved in great detail. A good story teller “paints the scene” in your mind so that you feel as if you are there experiencing what he is telling you. He is, in a sense, teleporting his thoughts, the images he holds inside his head, directly into your mind through his skillful mastery of communication.

Thanks to some recent studies of the human mind, there is much evidence to suggest that the unconscious, or subconscious, mind has a difficult time distinguishing a real experience from an imagined one. Sensitive medical equipment has been used in some of these studies to demonstrate that the neural activity of the brain is nearly identical between experiencing and imagining. Also, the more vivid the imagined experience, the more closely it resembles an actual experience, making it that much harder for the mind to differentiate between the real and the imagined. Realizing the implications of these discoveries provides a clear advantage to anyone who aims to improve their life. It demonstrates that we all have a tool built inside of us that can help us to reach our goals in life. That tool is visualization.

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

- Anatole France

Visualization is focused imagination. It's concentrated thought, focused entirely on the goal(s) you aim to achieve. It's holding a clear image in your head, treating it as if it were reality, essentially tricking your mind into believing that you're actually experienced those imagined things. In other words, it's a method to avert the common misconception that you must gain real world experience in order to improve. Not true. Rather, your subconscious must have a specific type of “experience” in order for you to receive any gains, and that can be attained by either physically experiencing or sufficiently visualizing the right things.

Let's not forget how every thought actually starts as an image. That is, the only thought you can ever have will start with your imagination. It's no wonder then, why your inner world becomes your outer world. Your beliefs, your every thought presents your subconscious with an image with which it must distinguish from the real, the experienced. That's to say, if you think something often enough, it's likely to be accepted by your unconscious as it's bombarded by the same images time and time again. This would especially be the case if the thoughts were vivid, or real, enough so as to make it difficult on the subconscious to spot an “impersonator”. Should anything pass as real, it will have all the same psychological outcomes as having actually experienced those imagined things. Every thought, then, is a potential self-belief.

Now you should understand why your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. It determines whether your great power – the power of (self) belief – is to be used for or against you; to your benefit or your detriment. For a person that doesn't understand how the mind operates; how powerful one's beliefs are; how important controlling one's imagination is; they're at the mercy of their unguided thoughts. Their unconscious beliefs; their perceptions of reality; are like a bunker that is under constant attack. The bunker itself would represent the mental “barrier” between the deeply held beliefs of the unconscious (inside) and thoughts that try to get in. Something that is imagined without too much emotional intensity or in too much detail might have the equivalent psychological impact of a bullet striking the bunker. Only in great quantities, over long periods of time could these bullets ever have a chance of penetration. However, those images that are felt with great intensity and seen with great clarity. Those that evoke strong feelings, awakening more of your senses, are more akin to a missile. It may take only a few of these types of thoughts to pierce through your “mental bunker.” Once they bypass this barrier, the thoughts become accepted as truth. Those new formed beliefs will inevitably weave themselves into what you perceive as real in your outer world.

That barrier is there for your protection. It's there so that every thought that you have doesn't instantly become a belief. It gives your logical mind time to mull over the thoughts, to test them against your current beliefs so as to determine whether they can be of benefit. Once they get passed this protective barrier, they will be guarded with the same level of resistance as they experienced trying to get in. This helps to ensure that you have power to resist any potential sources that might challenge your deeply held beliefs, whether that be an object, an experience, or a deep discussion with another person.

Now that you have a good feel for how it operates, let's move on to the exciting part: it's application for self-improvement!

First, you should try to remove as much tension from your body and mind as possible. Calm your mind as much as possible by removing as many mental, physical, and environmental distractions as possible. Spend a few minutes to focus on progressively relaxing every muscle of your body from your feet all the way to your head. A method that works for most people is to gently flex and release each individual muscle. A good way of calming the mind is to focus on your breathing. Take long, slow, deep breaths that fill your lungs, causing your stomach to rise and fall. Do this for a few minutes and you're sure to have silenced your thoughts many times over. Once fully relaxed, it should be easy to focus all your attention on your visualization session, sure to get you much better results.

Next, concentrate on picturing your ideal(s) in your mind's eye. Make that image as real and exciting as physically and mentally possible. If you can, focus all your energy on this thought. Try to use all your senses. See all the sights of your realized goal(s), hear the sounds, feel the sensations, even use your sense of taste and smell if you can. Make everything as bright and loud and intense as possible. This is how you can create that missile that I was talking about before. This can be a very effective way to help you change your self-image.

Also, recent research on the effectiveness of visualization suggests that viewing yourself in 3^rd person is more effective than that of 1^st person. When viewed through your own eyes, your mind supposedly treats the images as memory. Whereas, viewing yourself in 3^rd person is treated as a new “experience”. You'll get good results either way, but the latter should bring them to you even quicker.

There are many other methods that can be of great benefit to those aspiring to become a happy and/or successful person. Although I wouldn't suggest it, there are drugs out there that psychiatrists will prescribe, should you fit the criteria of a “mental disorder”, that supposedly change the chemical composition of your mind so as to bring your mind to a happier state. Methods that I've personally found to be beneficial, and that I will cover in more detail in later topics include: meditation, hypnosis, positive affirmations, and spirituality.