—By Rebecca Witherspoon, August 21, 2019
“Whatever you focus on grows, what you think about expands, and what you dwell upon determines your destiny.”
—Robin S. Sharma
It’s a simple, well-known, universal truth that whatever you put your focus on grows, and whatever you neglect withers and dies. In our last episode, we talked about the 10 foundational principals that are necessary to understand and implement in order to develop a winning mindset. Today we are going to talk about one of the very real tools you can use to begin to actually refocus your thoughts.
In the last episode, I gave you an action step to write for 10-20 minutes uninterrupted as many things as you could remember about the many things you have wanted to do with your life starting with when you were young and moving forward to the present day. If you haven’t already done that exercise, please take some time today to do that. It’s actually a pretty important exercise. In the next episode I will talk more specifically about why that exercise is so important.
For now let’s talk about a very practical step that you can begin to implement right now, this very moment, to begin the process of developing a winning mindset. I’m going to tell you a secret right now. Please don’t share this with anyone else, because if this got out, thousands, if not millions, of people would be hopping in board and the ride might get a bit crowded. So what is this secret tool I speak of? For it to be so incredibly powerful, it must be really hard to do and difficult to implement in an already busy life? After all, if it were easy, everyone would already be doing it, right? Okay, okay, here’s the secret tool: If you’re watching this video, or reading the transcript of this video, you’ve already begun to implement today’s tool without even realizing it! The secret tool is simply reading books by and listening to uplifting, motivational speakers who have walked in your shoes and have found the path to improving their lot in life.
What? I know, you’re right. Sounds waaaaaaaaay too easy!
When you think about people like Warren Buffet, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk or any number of other highly successful people, you might think there’s no way they have time to sit and read with their obviously incredibly busy schedules. But if you listen to interviews with these people and they are asked what are the top things they do to ensure they stay successful, every single one of them has one answer in common—they read every single day, not for pleasure or entertainment, but to improve and expand their minds. These examples aren’t isolated. A study of 1,200 wealthy people found that they all have reading as a pastime in common. And they don’t read just anything. They are highly selective about what they read, opting to be educated over being entertained. They believe that books are a gateway to learning and knowledge.
In fact, there is a notable difference between the reading habits of the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy. According to Tom Corley, author of Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals, rich people (who,are defined as having an annual income of $160,000 or more and a liquid net worth of $3.2 million-plus) read for self-improvement, education, and success. Whereas poor people (being defined as having an annual income of $35,000 or less and a liquid net worth of $5,000 or less) read primarily to be entertained.
So, if reading is a key part of their success, maybe it’s an important factor in the process of developing a winning mindset? Take a look at your bookshelves and/or your e-books. Ask yourself what type of books you primarily read. If you find you are filling your mind with purely entertainment type books, I would challenge you to begin to incorporate something that is focused on improving your mind in some way. You don’t have to eliminate your entertaining books, but beginning to insert books focused on self improvement will improve your mindset. And isn’t that what this is all about?
If you don’t already have a habit of reading, then I would encourage you to start small and slowly increase the amount you read daily to a level that works well for you. That’s going to be different for everyone. Start with 15 to 30 minutes a day to begin. As I talked about in the first episode of this series, as you consistently practice a new behavior you will begin to incorporate a new habit into your life. Within a relatively short period of time this new behavior will become something you actually look forward to. It will become something you don’t have to actively think to remember to do, it will become automatic. But, remember that everyone is different so don’t get hung up on how long it takes to develop this new habit into something that is automatic for you.
Okay, now that we understand the importance of daily reading to improve and focus our minds, and we know how to begin to implement this new behavior into our lives, what books should you be reading? If you are clueless about what book to start with, I’ve got you covered. Here’s a list of some of my top 20 recommended must reads and audios/videos for anyone who is desirous of improving their mindset, changing their focus, and improving their life. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but it’s a great place to begin.
- The Richest Man In Babylon, by George S. Clason
- How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
- Think and Grow Rick, by Napoleon Hill
- The Dash Poem, by Linda Ellis
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki
- Awaken the Giant Within, by Anthony Robbins
- The 10X Rule, by Grant Cardone
- Anything ever written or recorded by Jim Rohn
- Anything ever written or recorded by Zig Ziglar
- Anything ever written or recorded by Les Brown
- Find Your Why, by Simon Sinek
- One Word That Will Change Your Life, by Jon Gordon, et al.
- The Compound Effect, by Darren Hardy
- The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey
- The Power of Focus, by Jack Canfield, et al.
- The Success Principals, by Jack Canfield
- The Miracle Morning, by Hal Elrod
- Switch On Your Brain, by Dr. Caroline Leaf
- Battlefield of the Mind, by Joyce Meyer
- #Maxout Your Life, by Ed Mylett
ACTION STEP: Choose just one of the above mentioned books or audios and begin reading or listening to it. Some of these books/audios you can find for free online, others you will have to purchase, and virtually all will be available at your local library. All will make a significant deposit into your mindset reservoir and help move you toward your ultimate goal, whatever that goal may be. Once you’ve made your choice, drop a comment below and let’s follow up in a few days or a week to talk about what you learned.
Thank you for being a part of my journey and allowing me to be a part of yours. If you’re open to learning more about this and other topics that could help move you more quickly toward your desired goals, please email me at rwitherspoon608@yahoo.com.
Musings By Rebecca 