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Dream, plan and realise the master keys to success in life
Introduction
Anthony Robbins, in
his book Unlimited Power, maps out a strategy for people to scale
the dizzy heights of success by banishing the word impossible from
their personal vocabulary. He has made a deep study of success and
failure, and to turn failure into success by pouring over the success
literature of the past 200 years. He tells you of the reasons that
made others succeed.
Forms of Power
The road to success, according to Anthony, is always under construction.
It is a progressive path, not an end to be reached. There are several
success stories in America of people who started from scratch. We
live in an era of astounding success - both on individual and organisational
planes.
All of us are entitled to our dreams. But do we always end up by realising
those dreams? Yes, says Anthony, if you have the knowledge and right
strategy. This knowledge gives one the power to achieve, and it has
been described as the commodity of kings by Anthony Robbins.
Power means different things to different people. Much depends on
how power is utilised. Real power is shared power. When people lust
after only power then the results are not always happy. That power
is best which produces results you desire most and creates values
for others.
Successful people of the world do not have any special gifts, which
you and I do not have. They succeed because they have the ability
to take action.
In olden days kings wielded unlimited power. Then came the industrial
era when money became power. More of it the merrier. We are still
living in that age. He who has money controls the industrial processes.
We are witnessing a change in the power pattern. Prof. John Kenneth
Galbraith has put the whole thing in proper perspective, "Money
is what fuelled the industrial society. But in the informational society,
the fuel, the power, is knowledge. One has now come to see a new class
structure divided by those who have information and those who must
function out of ignorance. This new class has its power not from money,
not from land, but from knowledge." Not mere knowledge but specialised
knowledge that makes one powerful. Those who have that specialised
knowledge and the capacity to communicate wield unlimited power like
kings in olden days.
Communication also confers power. Commu-nication is of two types -
internal and external. Internal communication is what we picture,
say and feel within; external communication is what we convey to the
outside world through words, gestures, etc.
All great leaders of the world have been great communicators. They
had a way with words and used them to good effect.
It takes different types to make the world. No two of us are alike.
Some of us are often subject to bouts of depression. It comes about
through mental and physical actions. One can get rid of depression
through sending messages to the brain in the right tone. If by being
depressed anyone thinks he is fishing for sympathy and makes it a
way of life, nothing is gained. Try becoming a robust optimist and
feel the difference. It is within everyone of us to bring about the
needed change. A person can be happy or sad by adopting the right
type of physical and mental attitudes and actions. The mind holds
the key to one's mental and physical wellbeing.
Achievings Dreams
If dreams have to be converted into reality those who aspire for success
should adopt a four-stage approach:
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Define the goal.
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Decisive action
to make a dream come true.
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Assess whether the
actions are taking you near the goal or away from it and attune
the mind to achieve the end.
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Change your behaviour
to get what you want, but do not compromise your morality.
7 Essential
ingredients
To succeed seven things are essential.
Firstly, passion impels people to their goal. Salmon-like they surmount
all obstacles and get what they want.
Secondly, they should have belief in themselves. That is what religion
provides for. It puts faith into those who are tossed around by every
wind. If one has faith in God and faith in oneself tinged with humility;
then that faith can move mountains. Only people who have belief in
their abilities can take decisive action.
The third requirement is to map out a strategy. First the goal has
to be identified and then assess your resources. Then one should be
sure of whom to meet and cultivate to bring about the desired result.
The fourth trait is values. Without values nothing can be achieved.
In our own country, Mahatma Gandhi raised politics to the status of
religion by insisting on right means. That is what Hindu Dharma is
all about. The first out of four endeavours in human life prescribed
by Hinduism is dharma, which is then followed by artha, kaam and moksha.
Bhagwan Swaminarayan also emphasised a moral code of conduct to safeguard
the Bhakti Sampraday He propagated.
As a consequence of values the fifth attribute is excellence.
And the sixth ingredient is unbounded energy.
The seventh element is called the capacity to connect with others.
This power is got through communication skills.
So these seven traits make people highly successful. These traits
feed on and interact with one another.
Internal Communication
Those who fail need not sit back with folded hands and throw in the
towel. The best way for such people is to utilise the internal communication
and buck themselves up. Anthony Robbins mentions names of people who
became cripples for life because of accidents. They had no use for
the world considered normally. Nothing was expected of them. But they
clawed back from the brink of disaster and built remarkable careers.
W. Mitchell was riding a motorcycle at 65 miles an hour. For a moment
he lost his concentration when something on the roadside attracted
his attention. He skidded under a truck, the fuel in his bike ignited
and three-quarters of his body had sustained third degree burns. He
refused to give up and resumed his business career. He had a second
accident; this time an air crash which left his body para-lysed below
the waist. Mitchell never allowed his handicap to come in the way
of his life. He has carved out for himself a highly successful business
career that bridges him in contact with some of the most influential
Americans. He has become a millionaire by sheer grit and God's grace.
In the normal course, Mitchell would have been written off as a hopeless
case. But he had a strong nerve and the right strategy of internal
communication. He sent the right signals and messages to his nervous
system. As the brain received the right type of encouragement and
stimulus through the messages, Mitchell succeeded.
This method of sending messages to the brain to get the desired results
is called neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). Previously it was used
by therapists. NLP provides a systematic framework for directing our
brain. All of us have the same neurology. There is therefore a scientific
basis to the adage, "Man is the architect of his own fate."
All one has to do is to model oneself after a successful person in
the chosen field. A struggling businessman can make a success of his
business by studying the thought processes of a successful businessman.
How he goes about his work? What actions does he take? What messages
he sends to his brain in a given situation? It is well said that those
who neglect their past are condemned to repeat it. If we have failed
in one venture we should analyse why we failed. How we used our brain?
How would successful businessmen interact with his brain in a given
situation. By carrying out such analysis and mapping out a strategy
we would be eliminating the mistakes already made. Thereby we bury
the past once and for all and turn over a new leaf.
A word of caution is needed. Imitation in this case should always
be the first step to creation. Anthony wants all of us to evolve our
own models by looking at those who have succeeded.
This strategy has worked in the case of Mitchell. When he was lying
in the hospital, his friends not only brought good cheer to him through
get-well cards, they read to him of success stories of people similarly
placed as himself. The role model strategy leads to what is known
as Optimum Performance Technologies. It is a holistic system based
on one's beliefs, one's thoughts and perfect linkage between body
and mind. Even if there is a slight gap in the system, nobody can
get optimum results. In the ultimate analysis what messages you send
to your brain decide whether, you succeed or fail. When you fail don't
send the same message and don't take the same actions. Emulate those
who have succeeded. Go a step further, evolve your own model and beseech
for God's blessings.
Potency of Belief
If anyone believes he can do a certain thing no power on earth would
deflect him from the goal. The believer has to be sincere. Sick people
who have belief in the efficacy of medicine are known to have recovered
even when they were given ordinary pills. Their belief in medicine
did the trick. This is known as the placebo effect.
Faith cure is a step ahead in the process. When a saint who is perceived
to have realised God gives something, it is received with great respect
by the devout. After taking it the person suffering from some ailment
gets cured. Such cases have baffled expert physicians because they
pronounced them incurable. It is worthwhile that these beliefs are
not always linked to creeds or doctrines. Anthony says a belief is
any guiding principle, dictum, faith or passion that can provide meaning
and directions to life. When we believe in something we send a command
to our brain. Then action follows. That is the set procedure.
In his book Anatomy of an Illness Norman Cousins, who got rid of his
own illness through belief, mentions a placebo study involving the
groups. They were suffering from bleeding ulcers. One group was given
a drug which, they were told, would give immediate relief. The second
group was told that the drug's potency had not yet been tested. The
pills given to both the groups were useless pills. But 75 per cent
of the patients in the first group who had belief in the pill got
immediate relief. The results regarding the second group were not
so encouraging. Only 25 per cent of them had relief. Such is the power
of belief.
Belief is the doorway to excellence, declares Anthony. There is nothing
static about it. Belief determines how much of our potential we use.
Belief is linked to actions and results. It is not divorced from them.
Beliefs result from the commands we give to our brain. If the commands
are positive, we succeed. If they are negative, we fail. It is as
simple as that. All the experiences - both successes and failures
that we have undergone - are stored in our brain. When we want to
succeed, we should think of those success episodes and shut out our
failures. Such positive thinking leads to fruitful results. We soak
up good and bad things in our mind. But we should control our beliefs
to get success.
Influence of
Environment
One of the main things that affect our beliefs is environment. Given
the right environment we can succeed. People living in ghettos fail
not because of the physical discomfort but because of the environment.
If the child of a drunkard is taken away from the ghetto and brought
up in a more salubrious environment, then there is every likelihood
of his doing better than his father.
Evolve of Working
Strategy
Another way of fostering belief is through knowledge. Direct experience
is one form of it. Other ways of getting knowledge are through reading,
listening, thinking and praying.
By doing a thing once, we will be able to have a belief in ourselves.
We will then be cultivating what is known as the winning or succeeding
habit.
When you aim and make up your mind to achieve the goal you will succeed.
This strategy is called experiencing results in advance. If you are
a salesman earning $3,000 a month and able to pay up your bills and
don't aim high you will continue to achieve the same goal. If you
are ambitious and set a higher goal say $5,000 and reorient your mind
and actions you will be able to achieve it. Anthony commends this
method for a successful sales career. This is what he calls not being
a leaf in the wind. Goals are set consciously and achieved with your
entire mind and heart. Every day is a new day. Every statement and
signal you send to the brain is relevant for that point of time. You
have to keep on changing the strategy and send new signals till one
evolves a working strategy. You have to have belief in yourself on
your ability to succeed. Then nothing will hold you back. Abraham
Lincoln, who after a string of electoral defeats, became the president
of America. He had belief in himself and his system became geared
towards excellence. He could make it to the White House from the log
cabin, even though the transition had not been an easy one.
Building Beliefs
Belief in failure is a way of poisoning the mind, declares Anthony
Robbins. There is no such thing called failure for him. It is only
a result. One who was overweight, according to him produced a result.
Now he should try to produce a result called thin. This may appear
to be explaining away our failures. The author gives seven guidelines
to build our beliefs.
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Everything happens
for a reason and purpose and it serves us. After every seeming failure,
there is a silver lining. Look at the positive side of things. Marilyn
Hamilton became a cripple after a hang-gliding mishap when she was
29. She was confined to a wheelchair. She did not like the wheelchair
and designed a better one and became highly successful in business.
She converted her handicap into a business opportunity. Her company
'Motion Designs' is a multi-million dollar success story.
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What are called
failures should be treated as results and lessons should be drawn
from them. Thomas Edison tried in vain for 9,999 times to perfect
the light bulb. Somebody asked him, "Are you going to have
ten thousand failures?" "No," he said, "I did
not fail. I just discovered another way not to invent the electric
light bulb." We learn through the trial and error method.
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Whatever happens,
take responsibility. That is a great leadership quality. People
will respect such leaders. Statesmen admit their failures. Politicians
crow about their little successes.
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It is not necessary
to understand everything to be able to use everything. Most successful
men know more and more of less and less. They do not use all the
less and less they know. They use selectively what they know. That
serves their purpose. You can spend all your time studying the roots
or spend some time on how to pick the fruit.
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People are the greatest
resource. Japanese companies care for their staff. Dismissal is
a rare occurrence in Japanese work culture. They have great regard
for seniority. These are difficult maxims to follow.
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Work is play. "Make
your vocation your vacation," advised Mark Twain. Pulling a
long face while at work does not make for success or results from
which lessons can be drawn. And finally we come to the most important
part, the vital link in the chain of beliefs - commitment. Without
commitment nothing can be achieved. It is the alpha and omega of
any successful undertaking.
The great Russian Ballerina Anna Pavlova
said: "To follow without halt, ONE AIM: There is the secret of
success." It is another way of stating the Ultimate success formula
- know your outcome, model what works, take action, develop the sensory
acuity to know what you are getting, and keep refining it until you
get what you want. You have to pay a price to succeed.
Author
: Ram Murthy
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