Think & Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill is a treasure known to most network marketers. When studied with a mastermind group, it also breaks the ground so that you can find the treasure buried deep within YOU. Discover YOUR treasure by signing up with the 30 Day Mental Cleanse. Each week we read a chapter from the book, and then write down our thoughts, comments, and lessons learned. Here are my thoughts from this week’s chapter.
Chapter 8 – DECISION: THE MASTERY OF PROCRASTINATION
Sometimes I like to listen to recordings of old mental cleanse calls, previously downloaded to my computer. This week I had the privilege of hearing an awesome lesson by Lawrence B, from last April. He spoke of the importance of listening a lot more than talking. “Too much talking gives me away,” he said. “Do not let the conversation extend longer than it needs to be.” Both he and Hill are referring to conversations with other people, but I couldn’t help thinking that it’s exactly the same with mind chatter.
This is why most of us stay with the mental cleanse for more than 30 days. It’s the only way to cut through the chatter in my mind to see what’s really important, and where my focus should be.
I have so many voices clamoring to be heard, forcing their way to the fore, and wrestling each other for my attention. NOT the least of these is the “tiny tailors” Guy Finley talks about. Tiny tailors who measure and judge us, becoming louder and more aggressive the longer we allow them to do their thing. Give them an inch and they take a yard, seems appropriate here.
Like Eckhart Tolle, Guy Finley focuses on the power of now… learning to live in the present moment. Each day is a day unto itself. Each MOMENT is a moment unto itself. Moment by moment, those voices need to be silenced.
I am great at making decisions, but poor at following through. It’s easy to muster my forces and all my resources, to determine what needs to be done and lay it out clearly step by step. But taking those steps consistently every day is tough. So often I want to bang my head with something that will pound it in there and force it to stay there. I don’t want to be stuck at baby steps. But baby steps are what the Slight Edge philosophy is all about. Small steps taken consistently on a regular basis, steadily toward the goal
I’ve never thought of lack of decision and procrastination as being the same thing. And I’ve certainly never thought of them as being the result of poor self esteem. But of course they are. Why has it always been so hard for me to cry, even when my son died? In my head I know there is nothing wrong with crying when a loved one dies. But I fight it with every fibre of my being, even at the same time as wanting desperately to be ABLE to cry. It’s taken me a long time to realize it’s probably because my mom used to ridiculed me for crying, as if it were WRONG and inconsiderate to show such a sign of weakness.
What is it Michael says? “It’s none of my business what others think of me. My business is what I think of myself.” And that’s all that matters. Who cares if I cry at my son’s funeral or not? My son understood me. And I know the lack of outward, visible tears is no measure of the pain in my heart.
It’s not even four months since the last time we did Chapter 8… but what a lot has happened since then. The last time was Dec.9, just three days before James died. Just this last Sunday we stopped at the scene of the accident. We pass by there many times a week on our way to or from town, but this is the first time the snow had melted enough for us to stop and comb the area for anything we might like to keep. Later that same day we visited the cemetery. It’s only five miles down the country road from us, but again the snow kept us from going there before now. And it hit me that it was 3 months to the day since we were last there.
We all grieve in different ways. Writing is a great release for me. My whole family is helped a lot by talking about James each time we are together. On Sunday afternoon I watched my 10-year-old son Nathaniel stand solemnly and quietly by the grave of his big brother, head bowed and hands folded in front of him as he said goodbye again… and then run off with his little friend to explore the cemetery. And I thought, what a neat picture of living life in the moment. Nathaniel grieves for his big brother, and misses him a lot. But he doesn’t dwell on it, or even cry very much. James’ absence doesn’t keep him from living life to the fullest.
I wanna be just like Nathaniel when I grow up. And, thanks to the mental cleanse and our wonderful mastermind group, I believe I am well on my way.
~ Willena Flewelling
In his recent blog post, The Man Who Knew Too Little, Michael Berry wrote:
