During our vacation, I read through an inspiring book by Tim Sanders, a people-centric business expert, a former Yahoo executive, and author of Love is the Killer App and The Likeability Factor. Often, I would spend the evenings reading some of the highlights to my wife and middle school kids. I highly recommend this book!
Get a free excerpt here: http://twar.com/free/
Here are some of the highlights of Today We Are Rich: Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence:
Tim shares a beautiful story of being raised by his grandmother Billye who taught him some valuable life lessons about confidence, generosity, and gratitude.
The seven principles include:
- Feed Your Mind Good Stuff
- Move the Conversation Forward
- Exercise Your Gratitude Muscle
- Give to Be Rich
- Prepare Yourself
- Balance Your Confidence
- Promise Made, Promise Kept
Some of my favorite quotes include:
“You can’t control your material wealth, but by cultivating a strong sense of confidence, you can control your attitude about whether there’s enough to go around…. Confidence is rocket fuel. It’ll fill you up and make you believe there will be enough of what you need.”
“Go back to your yesterdays, at times and bathe your mind in the beautiful memories of past love. It will soften the influence of the present worries and annoyances. It will give you a source of escape from the unpleasant realities of life and maybe – who knows? – your mind will yield to you, during this temporary retreat into the world of… plans which may change the entire financial or spiritual status of your life.” – Napolean Hill in Think and Grow Rich
“Your mind is either clear or cluttered with negative thoughts. Self-confidence is a purifier of sorts that reduces the chatter in your head and allows you to fall into a state of flow.”
Feed Your Mind Good Stuff
“The reason it is so important to feed your mind good stuff is that the resulting thoughts determine your success or failure, your happiness or misery, and most important, the circumstances of your life. Those who do not have a diet plan for their minds are subject to their worst memories and the world’s constant fear chatter – and those result in disturbing thought patterns.”
Move the Conversation Forward
To move the conversation forward (toward progress) rather than sideways (a place of confusion) or backwards (conflict and negative), Dump the Shells (Criticism is like pecans: “You can always find a good bite in any information, even intense criticism.”), Frame the News, Face the Worst Case (define the worst case, accept it as survivable, make a goal of beating the worst case scenario), End the Conversation, Trim Your Vocabulary (eliminate “weak” words), Ring a Positive Tone, Be a Collaborator, and Confront the Chicken Littles
Exercise Your Gratitude Muscle
“Gratitude is a muscle, not a feeling…. You can’t change your feelings, but you can change your daily habits to strengthen your sense of gratitude, which will then produce feelings of gratefulness that will reinvigorate you.”
“Almost any negative thought pattern can be broken with thoughts of gratitude. When you ‘think thanks,’ you dial into what you have instead of what you lack. The effect is immediate – you feel positive.”
“Gratitude no only allows you to enjoy the present, but keeps you looking forward to the future…. Gratitude fuels optimism and inspires hope.” – Erwin McManus in the book Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul
“Perhaps the ultimate benefit of gratitude is that it gives you the freedom to frame your entire life as an exciting adventure, regardless of your circumstances…. Gratitude, then, gives you the mental power to transform obligations into opportunities. It gives you the strength to transmute suffering into a growth experience.”
Give to Be Rich
“…there will always be events in your life that are beyond your control…. For these maladies, I prescribe the exercise of giving.”
“Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you.” – Andre Gide
Four Rules for Effective Giving:
- Give as a reflection of your values.
- Give to empower others.
- Expect nothing in return.
- Give all the time.
Prepare Yourself
“There’s a mighty big difference between working hard and being willing to do the hard work required to prepare you for life’s opportunities. The best prepared will always win. To be the best prepared, you need to do some things that aren’t necessarily fun or easy.”
Balance Your Confidence
“the most powerful force in human nature is the spiritual-power technique found in the Bible… faith in God, faith in other people, faith in yourself.” – Dr. Norman Vincent Peale in the book The Power of Positive Thinking
“The next time you hit the wall, think about the why behind your what. See the mission, and picture yourself on a hero’s journey to serve it.”
Promise Made, Promise Kept
“Keep your promises. Fulfill your commitments…. Finishing, especially when you face adversity or difficulty, gives you a growth experience in which self-image improves and, in turn, expands the limits of what’s possible.”
“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” – Benjamin Franklin
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” – Calvin Coolidge
