My Thoughts On John C. Maxwell's Book "How Successful People Think": I think differently
Today I woke up to an audiobook written by James C. Maxwell "How Successful People Think' based on his observations of successful people over his life. This is an important function of humans - the ability to think, and yet, it seems many these days have given up the thought of individuals being able to think original thoughts at all - because of the overuse of technology which is created to subconsciously addict humans to their endless use.
You see, your technology can either work for you or work against you depending on how you interact with it. If you are a person that needs to have your smartphone on 100% of your waking moments and on you, trust me that phone and all the notices that continually go off on it are what are determining your day for you...not you...not really.
John is clear when he writes that people need to go through various types of thinking in order to be successful (which in this case has little to do with amassing the material goods and everything to do with feeling fulfilled by that which you are doing with your life day-to-day).
According to John, first, we need to cultivate big picture thinking - get a vision for your life. Then we need to engage in focused thinking - something that can never be accomplished if you have buzzers and pings going on constantly coming from your tech - those pings are there to tell you of other peoples' agendas for you - never are they your own. Your own agenda is in your calendar with every necessary action that needs to be taken that day scheduled - THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU RULE YOUR OWN DAY!
Creative thinking is next on the list - understanding that it is only from those who create that innovative new ideas along with the products and services that come from it are developed. However, he suggests that you use realistic thinking where I agree with the Kabbalist where being 'illogical' leads to a well-lived life - knowing that you have both the creative ability to come up with the extraordinary and the fortitude to make it your reality. Because we humans do indeed have that power within us if we so choose to use it.
Utilizing strategic thinking comes next because without a strategy and knowing what steps to take to accomplish one's outcome, it becomes impossible to move forward. But here, we also know from the more occult teachings that we only really need to know the end result and the last step to be taken before realizing that we have indeed realized our goal. If you know that then you can work backward and allow the 'how' to come into place taking one step at a time without really knowing all the steps along the way - most of the time we need to test things as we go to find out what will work and what will not for the 80/20 rule is always in play regardless. So, it is persistent action that will get you where you want to go.
Exploring possibility thinking is my favorite type of thinking of all - or even better 'impossibility thinking' getting back to the notion of living out the 'illogical' because of the daring to even allow that type of thinking to be a part of your life. I have myself had many totally illogical twists and turns to my life most of them the most magical times of my life, to be honest.
Reflective thinking is next. I haven't gotten to this point in John's book, however, it is not just important to be reflective in one's thinking, it is also most important to reframe those harsh events to see the positive learnings that were received. One example from many of my clients who had terrible marriages - having their beautiful children for without whom they would never have come into being. Or, another reframe that is often used again with hard relationships - the disconnecting from all that was - to go into a time of personal pilgrimage to get reconnected to one's soul. I had that opportunity on my first trip here to Isreal where everything that needed to be taken care of for my business was done by 2 other people who I trusted (and they proved themselves most trustworthy) to take 3 months to learn that I am my own guru - after looking up to someone else for too long who fell off the pedestal as most humans will - as well as to realize that the most important aspect of my life is indeed the relationships that I have cultivated with those people who have been there for me as I have been there for them through the hardest times of life.
Questioning popular thinking is indeed the cornerstone of our very freedom to live as we choose. When the government starts limiting your ability to interact with others that is a very real subjugation of your ability to learn from those in your world - to be a support or be supported by those in your life and to be a part of a larger movement to change the society from ways that are suppressive to ones that are expansive. I have spoken to the need for critical thinking so many times on this page, that I would be hard put to count the number of times. Without the ability to truly critically think about that which is passed off as 'truth' and instead realize that it has nothing at all to do with the 'truth' as truth demonstrates itself with those things called 'facts' which in themselves can be falsified in ever more clever ways when one cannot understand that context in which these 'facts' are being uttered as truth, when with a much closer look one can indeed see the falsehoods being given as 'truth' when in fact there are no bases for them to be cited as such. This is the one reason that all kids need to go to a liberal arts college to learn from all the disciplines how to decipher the literature given through the ages. It really does help folks to think for themselves instead of being the lemmings that too many people are, too lazy to deeply think, critically think for themselves doing the homework required to be able to do so.
Benefit from shared thinking - again, I would say that this can be a slippery slope as one needs to realize what 'shared thinking' is 'productive' and what 'shared thinking' is 'destructive.' Just look at the societies in which we are living today and we can see all around the world how this is played out in various nation-states and even more so now in the non-nation states as the owners of the largest companies are the ones with the power that are determining how they can most usurp power and gain ever more control over your life if you are willing to see the realities for what they are - most significantly today in how your data that is on all your tech is being used to mine the way you think...Amazon Suggests...Youtube Suggest... the feed in your Facebook, IG, TikTok, Pinterest, etc. And, you thought that you were able to think for yourself...think again...and all those facts about your 'activity' are used for ever more control over how we are moved through our world.
Practice unselfish thinking which has everything to do with how you can be present for those who are in your life. I find it sad how many people say they love their partner, yet in reality, they couldn't care less what they are doing with their days, never mind their lives showing zero interest at all. I would say that this is the opposite of love - as it is really neglect. Most people wrongly believe that abuse is the opposite of love, but it is not - it is indeed being neglected - no interest shown at all that is the opposite of love. If you are in such a relationship, it is best that you exit it and find yourself first before worrying about finding another to compliment you. Because till you know yourself first and what matters most to you - that which you are willing to take a stand for, there is no way to attract an individual that is going to give you that care and interest that any truly loving relationship is based on.
Relying on bottom-line thinking is the last idea that John bases his last chapter. It is only by being able to state that which you are desiring, that goal that so matters to you in a mere sentence that is easy to comprehend that one will be able to take any meaningful action toward achieving that goal. This is true with the mission statement for companies as well. Though most employees don't know what the mission statement of the company for which they work is, never mind what it stands for which is a sad commentary on the world of industry as we have come to know it.
Ever since I was in my undergraduate studies learning both about how to teach those with moderate special needs (which taught me so much about my own learning process) and political and historical studies, I have been a deep thinker, forever grateful for that opportunity to learn from so many disciplines because Curry College is indeed a liberal arts college. This meant that the foundational courses were in anthropology, sociology, writing, math, science, philosophy, psychology, history, and politics whether or not you were majoring in any of them - they were required before moving onto your major area(s) of study to get one to think in many different ways about the world around one. When one has this foundation under them, further learning in certain disciplines will make much more sense in the larger vision that one has for one's self.
When I got into the 'real' world and found it to be so full of hypocrisy in the manner in which the businesses were being run whether it be in the many small and large companies that I temped in, the legal practice that I worked in right out of college, the terrible situations that I found in the worlds of both eldercare and care for the mentally ill - I came to realize that this was not where my time or emotional energy was going - working to find a much more humane and holistic way to help those who most needed the extra help to get their quality of life back (or to be able to die with grace and dignity). Because I knew from my own life's story what helped and what most certainly harmed me more than any of the so-call benefits. But, it was only because of the teachings I received in my undergraduate education, and then in learning how the mind truly works - not the theoretical garbage that is taught in psych courses - more the true manner in which our subconscious or UNconscious (as the late great Dr. Milton Erickson a psychiatrist and hypnotist) would state it, drives our thoughts and behaviors. Later when I learned about the superconscious mind also known as the higher conscious mind with the power that it has to get the protective nature of the subconscious out of the way, did I truly learn how to best help myself first and then my clients. Because, there is ALWAYS a way to figure out what needs to be figured out, ALWAYS.
Learning: James C. Maxell is correct in the fact that we humans need to do a much better job of 'thinking' in the various ways that one can think. I would however challenge you to think 'differently' from the masses, critically thinking about that which is stated as 'fact' when in reality there are no facts to base many 'assumed to be true' ideas once one looks for what the truth is - and I don't care what the subject matter is because over time we have seen how the beliefs of one era were found to be disproved (the basis of all scientific inquiry for those who did not know that) or worse just outright lies such as 'weapons of mass destruction' from a couple of decades ago which was the beginning of the ways in which our 'rights' are being stripped away if one is capable of seeing that reality for what it is - bringing on terrible ramifications most especially for our children -of all ages given the manner in which their brains process information. Take a stand for what you believe and then perhaps your life will be something that fulfills you.
***NOTE FOR M.D.s and D.O.s ONLY: Please join Daniel Rieders, MD, and myself in our group that was specifically created for you. Dr. Daniel Rieders is announcing many learning opportunities for you in the realm of Zoom conversations with deep thinkers and the two of us are working very diligently to bring you quicker and more effective ways to help both yourselves and your patients. Please do answer all of the questions so we can best serve you. We look forward to meeting and working with you over there:
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