My struggles aren’t the same as yours. That’s okay.

Desire, Chapter 2 “Think and Grow Rich”

In our modern society, successful people are easier to find than in Napoleon Hill’s time. With Elon Musk tweeting and the Kardashians all over TV the “successful” are more involved in our lives. I already mentioned in my previous articles that success is subjective. But, Hill points out something in the very beginning of the second chapter that is true and will continue to be true. The successful, or “rich” as he says, don’t get to where they are by wishing to be successful. They get there by desiring their success and directing 110% effort and willpower towards their specific success. Putting in 110% effort may seem daunting but, there’s a key distinction that most people, myself included, are sometimes too afraid to do.

They don’t have a backup plan. Most people when looking for jobs apply to dozens so that they have a backup if that “one” doesn’t work out. I recently experienced this when applying for colleges. But, by not having that backup you force yourself to succeed or fail. Binary. 1 or 0. True or false. There’s 2 ways to look at failure. First, you can be so afraid to fail that you don’t even want to try. Second, you can be so afraid of failure that you’ll do anything to not fail. Not having a backup plan forces you to try your hardest.

One downside of this book is that it was written in a time when money was the only measure of success. So this next part will solely reference money. Hill outlines that there are 6 steps to implant in your behavior desire.

1. Fix your mind on the exact amount you desire. You must be specific down to the dollar amount.
2. Determine what you’re going to give to get that amount. (Nothing comes for free you know).
3. Establish a definite date to have the specific amount by. This puts the pressure on because you’re give a timeline.
4. Create a definite plan laying out exactly how you’re going to make that money. Then, begin with your plan immediately.
5. Write out the exact amount, the date, what you’re going to give, and your plan in a sentence. This is important because it makes the essential connections to all of the previous steps.
6. Read this statement aloud before going to bed and after you wake. While you do so picture yourself with the amount and visualize it.

That seems like a lot to do but, lets break it down. To solve any problem you have to be specific with what it is. You can’t say, “I don’t want to be overdue on my bills anymore.” You have to say, “I want to have an extra $300 each month so I can pay all my bills.” This satisfies part 1, you know specifically how much you want. How are you going to get this extra $300? “I’m going to take a second job and work an extra 5 hours each day.” You’re giving 5 hours of your time. As for a date, this all depends on the goal and how long it might take. This is up to you. But, when making the date say, “Febraury 5, 2018,” not “1 year from now.” So your plan might be, “By Febraury 5, 2018 I’m going to have a second job that I can work 5 hours each day in order to make an extra $300 each month.” Then you would read this aloud everyday.

This is extremely similar to the law of attraction which has been written about thousands of times. The beauty of this method is that it breaks down exactly what you’re trying to do into steps. For me personally, if I don’t know what the problem is supposed to look like after it’s over then I usually get discouraged way easier when trying to start. It also helps that it gets broken down into manageable steps. One small step is a lot less daunting than 1 huge leap.

To conclude this little, mini rant of the chapter I would like to present a quote. “Remember all who succeed in life get off to a bad start and pass through many heartbreaking struggles before they ‘arrive’.” This just really stuck with me. Everyone has their struggles. My struggles aren’t the same as yours. That’s okay. We can’t compare our struggles. That’s like comparing apples to oranges. Everyone has had a unique experience in life. My struggles may seem like daunting mountains to me but, to you just little hills. So, lets all try to be more empathetic to everyone else. People are really good at hiding when they’re truly upset, so be careful about what you say. You don’t know when someone has had a bad day. Stick with it! You’re going to make it!