“Even if he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose — as he must until weakness is overcome — the strength of character gained will be the measure of his true success, and this will form a new starting point for future power and triumph. ” — As A Man Thinketh

When most young children are given a puzzle to solve or put together that is especially challenging, most will make a good effort at solving it, but if unsuccessful will soon lose interest and abandon it. Some will even become angry at their failure to solve it and may throw a tantrum.

Contrast that with the experienced puzzle player who proceeds to put the puzzle together with an air of certain confidence that they will complete it. They know that they have all of the pieces of the puzzle before them so it is only a matter of finding out which pieces work where and once that’s done the puzzle will be complete. Putting a piece in the wrong place is not a cause for concern, it’s simply another step toward putting all of the pieces in their proper place.

I think of all the times in my life when I acted like a young child in dealing with the current puzzle in my life. Instead of turning over and trying the next piece, I got angry and walked away from the puzzle, seeing the puzzle as a problem instead of as an opportunity.

Napoleon Hill, author of the classic Think and Grow Rich, knew Thomas Edison and Henry Ford personally. He said of both men that the ONLY thing that was different about them from everyone else was their persistence. Which gives rise to an interesting thought. Where would our civilization be today if either man had treated his puzzles like the impatient young child?

If you don’t have all of the pieces of your puzzle on the table, then stop, identify them and get them on the table before proceeding. If, however, you’ve got them on the table, then take the approach of the experienced puzzle player. When they don’t fit — don’t quit — try another piece or move them to another place. While you’re at it, learn another valuable lesson from great puzzle players. They don’t just enjoy completing the puzzle, they delight in putting it together.

Napoleon Hill thought Persistence was a pretty important key to success — he used the word 97 times in Think and Grow Rich and he devoted an entire chapter to it. Some of his wisdom includes, “The majority of people are ready to throw their aims and purposes overboard, and give up at the first sign of opposition or misfortune. A few carry on DESPITE all opposition, until they attain their goal. These few are the Fords, Carnegies, Rockefellers, and Edisons. There may be no heroic connotation to the word “persistence,” but the quality is to the character of man what carbon is to steel.”

And that’s worth thinking about.

“The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do.” — As A Man Thinketh

What James Allen means here is that we won’t attempt something unless we have the belief we can accomplish it. He says as much in his book, Above Life’s Turmoil, where he writes, “Belief always precedes action.”

Have you ever had a goal that you just couldn’t get started on – or you got started on it but you couldn’t maintain consistent action towards the goal?

About seven years ago I was living in some very trying times and struggling for some big goals that I’d set for myself. But I just couldn’t seem to stay focused and as time passed by and I’d missed a goal, I’d get more frustrated and start over because that’s what I thought I was supposed to do. I repeated this cycle several times and I became a basket case of emotion because I couldn’t get anywhere.

Wayne Dyer, writing in You’ll See It When You Believe It, says, “Your behavior is based upon your feelings, which are based on your thoughts. So the thing to work on is not to change your behavior, but those things inside of your consciousness that we call thoughts. Once your thoughts reflect what you genuinely want to be, the appropriate emotions and the consequent behavior will flow automatically. Believe it, and you will see it!”

As always, it’s our thoughts that are in control and we won’t have the “will to do” until we have the “belief to do.” I’ve had a lot of success in this area using positive visualization and affirmations. In fact, for one extended period of time I told myself several hundred times a day while thinking about a particular goal, “I can do this and I know I can!” It took me a while, but eventually I had enough belief to go for the goal and achieve it. Even now when confronted with a challenging situation I’m likely to hear myself saying, “I can do this and I know I can!”

How powerful are your thoughts of belief? Dr. Maxwell Maltz said, “Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs.”

And that’s worth thinking about.

“Before a person can accomplish anything of an enduring nature in the world she must first of all acquire some measure of success in the management of her own mind. If a person cannot govern the forces within herself, she cannot hold a firm hand upon the outer activities that form her visible life.” — The Mastery of Destiny

Rob Bremer asks a very important question: “If you had a friend who talked to you like you sometimes talk to yourself, would you continue to hang around with that person?”

How about this thought: What would you do to someone if they talked to your children the way you talk to yourself?

I am constantly amazed at what people say about themselves. I wince when I hear someone I care about say things like, “I’m so stupid” or “Sorry, I’m always late,” because I know it only reinforces a deeply held belief (whether it’s a conscious or subconscious belief). I wince even more when I catch myself saying those kind of things because I know the damage they do. As F.F. Bosworth said, “A spiritual law that few realize is that our confessions rule us. What we confess with our lips dominates our inner being.”

What are you telling yourself? What does that little man (or little woman) on your shoulder say to you? Is that who you really want to be?

In our phenomenal Conquer Fear Tele-Seminar, Lisa Jimenez taught a technique that I think has application here. For the next couple of weeks wear a rubber band on your wrist. Every time you catch yourself saying something to yourself (or about yourself) that is not in keeping with who you want to be, stop whatever you’re doing immediately. Then CONFESS the Truth about you while you’re snapping the rubber band on your wrist.

For instance, if you catch yourself saying, “I’m always late,” stop and say to yourself “I am thankful that I am becoming more conscious of the importance of being on time, and I am improving every day” (snap the rubber band). Do it several times to reinforce the affirmation.

Read the following words everyday until they are ingrained in your soul. Then you will be diligent about what you say to yourself. They’re from Napoleon Hill, writing in the classic Think and Grow Rich: “It is a well-known fact that one comes, finally, to believe whatever one repeats to one’s self, whether the statement is true or false. If a man repeats a lie over and over, he will eventually accept the lie as truth.”

And that’s worth thinking about.