Think Your Way To Success

Dream, plan and realise the master keys to success in life

Introduction
Anthony Robbins, in his book Unlimited Power, maps out a strategy for people to scale the dizzy heights of success by banishing the word impossible from their personal vocabulary. He has made a deep study of success and failure, and to turn failure into success by pouring over the success literature of the past 200 years. He tells you of the reasons that made others succeed.

Forms of Power
The road to success, according to Anthony, is always under construction. It is a progressive path, not an end to be reached. There are several success stories in America of people who started from scratch. We live in an era of astounding success - both on individual and organisational planes.
All of us are entitled to our dreams. But do we always end up by realising those dreams? Yes, says Anthony, if you have the knowledge and right strategy. This knowledge gives one the power to achieve, and it has been described as the commodity of kings by Anthony Robbins.
Power means different things to different people. Much depends on how power is utilised. Real power is shared power. When people lust after only power then the results are not always happy. That power is best which produces results you desire most and creates values for others.
Successful people of the world do not have any special gifts, which you and I do not have. They succeed because they have the ability to take action.
In olden days kings wielded unlimited power. Then came the industrial era when money became power. More of it the merrier. We are still living in that age. He who has money controls the industrial processes. We are witnessing a change in the power pattern. Prof. John Kenneth Galbraith has put the whole thing in proper perspective, "Money is what fuelled the industrial society. But in the informational society, the fuel, the power, is knowledge. One has now come to see a new class structure divided by those who have information and those who must function out of ignorance. This new class has its power not from money, not from land, but from knowledge." Not mere knowledge but specialised knowledge that makes one powerful. Those who have that specialised knowledge and the capacity to communicate wield unlimited power like kings in olden days.
Communication also confers power. Commu-nication is of two types - internal and external. Internal communication is what we picture, say and feel within; external communication is what we convey to the outside world through words, gestures, etc.
All great leaders of the world have been great communicators. They had a way with words and used them to good effect.
It takes different types to make the world. No two of us are alike. Some of us are often subject to bouts of depression. It comes about through mental and physical actions. One can get rid of depression through sending messages to the brain in the right tone. If by being depressed anyone thinks he is fishing for sympathy and makes it a way of life, nothing is gained. Try becoming a robust optimist and feel the difference. It is within everyone of us to bring about the needed change. A person can be happy or sad by adopting the right type of physical and mental attitudes and actions. The mind holds the key to one's mental and physical wellbeing.

Achievings Dreams
If dreams have to be converted into reality those who aspire for success should adopt a four-stage approach:

1.Define the goal.
2.Decisive action to make a dream come true.
3.Assess whether the actions are taking you near the goal or away from it and attune the mind to achieve the end.
4.Change your behaviour to get what you want, but do not compromise your morality.

7 Essential ingredients
To succeed seven things are essential.
Firstly, passion impels people to their goal. Salmon-like they surmount all obstacles and get what they want.
Secondly, they should have belief in themselves. That is what religion provides for. It puts faith into those who are tossed around by every wind. If one has faith in God and faith in oneself tinged with humility; then that faith can move mountains. Only people who have belief in their abilities can take decisive action.
The third requirement is to map out a strategy. First the goal has to be identified and then assess your resources. Then one should be sure of whom to meet and cultivate to bring about the desired result.
The fourth trait is values. Without values nothing can be achieved. In our own country, Mahatma Gandhi raised politics to the status of religion by insisting on right means. That is what Hindu Dharma is all about. The first out of four endeavours in human life prescribed by Hinduism is dharma, which is then followed by artha, kaam and moksha. Bhagwan Swaminarayan also emphasised a moral code of conduct to safeguard the Bhakti Sampraday He propagated.
As a consequence of values the fifth attribute is excellence.
And the sixth ingredient is unbounded energy.
The seventh element is called the capacity to connect with others. This power is got through communication skills.
So these seven traits make people highly successful. These traits feed on and interact with one another.

Internal Communication
Those who fail need not sit back with folded hands and throw in the towel. The best way for such people is to utilise the internal communication and buck themselves up. Anthony Robbins mentions names of people who became cripples for life because of accidents. They had no use for the world considered normally. Nothing was expected of them. But they clawed back from the brink of disaster and built remarkable careers.
W. Mitchell was riding a motorcycle at 65 miles an hour. For a moment he lost his concentration when something on the roadside attracted his attention. He skidded under a truck, the fuel in his bike ignited and three-quarters of his body had sustained third degree burns. He refused to give up and resumed his business career. He had a second accident; this time an air crash which left his body para-lysed below the waist. Mitchell never allowed his handicap to come in the way of his life. He has carved out for himself a highly successful business career that bridges him in contact with some of the most influential Americans. He has become a millionaire by sheer grit and God's grace.
In the normal course, Mitchell would have been written off as a hopeless case. But he had a strong nerve and the right strategy of internal communication. He sent the right signals and messages to his nervous system. As the brain received the right type of encouragement and stimulus through the messages, Mitchell succeeded.
This method of sending messages to the brain to get the desired results is called neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). Previously it was used by therapists. NLP provides a systematic framework for directing our brain. All of us have the same neurology. There is therefore a scientific basis to the adage, "Man is the architect of his own fate."
All one has to do is to model oneself after a successful person in the chosen field. A struggling businessman can make a success of his business by studying the thought processes of a successful businessman. How he goes about his work? What actions does he take? What messages he sends to his brain in a given situation? It is well said that those who neglect their past are condemned to repeat it. If we have failed in one venture we should analyse why we failed. How we used our brain? How would successful businessmen interact with his brain in a given situation. By carrying out such analysis and mapping out a strategy we would be eliminating the mistakes already made. Thereby we bury the past once and for all and turn over a new leaf.
A word of caution is needed. Imitation in this case should always be the first step to creation. Anthony wants all of us to evolve our own models by looking at those who have succeeded.
This strategy has worked in the case of Mitchell. When he was lying in the hospital, his friends not only brought good cheer to him through get-well cards, they read to him of success stories of people similarly placed as himself. The role model strategy leads to what is known as Optimum Performance Technologies. It is a holistic system based on one's beliefs, one's thoughts and perfect linkage between body and mind. Even if there is a slight gap in the system, nobody can get optimum results. In the ultimate analysis what messages you send to your brain decide whether, you succeed or fail. When you fail don't send the same message and don't take the same actions. Emulate those who have succeeded. Go a step further, evolve your own model and beseech for God's blessings.

Potency of Belief
If anyone believes he can do a certain thing no power on earth would deflect him from the goal. The believer has to be sincere. Sick people who have belief in the efficacy of medicine are known to have recovered even when they were given ordinary pills. Their belief in medicine did the trick. This is known as the placebo effect.
Faith cure is a step ahead in the process. When a saint who is perceived to have realised God gives something, it is received with great respect by the devout. After taking it the person suffering from some ailment gets cured. Such cases have baffled expert physicians because they pronounced them incurable. It is worthwhile that these beliefs are not always linked to creeds or doctrines. Anthony says a belief is any guiding principle, dictum, faith or passion that can provide meaning and directions to life. When we believe in something we send a command to our brain. Then action follows. That is the set procedure.
In his book Anatomy of an Illness Norman Cousins, who got rid of his own illness through belief, mentions a placebo study involving the groups. They were suffering from bleeding ulcers. One group was given a drug which, they were told, would give immediate relief. The second group was told that the drug's potency had not yet been tested. The pills given to both the groups were useless pills. But 75 per cent of the patients in the first group who had belief in the pill got immediate relief. The results regarding the second group were not so encouraging. Only 25 per cent of them had relief. Such is the power of belief.
Belief is the doorway to excellence, declares Anthony. There is nothing static about it. Belief determines how much of our potential we use. Belief is linked to actions and results. It is not divorced from them. Beliefs result from the commands we give to our brain. If the commands are positive, we succeed. If they are negative, we fail. It is as simple as that. All the experiences - both successes and failures that we have undergone - are stored in our brain. When we want to succeed, we should think of those success episodes and shut out our failures. Such positive thinking leads to fruitful results. We soak up good and bad things in our mind. But we should control our beliefs to get success.

Influence of Environment
One of the main things that affect our beliefs is environment. Given the right environment we can succeed. People living in ghettos fail not because of the physical discomfort but because of the environment. If the child of a drunkard is taken away from the ghetto and brought up in a more salubrious environment, then there is every likelihood of his doing better than his father.

Evolve of Working Strategy
Another way of fostering belief is through knowledge. Direct experience is one form of it. Other ways of getting knowledge are through reading, listening, thinking and praying.
By doing a thing once, we will be able to have a belief in ourselves. We will then be cultivating what is known as the winning or succeeding habit.
When you aim and make up your mind to achieve the goal you will succeed. This strategy is called experiencing results in advance. If you are a salesman earning $3,000 a month and able to pay up your bills and don't aim high you will continue to achieve the same goal. If you are ambitious and set a higher goal say $5,000 and reorient your mind and actions you will be able to achieve it. Anthony commends this method for a successful sales career. This is what he calls not being a leaf in the wind. Goals are set consciously and achieved with your entire mind and heart. Every day is a new day. Every statement and signal you send to the brain is relevant for that point of time. You have to keep on changing the strategy and send new signals till one evolves a working strategy. You have to have belief in yourself on your ability to succeed. Then nothing will hold you back. Abraham Lincoln, who after a string of electoral defeats, became the president of America. He had belief in himself and his system became geared towards excellence. He could make it to the White House from the log cabin, even though the transition had not been an easy one.

Building Beliefs
Belief in failure is a way of poisoning the mind, declares Anthony Robbins. There is no such thing called failure for him. It is only a result. One who was overweight, according to him produced a result. Now he should try to produce a result called thin. This may appear to be explaining away our failures. The author gives seven guidelines to build our beliefs.

Everything happens for a reason and purpose and it serves us. After every seeming failure, there is a silver lining. Look at the positive side of things. Marilyn Hamilton became a cripple after a hang-gliding mishap when she was 29. She was confined to a wheelchair. She did not like the wheelchair and designed a better one and became highly successful in business. She converted her handicap into a business opportunity. Her company 'Motion Designs' is a multi-million dollar success story.
What are called failures should be treated as results and lessons should be drawn from them. Thomas Edison tried in vain for 9,999 times to perfect the light bulb. Somebody asked him, "Are you going to have ten thousand failures?" "No," he said, "I did not fail. I just discovered another way not to invent the electric light bulb." We learn through the trial and error method.
Whatever happens, take responsibility. That is a great leadership quality. People will respect such leaders. Statesmen admit their failures. Politicians crow about their little successes.
It is not necessary to understand everything to be able to use everything. Most successful men know more and more of less and less. They do not use all the less and less they know. They use selectively what they know. That serves their purpose. You can spend all your time studying the roots or spend some time on how to pick the fruit.
People are the greatest resource. Japanese companies care for their staff. Dismissal is a rare occurrence in Japanese work culture. They have great regard for seniority. These are difficult maxims to follow.
Work is play. "Make your vocation your vacation," advised Mark Twain. Pulling a long face while at work does not make for success or results from which lessons can be drawn. And finally we come to the most important part, the vital link in the chain of beliefs - commitment. Without commitment nothing can be achieved. It is the alpha and omega of any successful undertaking.

The great Russian Ballerina Anna Pavlova said: "To follow without halt, ONE AIM: There is the secret of success." It is another way of stating the Ultimate success formula - know your outcome, model what works, take action, develop the sensory acuity to know what you are getting, and keep refining it until you get what you want. You have to pay a price to succeed.