In the final analysis, we are all faced with about the same circumstances over the period of a lifetime. Some choose to use them as an excuse for poor performance while others use those same circumstances as a reason to grow and to drive themselves to new heights of accomplishment. We all have opportunity mixed with difficulty. All of us have times of illness in addition to years of health. The storms come upon the rich and the poor.”- Jim Rohn
The last part of the quote is my favorite part. The storms do indeed come upon the rich and the poor. The question is, what kind of storms? Well, in general all of us have the mixed bag of various storms that life offers. The unexpected occurrences that throw us for a loop or two. Trials in relationships, and health, and circumstances that are thrust upon us suddenly in which we aren’t emotionally prepared or sometimes in any way prepared.
But in keeping with the theme of succeeding in business and your other pursuits, the storms relative to your thinking can be simplified to this: the ones that come from small thinking and the ones that come from big thinking.
Storms of small thinking? What could that be? I thought you’d never ask!
Small thinking leads to lack. Leads to scarcity. Leads to immobility based on fear. Small thinking is a guarantee of failure and that leads to storms that never actually end. Constant poverty mindset. Constant settling. None of these things feel good for the honest. Small thinking leads directly to the storms of failure. The best you can ever do when you live in the storms of failure is hope to find a little temporary shelter. Very little excitement happens in small thinking. Joy is suppressed under an avalanche of worry. I know this feeling because I grew up this way. I will never ever ever ever forget how horrible this felt.
When I diligently invested in changing my thinking through devotion to personal development, the chains gradually began to fall away. The storms of big thinking are fun! They are the storms of striving. The storms of frustration because of an effort to achieve at a higher level (as opposed to frustration over being stuck which is the small thinker frustration). The storms of trying, falling, and getting back up and trying again. Of re-thinking and freshly attacking. the storms from errors and mistakes of effort. These are the storms that have value and are a healthy part of a life well lived. The storms embraced by the big thinker.
“Big thinkers experience hardship, struggle, defeat, an disappointment as much as everyone else, but because they stay in control of the pictures in their mind, they are not subject to the whims of their moods. Big thinkers know that they’ll be successful only if they’re willing to risk failure; they know that if they’re not willing to take big risks, they won’t win big prizes. “-The Answer
