Select Your Words Better than a Billionaire: What Would You Do If You Could Only Succeed?

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Before getting into the substance of this post, let me remind you of my teaching plans for this month in the Boston area:

In Brookline, Massachusetts (617-730-2700)

Course V267: Raising Capital for Your New Business on September 20 and 27 (this is the expanded version of my popular course on starting a small business and can save you a fortune in capital costs!)

Course V268: Franchising Opportunities to Start a New Business on September 21 and 28 (this is a new course to help you find the right franchise operation for you) -- This course is almost sold out!

In Newton, Massachusetts (617-559-6999)

B 2172: The 2,000 Percent Solution (creating ways to accomplish 20 times as much with the same time and resources: It's like cloning yourself 20 times! -- see www.2000percentsolution.com for background)

I also offer individual tutorials and seminars on these subjects year around.

Introduction

Being a billionaire can mean that unguarded words may leave your lips. Billionaire Ted Turner is legendary for this. There's not an expletive, nor a curse, that may not have crossed his lips . . . according to press reports. Obviously, a billionaire can buy his or her way out of any unpleasantness that spoken or written words create. In fact, millions tune in to hear The Donald say to a different person each week, "You're fired."

By comparison, you'll have to be more guarded about what you say, and be more willing to eat humble pie to make amends when you make a slip in your choice of words.

I thought about the importance of words in another context as well: In selecting the credos we live by. At the recent Breakthrough to Success seminar conducted by Chicken Soup for the Soul author, Jack Canfield, that I described on August 8-15, Jana Stanfield shared with us many lyrics to inspire us. A number of my colleagues have adopted her lyrics as credos. Let's look at that more closely today.

Observations

A number of years ago, Drs. Richard Bandler and John Grinder made some fascinating observations about the impact of words in establishing the field that many now describe as Neuro-Linguistic Programming. They found that words are more powerful than explosives in moving us.

Here's an example. Some of us primarily relate to visual images. Use words about "seeing", "looking", "examining" or "peering" and we really pay attention. Use words like "listening", "it rings a bell" or "that sings" and we lose interest. But a person who likes to "hear the truth" will sit up and take notice to those same words.

I don't have space here to go into all of their findings . . . but one of them has really stuck with me over the years: The subconscious mind absorbs words differently than the conscious mind does.

Most importantly, the subconscious mind usually runs the show.

Here's an example you should know about. The subconscious mind ignores negatives in sentences. So "Don't do that!" becomes "Do that!" to the subconsicous mind. Is it any wonder that two year olds often repeat the misbehaviour that their parents have said NOT to do?

Imagine how your choice of credo can go wrong!

Recommendations

Here's an example that led me to write this post.

A credo that some have adopted based on one of Jana's songs is:

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

On the surface, that sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

But let's analyze that credo from the perspective of the subconscious mind and rephrase accordingly:

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could fail?

That gives me the shivers! I wouldn't do very much that I didn't have to do. I don't like to fail or to even think about failing.

Now, let's select our words more carefully. I find I am more motivated to succeed than to "not fail" even at the level of the rational mind. Also, "attempt" is a weak word. It suggests an incomplete effort that could lead to failure.

Also, if we're not song writers, we don't have to follow a given sentence structure. So here's my rewrite:

What would you do if you could only succeed?

That thought leaves me feeling very positive, warm and motivated.

Try developing your own credo to see how you can improve on the advice that others have given you over the years. Put that credo where you can see it every day. I look forward to your success!

N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color.

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

If you are new to this blog, be sure to check out the updated table of contents entry that I posted on September 14. It will help you find earlier entries that may be of interest. I'll update this table of contents every week or so for your convenience.

August 31 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea. My post on saving money on heating costs this winter is a good choice. You can find it at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to check out

Live Spiritually Better than a Billionaire at http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell