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"A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts. "
and so easy to let our mind wander.
The day I read your post I also was reading in NV Peale's book "Enthusiasm Makes the Difference". I had wanted to read something before bed, something positive to settle on thoughts on before going to sleep. I opened the book randomly and read.
First was a story about a man who ran a small diner and went out of his way to bring love into others lives. Then there was a story which was proceeded with
[Enthusiasm must have a direction, slanted towards definite purpose and objectives to be effective.] (note1)
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In my mind I merged James Allen's words together with Peale's and my own thoughts:
A mind should conceive of a strong central purpose that is his heart's desire, and should devote himself to its attainment. He should pursue his purpose with love and joy and enthusiasm. It should be centralizing point of his thoughts not allow his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral musings. He should bring love and joy into others lives yet remain central and focussed on his heart's desire, letting it shine forth like a brilliant light from his heart, to inspire and bring joy and hope to others.
His love and focus and joy in life and in his life's work, dispels the gloom and defeatism in others thoughts uplifting them to renew the fire, joy and passion in their own lives, and so lighting the fire in others.
The shift to joy, energy, enthusiasm and love, can then spread to fill the world and push back the veil of cynicism doubt, darkness and fear. In choosing his mission and engaging it with love and joy, so to may others, and ignite a cascade to transform the planet into the kingdom of love.
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Note1. The actual quote is
" Enthusiastic persuasion, to be effective, must have a direction: it must slanted towards definite purpose and objectives." (the story was about an ineffective salesman who was half-minded about everything).
Why can we so easily overlook in ourselves the faults we are quick to spot in others? It is easy to be objective when it comes to criticizing our friends, family members, and business associates, but it is far more difficult to be honest about our own shortcomings. Only when we recognize that we are all human, with the same faults and failings, do we begin to develop that wonderful quality of tolerance that enables us to accept others as they are and ask nothing in return. Replacing faultfinding with “goodfinding”.
When you become one who always compliments instead of criticizes, you become the kind of friend we would all like to have.
When you allow yourself to dwell on the negative aspects of life, negative thinking expands to fill all of your thoughts until there is no room for positive thoughts to grow. It becomes an endless cycle. The habit of negative thinking generates more and more negative thoughts, which the mind attempts to turn into physical reality.
The result is a life of despair and hopelessness. Develop the habit of eliminating negative thoughts the moment they appear.
When you first hear that inner voice that says, “I can’t do this,” put the thought out of your mind immediately. Instead, concentrate on the task itself. Break it down into manageable parts and complete them one at a time. When the job is finished, tell your doubting self [you did do it]
The old adage, “If you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all,” is especially valid today. In any organization, regardless of size, the rumor mill works overtime when it comes to negative gossip. And you can be sure that unkind things you say about others will very quickly find their way to them, for it is also a truism that those who talk about others to us talk about us to others. Not only should you not speak badly of others — you should not participate in conversations in which others do. Spend your time with those who focus on important things, and you will never have to apologize for an unkind word uttered in a moment of weakness.
You can’t control others’ acts, but you can control your reaction to their acts, and that is what counts most to you.
No one can make you feel any negative emotion — fear, anger, or inferiority — without your express permission. There will always be people who find perverse enjoyment in upsetting others, or who simply play upon your emotions so that they can use you for their own selfish purposes. Whether or not they are successful depends entirely upon you and how you react to their negative behaviors. When you are forced to deal with such people, recognize from the outset that they are trying to upset you, not because of something you may have done to them, but because of some problem they have with themselves. Tell yourself, “This isn’t about me. I will not allow this person to upset me. I am in control of my emotions and my life.”
Mutual confidence is the foundation of all satisfactory human relationships.
Most of us have two basic questions about others when we enter into a relationship. They are: Can I trust you? And, do you really care about me? Depending upon our previous success in partnerships with others — personal or business — the answers may be slow in coming. Confidence in another is often developed gradually as those involved in the relationship commit themselves to each other’s success and happiness. Although trust and confidence are the basic underpinnings of all successful relationships, they are fragile. A relationship that has endured for months or even years can be irreparably damaged by a few unkind words or a single thoughtless act. Don’t allow yourself to act in haste or to lose control of your emotions in important relationships.
The accumulation of great fortunes calls for power and power is acquired through highly organized and intelligently directed specialized knowledge, but that knowledge does not necessarily have to be in the possession of the man who accumulates the fortune.
A closed mind stumbles over the blessings of life without recognizing them.
To the untrained eye, a geode looks pretty much like an ordinary rock. But a trained geologist knows that inside the geode there is a beautiful crystal lining. The story is the same for those who refuse to examine new possibilities because their minds are closed. Life’s greatest opportunities, like the geode, often come in ordinary packaging. Do not allow yourself to become such a creature of habit that you simply go through the motions and let life happen to you.
There always remains an opportunity to make a new start.
Though it may not seem so when you first encounter a serious blow, you can never lose two of the most important assets you have. These are the power of your mind and your freedom to use it. Once you have turned them to understanding what laid you low, you can begin forming new plans. You may not have the money you once had; you may lack the allies you had cultivated. But you still have the benefit of a universe that eventually rewards honest effort, as well as gaining the experience of mistakes you will never make again. Remember, no matter where you are now, whatever you can conceive and believe, you can achieve.
Honesty is a spiritual quality that cannot be evaluated in terms of money.
There are many practical reasons to practice honesty. It requires far less effort to be truthful than to be deceitful, and in the long term the risks are fewer and the rewards greater. But in today’s complex society, the boundaries of acceptable behavior have been blurred until they are sometimes indistinguishable. Laws and codes of ethics establish minimum standards of behavior. Make sure you establish standards for yourself that exceed such minimums, a standard below which you will not allow yourself to fall, regardless of what others may do or say. Your own set of standards will allow you to decide quickly and easily upon an appropriate course of action when faced with a difficult problem.