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Do You Believe This?
By JLP | February 19, 2007
Here’s the opening to Brian Tracy’s Change Your Thinking Change Your Life
You are a thoroughly good person. You deserve a wonderful life, full of success, happiness, joy, and excitement. You are entitled to have happy relationships, excellent health, meaningful work, and financial independence. These are you birthright. This is what your life is meant to include.
You are engineered for success and designed to have high levels of self-esteem, self-respect, and personal pride. You are extraordinary; there has never been anyone exactly life you in all the history of mankind on earth. You have absolutely amazing untapped talents and abilities that, when properly unleashed and aplied, can bring you everything you could ever want in life.
You are living at the greatest time in all of human history. You are surrounded by abundant opportunities that you can take advantage of to realize you dreams. The only real limits on what you can be, do, or have are the limits you lace on yourself by your own thinking. Your future is virtually unimited.
Do you believe this to be true?
Topics: Personal Growth | 17 Comments »
February 19th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Wow, throwing the punches today-aren’t we.
Honestly, I would have to say….NO.
Logically, I know it to be true, but a part of me struggles with this whole positive thinking.
February 19th, 2007 at 9:42 am
I wouldn’t use the word “entitled” in the first paragraph. We’re not entitled to anything, but I do agree that we all have unique talents and amazing opportunities for success.
Positive thinking is a good start, and it’s something most of us don’t do enough of.
February 19th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Bill,
I think you hit the nail on the head.
When I posted this this morning I didn’t have time to add my thoughts. I think part of the problem in America is the since of entitlement that seems to be ingrained in everyone.
I think as American’s we are entitled to the right to pursue these things but not entitled to the things themselves.
February 19th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Let’s go through this a bit at a time:
You are a thoroughly good person.
Everyone has the capacity to be good, but that doesn’t mean that they are good.
You deserve a wonderful life, full of success, happiness, joy, and excitement.
Why do you deserve it. What have you done to deserve anything? Even life itself?
You are entitled to have happy relationships, excellent health, meaningful work, and financial independence.
As JPL said, I think you have the right to pursue these things, nothing more.
You are engineered for success and designed to have high levels of self-esteem, self-respect, and personal pride.
I agree with everything except the pride part.
You are extraordinary; there has never been anyone exactly life you in all the history of mankind on earth.
I agree.
You have absolutely amazing untapped talents and abilities that, when properly unleashed and applied, can bring you everything you could ever want in life.
Maybe, or I might have already tapped into every bit of potential that I have. Who’s to say?
You are living at the greatest time in all of human history. You are surrounded by abundant opportunities that you can take advantage of to realize you dreams. The only real limits on what you can be, do, or have are the limits you lace on yourself by your own thinking. Your future is virtually unlimited.
I agree totally.
February 19th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Agree with you on the statement JLP – extraordinary success requires an extraordinary belief in your own abilities.
Also agree on the entitlement issue. It’s one thing to feel you deserve it all – but ultimately you have to earn it.
And, though I have realized many of my dreams, I still struggle with the question of where do you go from here, how do you unlock those yet untapped talents.
February 19th, 2007 at 11:47 am
I believe if a person really did think that about themselves, that much positive thinking, that it would do them good. I’m hoping by entitled Tracy didn’t mean people deserve something just for being around. That’s certainly not the case.
February 19th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Did Stuart Smalley write this book?
February 19th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I must say I disagree with most of the first paragraph simply based on the use of a few words. I believe what the author was trying to speak to is the inherent value, unique attributes and potential in each person. However, to use words like deserve, entitled and birthright, in addition to the first and last sentence of the initial paragraph, can support beliefs and perceptions that are not realistic.
I believe everyone can be a good person and your life can include these things, but to state that they should be yours without reservation is naive.
February 19th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Aside from the question of entitlement, the word ‘thoroughly’ in the first sentence really bugs me, too. I consider myself a good person, but my mind boggles at the notion that anybody can be thoroughly good. We all have our vices, and to blind yourself to them is to be defeated by them. A little humility goes a lot further than all the positive reinforcement in the world.
I do agree with the last paragraph, though – we are living in an age of wonders.
February 19th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
I’ve reread that statement a couple of times, and must say that depending on exactly how I look at it, it does and does not make sense.
I would reword it as follows:
You are human and fallable, but you constantly strive to be the best person you can be. You work extremely hard and deserve a wonderful life, full of success, happiness, joy, and excitement. You are entitled to have happy relationships, excellent health, meaningful work, and financial independence because you have made these your life priorities. These are not your birthright – you recognize and appreciate how extremely fortunate you are every single day.
Your success is built upon your high level of self-esteem, integrity, self-respect, and personal pride. You are extraordinary and unique in your abilities, yet also recognize the value of modestly when it comes to human relations. You have amazing untapped talents and abilities that, when properly unleashed and applied, can bring you everything you could ever want in life – few people fully understand their potential and in helping them find it, you also help yourself.
You are surrounded by abundant opportunities that you can take advantage of to realize you dreams. You know that the only real limits on what you can be, do, or have are the limits you place on yourself by your own thinking – and you are committed to expanding your mind and the minds of others.
February 19th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Interesting discussion going here and that’s just the first three paragraphs. Anyway, it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who has problems with the opening to Tracy’s book.
February 19th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea;
And love is a thing that can never go wrong;
And I am Marie of Rumania.
-Dorothy Parker
February 19th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
No, but I think it’s a good way to sell a self-help book
How about “You were extremely lucky to be born in this country and have the education to be able to read this sentence.”
Man, too cynical today!
February 20th, 2007 at 7:21 am
Glad to see someone calling to light this “entitlement” attitude. It’s definitely widespread and it really, really gets my goat. I particularly love the entitlement attitude towards homeownership, especially given where prices are today. You EARN it or you don’t get it — you’re NOT entitled!
February 20th, 2007 at 7:34 am
Jeremy Weiss: the question of whether or not someone is “entitled” to live was settled, at least in this country, years ago.
Our founders thought it was self-evident (not even worth debating) that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
They are entitled to the “Pursuit of Happiness”. Doesn’t mean they are entitled to happiness.
February 20th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
From a Christian theological perspective – I would disagree with the statement “You are a thoroughly good person.”
The rest I could probably accept..
Do I hold all that in my heart… maybe on a good day..