The 19th century philosopher and psychologist, William
James, wrote that, "The greatest discovery of my generation
is that a human being can alter his life by altering his
attitudes of mind." Hundreds, if not thousands of leaders,
teachers, gurus and philosophers have pointed to the same
truth.
It runs through Napoleon Hill's famous book, "Think and
Grow Rich" from the 1930's. In the 1950's, Earl Nightingale
made his famous recording (on old, 78 rpm records!) called,
"The Greatest Secret." In 1962, Normal Vincent Peale wrote,
"The Power of Positive Thinking." In the 70's and 80's, my
mentor, Jim Rohn, and his colleagues and competitors, Brian
Tracy and Zig Ziglar built entire careers on this same
"discovery." The list of folks who have discovered this
"secret" goes back to Aristotle and continues to the modern
discovery of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.
But, and this is important, there are at least two major
groups who are getting rich with an alternative point of
view. Specifically, I'm thinking of the billions of dollars
spent (and made) with "hip-hop" and "rap" music on the one
hand, and the modern news media on the other.
One group glorifies a wide variety of dead-end activities,
from drug use to brutal misogyny, criminal behavior and
narcissism. Some of their lyrics and message are truly
awful, evil and destructive. Fortunately, however, I
suspect they are not a major source of entertainment for
most of my readers.
I consider the other group to be even more destructive. We
are bombarded with 24-hour news and what passes as
entertainment. Most American households receive multiple
24-hour cable news channels. We receive news and opinion
via Twitter, newsletter, websites and on our phones.
All day long, our minds are flooded with ads to buy gold
and silver because our world is about to end. We hear about
wars and epidemics, the danger of a thousand daily dangers,
bad medicines ("Call now!"), and of course, there's the
issue of climate change that will kill us all, if radiation
from our cell phones doesn't get us first.
In the midst of this, we try to "climb the ladder" and "get
ahead" through hard work, dedication, innovation and
personal discipline.
We try to have "hope for the future" while a thousand
voices tell us to "be afraid, be very afraid." We try to
focus on our values and our priorities, while alarm bells
and buzzers scream in our ears and good-looking,
authoritative news anchors tell us the sky is falling and
we're all about to die.
And yet, in the midst of all this noise, "The greatest
discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter
his life by altering his attitudes of mind." What's a
person to do?
I've been a "news junkie" all my life. I started reading
the daily paper in grade school (my Dad quizzed us at the
dinner table). I take exaggerated pride in knowing about
Putin and Ukraine, about the mudslide in Washington, the
missing jet in Malaysia and the tragedy at Fort Hood. Some
people follow sports; I follow politics and economics. And
everyone follows the Kardashians!
Well. Here's a news-flash: Turn it off!
No, I'm not suddenly in favor of ignorance, but I am in
favor of controlling the "stuff" that goes into your mind.
I believe in the old saying "GIGO"--"Garbage In, Garbage
Out."
If we let our thinking be dominated by the latest "breaking
news" or "bright, shiny object," we can't help being
distracted, confused, anxious or even immobilized. Instead,
I suggest reviewing your goals, every day. Read something
inspiring or listen to motivational audio programs. Every
day. Hang out with positive, creative, loving people. Every
day. Consider and re-write your top values and most
important priorities--every single day!
We inevitably become, and our lives reflect, what we think
about all day long.
A while back, the Apostle Paul put it this way:
"Finally…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think
about such things." (Phil. 4:8) Seems like pretty good
advice!
James, wrote that, "The greatest discovery of my generation
is that a human being can alter his life by altering his
attitudes of mind." Hundreds, if not thousands of leaders,
teachers, gurus and philosophers have pointed to the same
truth.
It runs through Napoleon Hill's famous book, "Think and
Grow Rich" from the 1930's. In the 1950's, Earl Nightingale
made his famous recording (on old, 78 rpm records!) called,
"The Greatest Secret." In 1962, Normal Vincent Peale wrote,
"The Power of Positive Thinking." In the 70's and 80's, my
mentor, Jim Rohn, and his colleagues and competitors, Brian
Tracy and Zig Ziglar built entire careers on this same
"discovery." The list of folks who have discovered this
"secret" goes back to Aristotle and continues to the modern
discovery of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.
But, and this is important, there are at least two major
groups who are getting rich with an alternative point of
view. Specifically, I'm thinking of the billions of dollars
spent (and made) with "hip-hop" and "rap" music on the one
hand, and the modern news media on the other.
One group glorifies a wide variety of dead-end activities,
from drug use to brutal misogyny, criminal behavior and
narcissism. Some of their lyrics and message are truly
awful, evil and destructive. Fortunately, however, I
suspect they are not a major source of entertainment for
most of my readers.
I consider the other group to be even more destructive. We
are bombarded with 24-hour news and what passes as
entertainment. Most American households receive multiple
24-hour cable news channels. We receive news and opinion
via Twitter, newsletter, websites and on our phones.
All day long, our minds are flooded with ads to buy gold
and silver because our world is about to end. We hear about
wars and epidemics, the danger of a thousand daily dangers,
bad medicines ("Call now!"), and of course, there's the
issue of climate change that will kill us all, if radiation
from our cell phones doesn't get us first.
In the midst of this, we try to "climb the ladder" and "get
ahead" through hard work, dedication, innovation and
personal discipline.
We try to have "hope for the future" while a thousand
voices tell us to "be afraid, be very afraid." We try to
focus on our values and our priorities, while alarm bells
and buzzers scream in our ears and good-looking,
authoritative news anchors tell us the sky is falling and
we're all about to die.
And yet, in the midst of all this noise, "The greatest
discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter
his life by altering his attitudes of mind." What's a
person to do?
I've been a "news junkie" all my life. I started reading
the daily paper in grade school (my Dad quizzed us at the
dinner table). I take exaggerated pride in knowing about
Putin and Ukraine, about the mudslide in Washington, the
missing jet in Malaysia and the tragedy at Fort Hood. Some
people follow sports; I follow politics and economics. And
everyone follows the Kardashians!
Well. Here's a news-flash: Turn it off!
No, I'm not suddenly in favor of ignorance, but I am in
favor of controlling the "stuff" that goes into your mind.
I believe in the old saying "GIGO"--"Garbage In, Garbage
Out."
If we let our thinking be dominated by the latest "breaking
news" or "bright, shiny object," we can't help being
distracted, confused, anxious or even immobilized. Instead,
I suggest reviewing your goals, every day. Read something
inspiring or listen to motivational audio programs. Every
day. Hang out with positive, creative, loving people. Every
day. Consider and re-write your top values and most
important priorities--every single day!
We inevitably become, and our lives reflect, what we think
about all day long.
A while back, the Apostle Paul put it this way:
"Finally…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think
about such things." (Phil. 4:8) Seems like pretty good
advice!
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