Power of Thought

Many of us read "self-help" books to try and help us achieve an advantage in business or in life or both; some authors I rate very highly, Jack Black [Mindstore] and Napoleon Hill [Think and Grow Rich]

The latter was written in the 1930s just as America was emerging from its great depression and Hill was writing to encourage all his fellow citizens to grasp the opportunities the recovery was to provide. It often seems that others are fortunate to grasp these opportunities and many of us end up reading about their wonderful success later! How many out there saw the incredible potential of an alternative, decentralised currency, borne out of the last financial crash? Bitcoin launched 8 years ago at 3c [$] and today is worth a little over $7,000. Imagine you'd committed the price of a night out in 2018 to that opportunity in 2010. $100 would have got you 333 bitcoins; today you would be sitting on $2.33m.

In his book "Think and Grow Rich" Napoleon Hill reproduces a poem during a chapter when he talks about Abraham Lincoln - a failure at everything he tried until well past the age of 40. Hard to believe.

He provides no name of the poet but I read it often and think it is as relevant today as it was 80 years ago.

"If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don't

If you like to win, but think you can't,

It is almost certain you won't.

"If you think you'll lose, you're lost

For out of the world we find,

Success begins with a fellows will-

It's all in the state of mind.

"If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You've got to think high to rise,

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

"Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But soon or late the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can!"

Watching the Paralympics and the Invictus Games I am humbled by what absolute determination and belief can achieve. It is easy to feel the world is against us - and our system certainly is! But the immense power of positive thought given freely to us all is a gift we should use a lot more.