"As a man thinketh in his
heart, so is he." Proverbs
23:7
"Repetition of affirmations of orders
to your subconscious mind is the only
known method of voluntary development
of the emotion of faith." Why did
Napoleon Hill make this powerful
statement early in his classic 1937 book
Think and Grow Rich? Hill was the
first author to introduce "the science of
personal achievement" to the business
world. He studied over 500 highly successful
entrepreneurs in the early
1900s (including Henry Ford, Thomas
Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and
John D. Rockefeller ... these were no
flash-in-the-pan characters!) and concluded
that each had what he called a
"success consciousness" — they literally
thought their way to riches.
I believe Hill was aware that most
ordinary people did not possess this
mind set, but he insisted a person
could develop it through the use of
"autosuggestion" — the daily repetition
of powerful positive statements to
program the mind for achieving
desired outcomes. Thus, he was an
early advocate of daily affirmations.
Many of you may recall a bit from the
TV show Saturday Night Live called
"Daily Affirmations," in which comedian
Al Franken assumed a character
named Stuart Smalley and made a
mockery of affirmations by repeatedly
using the phrase, "I'm smart enough,
I'm good enough, and gosh darn it, people
like me!" While I personally found
this sketch hilarious, I'm afraid it may
have turned a lot of people off to this
fundamental success technique. No less
of an authority than Brian Tracy states,
"My favorite combination of affirmations,
which I've used for years, is, "I
like myself and I love my work!' " Tracy
goes on to say, "Controlling your inner
dialogue, the way you talk to yourself,
is a key to peak performance. It is the
way you overcome difficulties and
keep yourself feeling positive most of
the time." (I like that he uses the phrase
"most of the time" — it indicates that no
one, not even Mr. Tracy, walks on
water.) So who are you going to believe
about using daily affirmations — a fictional
comedy character, or one of the
world's greatest success teachers?
Here's a definition of affirmations:
Positive statements, used in the present
tense as if they're already a fact,
which you consciously repeat to yourself
on a daily basis to redefine your
personal belief system. Thus, you create
new positive self-fulfilling prophecies.
Just think of them as mental
pushups.
Affirmations are by no means anything
new. They have been referred to
as "positive thinking," "positive selftalk,"
or even prayer — all religions
appear to have affirmations in their
scripture. The Old and New Testaments
are chock full of them — "As thou
thinkest, so thou art," "Ask, and ye
shall receive," etc. I like to refer to
affirmations as "attitudinal pushups"
— when used consistently they will
create an unstoppable positive mental
attitude ("attitudinal fitness," if you
will) that is essential for your success.
Repetition is the key to allowing these
positive statements to reprogram your
mind, just as you learned your multiplication
tables in grade school.
Here's the recipe for creating "custommade" affirmations for yourself:
- On a piece of paper, write down
your biggest self-limiting beliefs —
negative thoughts you seem to
repeat over and over in your mind.
- Now write THE EXACT POSITIVE
OPPOSITE of these beliefs,
a. using an "I" statement ("I am,"
"I have," or "I can"), and
b. putting the sentence in THE
PRESENT TENSE, as if it's
already a fact.
Some examples:
Self-Limiting Belief: "I'm doing
great in my job and I'm making great
money, but it is not my passion. I can't
just quit, and if I do quit, who is to say
that my passion will make me as successful
as I desire?"
Pushup: "I am now attracting a
job/career/business situation that
perfectly matches my passion and
ambitions!" Notice how this statement
positively contradicts the selflimiting
belief. This creates a choice
of which thought you want to believe,
the first step in creating the possibility
of success. In the words of Henry
Ford, "If you think you can, or if you
think you can't, you're right!" And,
yes — you cynics out there — this is
just like the story of The Little Engine
That Could! (If you happen to be cynical,
you have already created a selffulfilling
prophecy that says, "I'm
The Little Engine That Can't," haven't
you?)
Self-Limiting Belief: "I'm going
nowhere in my job. There doesn't
seem to be a next step. I'm not growing
my skills, and I'm not utilizing my talents.
And, I'm not getting paid what I
could be if I could contribute at the
level I know I'm capable of."
Pushup: "I am now manifesting my
ideal job situation in which I am paid
according to my many skills, talents,
and contributions!" Just the willingness
to give up your negative selfassessment
is an important first step in
developing attitudinal fitness.
Self-Limiting Belief: "My company
is struggling. If I knew it would be this
hard to start a company, I never would
have started it. When are things going
to turn the corner to make this venture
lucrative and exciting?"
Pushup: "I have the vision, the
strength, and the courage to take my
company to great success!" You've
heard the old cliché "water seeks its
own level." As you upgrade the quality
of thoughts you hold about yourself,
you will begin to draw winners to you.
And as you become more positive,
some of the "negative" people you
know (if they stick around at all) will
soon become more positive. And
you'll realize that ALL relationships
are mirrors, reflecting back what you
are putting out.
(Notice I include exclamation
points at the end of each affirmation
for emphasis. The idea is for you to literally
FEEL and BELIEVE each affirmation
is true for you NOW, in the
present time — regardless of your current
situation. In other words, "You'll
see it when you believe it!" Not the
other way around, as you may have
been erroneously taught.)
The Final Step: Begin to repeat
these positive statements at least 10
times each and every day. By working
with your custom affirmations in this
manner, I guarantee you'll change your
thoughts about yourself, and thus
change your life. I've personally experienced
the beneficial results of this
daily exercise, and I've come to
believe: The most basic "secret" to
success is to LITERALLY raise the
quality of the conversation you hold
with yourself.
Since developing his first coaching
program in 1982, Success Skills Coach
Jim Rohrbach, "The Personal Fitness
Trainer for Your Business," has
coached hundreds of business owners,
entrepreneurs, and sales professionals
on increasing their clientele.
Learn more about Success Skills Coach Jim Rohrbach.
To find out how a Nightingale-Conant
coach can help you become a high
achiever, call us at 877.512.3100 to
speak with a coaching representative.
