Napoleon Hill in his series, “The Master Key” said that whatever the mind and conceive and believe, the mind can achieve. Whether you are building a business, reaching for a goal or simply teaching your children how to be well behaved, the first step is to see the end result.

It is said that 80% of Americans when polled say that their number one dream is to own their own business in order to achieve their dream of success. If that is the case, what keeps so many from achieving that goal? I suggest that out most of the people that say they want to own their own business have not believed that they can really own one. They have merely conceived that it would be a good idea. In order to achieve the dream of having one’s own business, the mind must first conceive of the idea and then believe in the idea. This support system of belief makes a direct selling business very powerful.

The system of support that comes from a direct selling business enables the participant to plug believe that they can achieve their dream of independence because they see so many others around them succeeding. No sooner can a building be built prior to the architecture plans being completed, than can a direct selling business be built prior to the participant conceiving the idea, believing that one can achieve the success and persisting until that success is achieved.

In reaching for that goal, one will encounter many obstacles and struggles: no one wants to follow me, (says the mind). I can’t get anyone to be my customer (says the mind). I don’t have time for this (says the mind). Everyone thinks I’m crazy for doing this (says the mind). In each case, the mind has conceived and believed in the global statement and achieved exactly what it is directed towards: failure.

Consider the opposite: everyone I speak with gets excited (says the mind). I can get thousands of people to be my customer (says the mind). I only have to spend a little time at this and never quit in order to win (says the mind). Everyone that I want to be like encourages me (says the mind). In this case, by making a small adjustment to one’s language the mind conceives, believes and achieves a dramatically different result.

So, be careful who you are following, what you are listening to and reading. We are no more than a sum of the people we meet and interact with, the books we read and the advice to which we listen. If you want to achieve big dreams and goals, conceive of those goals, focus on what life will look like when they are achieved and never give up on reaching for them. You will and you must achieve success!

Once started is half complete

Recently, I was surprised to experience the dissolution of a person’s commitment to bettering their life. After speaking with this individual about the American dream, the dream to control one’s future by running their own company, I watched this person’s attitude change right before my eyes.

Many have written and spoken on the impact of attitude and how it controls ones probability for success. In this particular case, I whole heartedly agree. In order for one to reach the pinnacle of success, no matter what the venture, one must be completely committed to that goal. By committed I mean doing the thing that one set out to do long after the feeling one said it in has diminished.

My friend began by seeing the opportunity to achieve more, become more and attract more into his own life. When faced with the reality that most people, and by most I mean more than 70 percent, will stand as obstacles, critics and cynics in the path of one’s goal, my friend quickly forgot the commitment that was made to himself, his family and his dream. He became another statistic of the “also-rans”.

I say that I was surprised by this experience, not because it has not happened to others that I have met or worked with in the past. I say that I was surprised because this individual made a verbal commitment to stay positive, remain engaged and to be completely open to training for a minimum of one year. So why did he recant his verbal commitment? I believe the answer is found in one’s “yes” being “yes” and one’s “no” being “no”.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet said, “Above all: To thine own self be true.” In this statement of wisdom we find the secret to all success. If one is to be successful in any achievement, one must first convince self that no matter what the cost, obstacle or struggle one will remain on course until completed. Once certain of this contract between the goal and oneself, being true to the commitment will always result in achievement of the desired goal.