Wake Up And LIVE,
Idea’s from the book by Dorothea Brande
https://livesensical.com/introducing-dorothea-brandes-classic-wake-up-and-live/
“All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right-about-face which turns us from failure towards success.”
“Act boldly and unseen forces will come to your aid.”
“Suppose a man had an appointment a hundred miles north of his home, and that if he kept it he would receive good health, much happiness, fair prosperity and all for the rest of his life. As he receives this information he has just enough time to get there and just enough gas in his car as well. He drives out with the intent to reach his destination on time, but on a whim decides that it would be more fun to go twenty-five miles south, in the opposite direction, before starting out in earnest. But because of this last minute whim he never makes it to his appointment on time. That would be utter nonsense! Yes, wouldn’t it? The gas had nothing to do with him missing his appointment; time had no preference as to how it would be spent; the road ran north as well as south, yet he missed his appointment. Now, if after the fact that man told us that, after all, he had quite enjoyed the drive in the wrong direction, that in some ways he found it pleasanter to drive with no objective than to try to keep a specified appointment. H also had had a touching glimpse of his old home by driving south along with other enjoyable experiences. Should we praise this man for being properly philosophical about having lost his opportunity? No, we would think he had acted like an imbecile. Even if he had missed his appointment by getting into a daydream in which he drove automatically past a road sign or two, we should still not absolve him. Or if he had arrived too late from having lost his way when he might have looked up his route on a good map and failed to do so before starting, we might commiserate with him, but we would still indict him for such bad judgment. Yet when it comes to going straight to the appointments we make with ourselves and our own fulfillment we all act very much like the hero of this silly fable: we drive the wrong way. We fail where we might have succeeded by spending the same power and time. Failure indicates that energy has been poured into the wrong channel. It takes energy to fail!”
“Old habits are strong and jealous. They will not be displaced easily if they get any warning that such plans are afoot; they will fight for their existence with subtlety and persuasiveness.”
“To guarantee success, act as if it were impossible to fail.”