“Man’s mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions.” -Oliver Wendell Holmes
Here are the 10 points to take away from todays daily read on Anthony Robbins : Awaken The Giant Within Chapter 17 : References : The Fabric Of Life.
Point 1 : If we want to understand why people do what they do, a review of the most significant and impactful reference experiences of their lives certainly can gives us clue. Just like saddam hussein who had been abused by this father and how his uncle teach him to nurture a grudge and to hate the English “overlords.” that causes him to be who he is. However in life, its not our references, but our interpretations of them, the way we organise them that clearly determine our beliefs.
Point 2 : References are all experiences of your life that you have recorded within your nervous system, everything you have ever seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled. stored away in our giant brain. Some we pick up consciously, some unconsciously. The power to using your references is to organise your references in an empowering way. The way we use our references will determine how we feel, because whether something is good or bad is all based on what you are comparing it to.
Point 3 : Sony when they just started was once made an offer for 10 times the value of the company. For their $10,000 company Bulova offered them $100,000. However the offer was rejected, he told them “Fifty years from now, my company’s name will be as big as yours.” Many people thought Sony was crazy not to accept that offer. How was he able to create this sense of certainty that enabled him to turn down such an enticing and profitable offer? He vividly imagined the future of his company, and created references where none existed.
Point 4 : You want to learn from your past, not live in it, focus on the things that empower you. What if Thomas Edison had given up after his first failed attempt to make the electric light bulb or even the 100th attempts or 1000th attempts. Luckily for us, he could had taken each instance as a reference to back up a belief that his invention was a failure and it is not feasible. Instead, he chose to use each failed attempt as a reference for the belief that he was getting closer to the solution.
Point 5 : Reading is feeding your mind. Read a book, go to seminars, meet people, listen to audio tapes, poetry, myths, stories and get new ideas. All references have power, and you never know which one could change your entire life.
Point 6 : I used to believe that going to see a play was a waste of time. Why? Because the only plays i had ever attended were poorly acted and the pace was painfully slow. Until one day they decided to go for the Les Miserables, it was one of the best show he ever watch and since then he become addicted to great theater! “Imagination is more important than knowledge” – Albert Einstein
Point 7 : There are no bad experiences, whether its a challenging experience or a pleasurable one, every experience provides me something of value if i look for it. if i pull just one idea or distinction from an experience, then it expands me.
Point 8 : “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” – Antonie De Saint Exupery
Point 9 : I will never get over them; I will always have pain. Been broken in a relationship? You are absolutely right, as long as you hold on to the belief that you have been taken advantage of, or that you have lost something that can never be returned, you will indeed always have the pain. Just remember, Loss is imaginary. Nothing ever disappears in the universe ; it only changes form.
Point 10 : We live in a galaxy that contains several hundred thousand million stars. Then realise that we live in a universe that has several hundred thousand million galaxies. In other words, there are several hundred thousands million suns in our galaxy alone. And all of these suns have planets revolving around them as well. Think of the magnitude. The stars in our galaxy make one turn around the milky way axis only once every several hundred million years. When you compare it to the life span of us human (80 years max on average) The human life span is but a speck in time. And yet people worry themselves to death about things like how they’re going to pay the mortgage, what kind of car they drive, or how their next business meeting will go.
If you enjoy this 10 points today, i believe you will love the book you can grab a copy at the link below! May the force be with you!