This post is third in a series about self control. I suggest you read Part One and Part Two before reading this section.
The greatest of all control is “Self-Control”.
Every second of our life, we’re either self controlled or we're not. We're either the “master” of ourselves or a slave to something or someone else. We get weaker if we give in to our weaknesses, wallow in self-pity or any “woe is me” kind of thinking. If we can't let go of the past or our any of our failures, we cheat ourselves of the ability to create a catalyst for our own rebirth.
As we consciously and on purpose control our thoughts and actions every day, we become the master of our lives. We begin to build our new self from the remnants of our mistakes as we overcome the opposing forces within us . When we can do this at will, we have achieved the mindset of champions… self control.
Alexander the Great conquered the whole known world. He could not conquer himself in the end. Poor Alexander had no self control and became a slave to his passions instead of a master of them.
Have you ever envied the possessions of other people? Ever wished you had them for yourself? Sometimes we feel this in an abstract way with no real thoughts of getting them. It’s like seeing the Hope Diamond, or the self-satisfaction of someone successful like Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, or Jeff Bezos. Sometimes, people get aggravated or envious at the apparently unequal distribution of the good things in life. If you feel this way, then you are in grave danger of falling into a hopeless acceptance of your “lot in life”.
Why envy the success of other people when we could emulate the process that gave them their success?
Charles Atlas was a renowned body-builder from the 1950's. One day he was at the beach when some guys kicked sand in his face. He was a young and puny guy who finally decided he needed to find a way to prevail over the people who harassed him. He vowed that would never happen again. Through self-education and self-control, he learned the step by step, daily process to superb development of his body.
Then he shared that secret with the world. As marketers, we should remember most of his early advertisements were placed in comic books. He amassed a fortune because people were hungry for the ideas he talked about. Those people with self-control who followed his advice got the same body building success as Charles Atlas.
Examine the world of information marketing. The Internet is chock full of experts, gurus, as well as some clueless people passing themselves off as authorities. The vast majority of the good guys (and gals) are honest and offer fair value in their products. They usually offer a step-by-step checklist for the user to follow in order to achieve success. They watch forums they set up so they can see where their customers get stuck. They get answers for them because they genuinely want their students to succeed.
Information Marketing's biggest problem is less than 20% of the people who buy these products ever do anything with them. A friend told me once “People would rather know how to do something instead of actually doing it.” When contacted, the customer always has a logical excuse for why he can’t start now. Unfortunately, I have found this to be true and it saddens me because I absolutely love helping people succeed.
Who can ignore the thousands of uplifting stories from people coming from all walks of life, who overcame great obstacles and personal challenges? These challenges mainly came from one or more of these areas…
- mental
- moral
- physical
- financial or
- spiritual.
Many started from a beginning far weaker and poorer than you could imagine. They never ever thought that “success is for other people, not me”. Their thinking went something like “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” Then they just went and started doing things consistently to move them towards their goals.
Anyone can achieve self control simply by deciding to do it.
Don't expect that it will be easy. Your dues must be paid in small ways every day. A good example is a savings account. No one is so poor that they cannot begin to save for what they want. Every small investment adds up and compounds in a reserve fund to use later on. It might be tough to save, but with consistent, small deposits, any goal can be reached.
This post is continued in Part Four where you’ll find specific examples of how create a mindset self control… In case you missed my previous posts about self control, here are links to them. Part One – Part Two
