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Cultivating A Positive Mental Attitude: Part 3

Written By: Anthony on April 22, 2009 One Comment

Tending the Garden of Your Mind

The mind is like barren land just waiting for some seeds to fall and flourish, similar to a great garden. It is important then, to plant the seeds of greatness and watch them flourish into vines of positive thinking. Monitoring what you put into your mind is very important and crucial to your success and happiness in life.

Here are some suggestions to help you along your way:

»Read motivational and inspirational self help books:

This is the first and foremost helpful tool that I have utilized in my own personal transformation. Reading is so important because it is food for the mind; the seeds of greatness that will flourish and grow into an amazing and bountiful garden.

It may be a particular book that you read that makes the difference in your life or, as in many cases, it may be a single sentence in a book that seems to jump out and inspires you to change your life forever. This has happened many times in my life and I have seen it happen in the lives of many other people as well.

Some of the books that have changed my life in the early stages of my personal development are Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude by Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone, The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason, The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino, Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson and many others which I will discuss in future posts.

On a more Spiritual side and more related to the Law of Attraction I have been inspired by the writings of Neville Goddard. Some of his great works include The Power of Awareness, Feeling is the Secret, Your Faith is Your Fortune, Law and the Promise, Resurrection, and Prayer: The Art of Believing. Neville’s works are the truth and roots on the Law of Attraction made so popular through the book and movie The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.

»Listen to motivational and inspirational self help audio books on CD and MP3:

Many great success coaches such as Zig Ziglar and Jim Rohn utilize the term “Auto University” and do so for a good reason. Your own automobile or commute via bus or subway can be the place where you learn more fulfilling and useful lessons than in your formal education.

Aside from a dynamic learning experience, it can also be a place where you cultivate an amazing and uplifting positive shift in your mental state. I personally benefit from this practice every day of my life and cannot overemphasize the importance of it. Listening to positive self help audio programs on your daily commute can be an uplifting and inspiring experience for anyone and put you in that state of mind to conquer your day.

Audio programs are not limited to be listened to on your daily commute though. That is just one effective way to utilize these valuable tools. Listening to your audio can be done at any time of the day whether working, relaxing or exercising, which is another one of my favorite times to get motivated and set my mind in a positive state. I love to listen while pumping iron at the gym and even better yet, while power walking outdoors at the park. This is a form of meditation for me and a 60 minute walk while listening to an uplifting audio program on my iPod really helps me to absorb the information and experience it in a compelling way.

Two of the most influential audio programs that I listen to which really have a positive impact on me are The Strangest Secret and Lead the Field by Earl Nightingale. There is so much wisdom and enlightenment in these two programs and practical lessons that anyone can benefit from. Earl Nightingale is a dynamic speaker and has a unique way of articulating his message that seems to captivate my full attention and that really drives the message home. I am always left with a change in my mental state for the better after listening to one of his Cd’s, especially Lead the Field.

Next to Earl Nightingale I am always captivated by the powerful diction of Anthony Robbins and Zig Ziglar. If you really want a shift in your mental state then listen to Goals and also How to Get What You Want by Zig Ziglar. These two pieces are filled with stories that motivate and inspire you to reach new levels.

»Watch motivational and inspirational movies:

I remember vividly a time back in 1997 when I first watched the movie“Rudy“. This was such an awe inspiring movie which depicted the life of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger and his quest to achieve his goal of playing football for the University of Notre Dame. Rudy represents a true warrior, overcoming many obstacles along his journey and modeling what is the epitome of perseverance.

Through an unstoppable will, Rudy does succeed in his quest, playing in the the final game of the season against Georgia Tech on November 8, 1975. He made history, becoming the only player to be carried off the field at Notre Dame. Through all the adversity that he faced, he never quit, and that is one of the most important keys to goal achievement.

This movie truly inspired me to persevere through tough times and obsticles in my life and I can’t count the times I have watched this movie for motivation. It teaches us perseverance and perseverance is one of the most important qualities successful people demonstrate and that is for a good reason. If you simply give up when the going gets tough you will never ever have the opportunity to arrive at your goal.

This movie is just one of the many great examples of setting a clearly defined goal and sticking to it no matter what seems to stand in your way. This is also just one of the many movies you can watch to get you into the state of a positive mental attitude and truly inspire you to reach greater heights. I recommend watching whatever seems to motivate you and change your state of mind to a positive one. Some of my favorites that have truly inspired me over the years are Conversations With God, Iron Will, Pay It Forward, and of course the Rocky series.