Tag Archives: Napoleon Hill

From the depths of change

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Have you ever had to make a TOUGH decision? Tough because all options have good logical reasons. And the more you go over the reasons, the more they seem to have validity?

All summer I’ve been in the limbo about taking over a rather new HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) company. My dilemma came from 2 things: first, I don’t know much about HVAC, and second, I wanted to start my own company in coaching, training and seminar leading. 2 very different options. In one hand I had a company offered to me on a silver platter with business coaching support and the other my budding coaching practice with 3 clients for now with no support and the potential to be criticized for not performing and bringing home THE money. It occupied my mind completely. I started loosing sleep over it.

That’s resisting change and letting fear of it dominate mind, conversations, feelings. And as more time was spent in indecision, the harder it got to make a decision. The spirit of Doubt was getting stronger and bigger by the day.
Knowing the mechanism of fear, I was looking at my actions, aware of where it all came from. And, that’s were the awareness stopped. The tools I needed to use to reverse the situation were eluding me, overshadowed by doubt and indecision. I got frustrated because I knew I had the answer somewhere inside of me. Where was it?!

It would have been easy to go back to “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and re-read the chapter on decision.
– “You have a brain and a mind of your own. Use them and reach your own decisions.”
– “Financial independence, riches and desirable business and professional positions are not within reach of the person who neglects or refuses to expect, plan, and demand these things.”
– “The world has the habit of making room for those individuals whose words and actions show that they know where they are going.”

At the end of the summer, I chose the HVAC company because of the support and the feeling of legitimacy it gave me. Not strong enough yet to embrace my own dream. Instead I would support someone else’s dream.

It’s still not easy. I still don’t feel adequate most of the time (the perfectionist in me), but I’m taking decisions everyday, strengthening my decision-making muscle. The doubt comes back when I’m faced with challenges. And then I remember the power of persistence in the midst of all these changes…

How did you deal with the ghosts of fear, doubt and indecision when faced with a big change? I’d love to hear your story! Do share!

My Mastermind Group

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I’m coming back from a Mastermind Group meeting and I’m energized!  I’ve been with the majority of the members of this group for a year and a half and since the beginning there has been a good synergy.

Why did we choose to get together in the first place?  We started to know one another in a book study Mastermind group I was offering around the classic “Think and Grow Rich”  by Napoleon Hill.  And many of the members of the group had the same reasons for being part of it, namely being surrounded by like-minded people in a positive and supportive environment, learning new ways of thinking, and becoming aware of what sets apart people that grow rich from the rest of us.

Once this book study was done we started another one, then a group coaching on “Goal Achiever” by Bob Proctor, and a few more book studies, until I suggested to stop theorizing and to be in action.  We have decided to work on a web presence for each of us to share with the world our unique gifts.

And tonight as we were sharing our latest advancement on our journey, I noted how we were firing away suggestions and encouragement to one another, building up an idea brought forth by a member to something bigger, exciting and almost tangible .  In “Think and Grow Rich” Napoleon Hill says that there is something magical that happens when 2 or more people are gathered with a common goal in mind in that ideas start flowing in a way that would never have been possible if each individual had decided to work alone.  It’s like if a separate mind was created from the presence of all in attendance. Many people are familiar with that concept in brainstorming sessions.  Now imagine being in a brainstorming session each week with group of people working passionately on a project and sharing their findings, hurdles, resources, successes with the others.  It’s amazing!

To set your own group I suggest that you check out the book “Meet and Grow Rich – How to Easily Create and Operate Your Own Mastermind Group for Health, Wealth, and More” by Joe Vitale and Bill Hibbler.  They give you an overview of what a Mastermind is, how to get it started, how to run a meeting etc…  I used it to set the ground rules for this group’s latest purpose.  It was reassuring to everyone to know that certain rules were layed regarding intellectual property, accountability, behaviours that could lead to exclusion, for example.  Although we are all coming to this group in a mindset of creation and not competition it’s still comforting to know there are boundaries.

If they wouldn’t be on this journey with me, I know for sure that it would be a much slower ride.  It’s great to be empowered and supported by a Mastermind Group!