steemiters,
Sharone Kelly here,
Listen, Do you ever sit in a room alone and think?
Hanhahaha... !!!
I can probably guess your bank balance by how you answer that question... Great people think deeply. And they do it often. In a routine...
Few hours ago, I was re-reading this book "Pascal's Pensees" by Blaise Pascal, the famous mathematician.
He says, “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
Ponder that for a few minutes.
I don't care if you make $1,000 a year or $1 million - that's powerful.
What if Pascal is right and that is truly the solution to the problems of civilization and the problems of your and my life?
How simple would that make life?
Sometimes the answer is right under our nose...
Seriously, have you sat down for hours without distractions and planed out your future?
To me life i think, is only about 2 things:
- Planning
- Executing
Some people are good at executing but on the wrong plan.
That is the worst.
Joel Salatin used to say, "There is nothing worse than realizing you are good at the wrong thing."
That is most of the modern world. We have a skill in some job we hate.
Most people live out a life of quiet desperation while building a skill in some job they loathe.
You don't ever want to be that person.
You are better off selling everything, being homeless, and riding a motorcycle across South America like Che Guevara in Motorcycle Diaries (amazing movie to watch by the way)...
Some people are good at planning but not at executing. That is more rare but still happens.
Planning is harder than executing.
Controlling the mind is a beast. It's difficult.
That's why I asked you earlier - how many hours do you sit alone in a room quietly with no distractions, no iPhone, no Facebook and think deeply?
Think Like Bobby Fisher...
I call this "Chess-like thinking."
Think things through thoroughly. Plan for the best case. Plan for the worst case.
What happens if you can't pay your bills? What happens if the economy tanks? What happens if your close friend betrays you? What happens if you make a profit?
Go three or four moves deep...
Like Lao Tzu says, "Prepare for what is difficult when it is easy."
You don't want be making a plan after something happens.
Jim Rohn used to say, "Prepare for tomorrow, today."
Let me add, when I say sit alone and think I'm not talking about "searching for the truth within."
You should be sitting alone thinking, pondering, recombining the thoughts, knowledge and experience you are gaining from reading about and mentoring under the world's greatest minds.
It's a balance. You must both take in new ideas and then use deep thought to process it all into your daily activity.
Like Dale Carnegie says in How to Win Friends and Influence People, “Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind.”
Think. Think. Think.
Figure out how to apply.
Thinkers move the world forward. Not consumers. Not morons. Not selfish entitled brats.
Thinkers.
The Thinking Chair...
Start practically. Devote 10 minutes a day to sitting in a chair (I have a library with one chair in it I use) and just think.
Make sure you don't have any electronics in the room.
Start with 10 minutes and work up to 60 minutes.
Let me know how it works for you?
Let us know what you think about all of this... ??
Stay strong,
Sharone