The Power of Perception

By Daniel W. Trathen, D. Min. Ph. D.

Any person can become a success. They can become as successful, happy, or as educated and wise as they want, no matter how difficult their start. I speak from experience. It began my educational career in High School in a hole and proceeded to dig it deeper. Even though there are many tools in my tool shed of life, I only knew how to use a shovel. My view of where I was headed was dependent on what I believed about myself. The hole kept getting deeper and deeper. I seemed like the harder I tried, the "behinder" I got. My perception of myself was clouded by experiences I had interpreted as failures. I had no direction or goals in life and found myself circling the disappointments with self-doubt and poor self-esteem. Every time I'd complete the circle, my confidence was reduced even further. I was programming myself with negative thinking. I had a mental virus. Then I discovered that to be a success, I had to program myself for it. I could use the same mental processes that I had been using against myself, but rather than passively allow myself to feel bad, I could intentionally use them to program myself positively for action.

There are three essential ingredients I learned to program into myself for positive mental attitude and continued success. The first and most important is implementing inspiration into action. Inspiration into action means executing our self-motivation or the inner urge that determines choice which incites us to action. The second essential element is knowledge. We've all heard that knowledge is power and the process of obtaining an education is a life long venture. The more we know, the more we realize we need to know. Knowledge is something that can be acquired from books, from the experience of others, and those that are willing to mentor us. The third element is know-how or "common-sense". Know-how gets things done when other people are wondering if it can be done. How do we get it? We don't get it, we accumulate it by doing, by action, by experience. It is through knowing how to apply our obtained knowledge that there is real power. It is through this process that knowledge grows and becomes wisdom. This is the power of perspective!

How do you motivate yourself or others into action? There is a secret ingredient and here is what it looks like. Some time ago, a rich cosmetic manufacturer retired. His products were fabulously successful. His friends hounded him for the secret of the cosmetic's success. He finally told them that in addition to the formulas he used he never promised that they would make a woman beautiful, but he always gave her hope. Hope is the missing ingredient in the formula of success. It is the desire along with the belief that the goal is obtainable coupled with the expectation of reaching it. It is what transforms vision into action.

There is a formula for generating that positive mental attitude. Memorize, understand, and repeat frequently: "What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve." It's a form of self-suggestion and a self-motivator to success. When it becomes a part of us we dare to aim higher. It has worked for many successful people, including a young boy named Bill Danforth. Bill was a sickly farm boy from rural, southeastern Missouri. He was motivated by a dedicated elementary school teacher. The teacher did it with a challenge: "I dare you." "I dare you to become the healthiest boy in the school," the teacher said. Those three words, "I dare you," became William Danforth's self-motivator throughout his life. He did become the healthiest boy in his school and during his long business career, he never lost a day because of illness. "I dare you," motivated him to build one of the biggest corporations in the United States-the Ralston Purina Company.

There are other self-motivators that will spur us to action. We choose whatever motivators we need. We don't have to have many. Let's say that we procrastinate. To cure that bad habit, all we need to do is repeat, "Do it now; do it now; do it now," every time we are tempted to put something off until later. Finally, it becomes a part of our mental attitude that will flash trough our mind when we have the urge to procrastinate and we will act on the suggestion. This is the power of perception!

The three essential ingredients I learned to program into myself for positive mental attitude and continued success started in a similar way to Bill Danforth's, "I dare you". I clearly remember a teacher in college who believed in me even when I didn't. She saw something in me that I wasn't seeing and challenged me to look at it. She saw potential and nurtured it until it had grown enough so I could see it and nurture it. I've nurtured it through taking inspiration and implementing it into action, through acquiring knowledge, and by being a student of life and seeking to obtain know-how and get things done when others thought they were not possible. I no longer allow others to shape my future. There is hope! The same ingredients to success are available to you. Start today to believe in yourself and take charge of your life. Remember, there is great power in your perspective.