The Choice of Two Envelopes

Since I can remember, I always had a pretty positive mental attitude which I believe has helped me get through many of the health ailments I have lived through and are living with today. A healthy PMA can help you live a happy life no matter what you may be dealing with. This is taken from a book I am currently reading called, "Keys to Success: The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement" by Napoleon Hill. I liked this one chapter so much that I wanted to share some of it with you all today!

"At birth you arrive figuratively clutching two sealed envelopes. One is labeled "Rewards" and the other "Penalties".The first envelope contains a list of all the benefits you will enjoy from taking possession of your own mind and using it to get what you want. The second carries a list of the consequences that will befall you if you neglect controlling your mind and directing it toward a worthwhile goal.

If you do not use a muscle, it will wither and become useless. If you do not use the powers of your mind, they will do the same thing. Your brain and your life will become subject to every passing influence, unable to resist them or to act positively-unless you fix your mind on the object of your desire and create and act upon a plan for attaining it.

You've probably heard something like the old saying, "Success attracts success while failure attracts more failure." Nothing could be more true. Striving for success makes you better able to attain it. Doing nothing and accepting failure only brings more failure your way.

If you put your mind to work with a positive mental attitude and believe that success is your right, your belief will guide you unerringly toward whatever your definition of success might be. If you adopt a negative mental attitude and fill your mind with thoughts of fear and frustration, your mind will only draw those same things to you. That is the power of mental attitude. Why not make yours positive?"

Rewards of Positive Mental Attitude

If you take possession of your mind and direct it toward desirable goals, you will enjoy:

1. Success consciousness, which attracts other means for success
2. Sound health, both physical and mental
3. Financial independence
4. A labor of love in which to expose yourself
5. Peace of mind
6. Applied faith, which makes fear impossible
7. Enduring friendships
8. Longevity and a well-balanced life
9. Immunity from self-limitation
10. The wisdom to understand yourself and others


Penalties of a Negative Mental Attitude

If you neglect taking possession of your mind and directing it toward a worthwhile goal, you are doomed to:

1. Poverty and misery your entire life
2. Mental and physical ailments of all kinds
3. Self-limitations which trap
4. Fear and all its destructive consequences
5. Hatred of the means by which you support yourself
6. Many enemies and few friends
7. Every brand of worry known to humanity
8. Being a victim of every negative influence you encounter
9. Subjection to the will of others
10. A wasted life which does nothing to better the human condition

[Keys to Success: The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement; Chapter 7 pg. 86-88 :Napoleon Hill]

The choice is yours! What will it be? If you do not make the first one and gladly accept it without hesitation, the second will be bound to you. There is no middle point, no bargains or special deals. So the choice is yours! Which will it be?

The Starfish Story

"Early one morning a young girl was walking on the beach when she noticed thousands of stranded Starfish. To save them she began tossing them, one at a time, back into the ocean. When a passerby told her she couldn't possible save all the Starfish, she tossed one into the ocean and replied, "Well, I made a difference to that one." Inspired by the little girl, others came to help. Together, they made a difference."


Got this short story off the back of a "Pepperidge Farm Baked Goldfish/Starfish" bag.


If you have the ability to dream big, like the little girl from the story, than you have one of the main ingredients of becoming successful! According to multimillionaire, Matt Morris, this ability is the main reason he has had such a profitable career. When we were children we all had an amazing ability to dream. For an example when you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up? Do they say. "I'm going to try to be a fireman" or "I'm going to try to be an astronaut" or "I'm going to try to be a professional athlete". No they have their dream and that is what they are going to be! No if. and. or buts about it. Unfortunately, as they grow up, people begin to tell them they are being unrealistic, they tell them they should inspire to be something they can accomplish more easily. For many children society steals their dream. When a child lowers their expectations because of practicality, their dreams start to wither away. It's not the child's fault, they are just following the footsteps of their heroes. The heroes of most children are usually their parents. When they are growing up they see their parents as having all the answers and they can do anything, but as they get older they see their parents are giving up on their dreams. It's because they have made small goals like getting out of debt instead of owning a million dollars. Paying off their bills instead of living off the interest that is created from their investments. It's no surprise that children stop looking up to their parents as they get older. Which also leads to them giving up on their dreams also.

The common trait of all successful people is the ability to dream big dreams. According to Matt Morris, success is largely dependant on desire. A burning desire is what you need in your gut, to do what is necessary to succeed. I most definitely have this desire, I always have! My desire was to live, I was going to live my life no matter what! Growing up I always had people telling me that I shouldn't push myself, but I thought if I didn't push myself, I am not truly living. If I wanted to play sports, lift weights, ride my bike, or whatever I wanted to do, I did it. It may have taken me longer than most but I got it done and after wards I felt proud. I felt proud that I could actually accomplish what I have started. Especially, when I think about when I was two years old and the doctors told my parents that I had a 10% chance of actually surviving. Thank you Lord, for blessing me with 23 great years! I just try to ignore the pain in my body and keep pushing myself. You know what they say, "if you don't use it, you lose it". Don't let anyone, anything, even if it's your own body stop you, you can do whatever you put your mind to!

According to Matt Morris, the formula to creating a burning desire is through your dreams. Dreams are the fuel that fire desire. They are, what get you back on your feet when you are knocked down. Dreams are the motivating force that help to get that extra mile in. Dreams are the fuel that provide sheer willpower that allow you to say, "I can, I will, I must!" They give us power, they allow us to stand out above the crowd. They are also a main ingredient in leadership. Dreams provide inspiration to yourself and others when they are shared with enthusiasm and faith. This is why I truly believe in what Success University stands for, I also believe I am going to be very successful in the business! Why? Because it is my dream!