"The creator gave man the prerogative of power
over his own mind. It
must have been the creator's purpose to
encourage man to live his own
life, think his own thoughts, find his own goals
and achieve them." -
(Napoleon Hill)

Probably you are reading this article with your
phone or laptop that was charged with electric light. You know that Thomas A. Edison gave
the first practical electric light to the world. But
did you know that Edison was thrown out of school in the early grades after his teacher decided he had an "addled" mind and could not take schooling? This
then was the impact of another person's opinion
upon Thomas-Edison- to let him know with the voice of authority that he didn't have what it takes to absorb even a primary education! Where
would we have been if he had allowed this directive to take charge of his thinking?
So also it was with Napoleon Hill. Napoleon Hill lost his mom at the tender age of eight and was made to
live with his relatives. To them and his father, he
was a problem
child who would never accomplish anything save,
perhaps a life of
crime. Then a certain woman came upon the
scene and changed his life.
That woman was his step-mother. Long before
she arrived, Napoleon had
be thoroughly conditioned by his relatives to hate
her. She arrived,
and his father brought her to his house where
the relatives had
gathered to meet her. His father introduced her
all around. At length,
he found Napoleon where he stood in a corner.
"And here" said his
father "is your stepson, Napoleon, beyond doubt
the meanest boy in
Wise County. We don't expect much good from
him. I wouldn't be
surprised if he starts throwing rocks at you by
tomorrow morning." But
the name Napoleon Hill doesn't need further
introduction today because
he decided not to listen to the negative voice of
authority.

One of the great opera stars of all time, Madame
Schumann-Heink, as a
young girl went to a music teacher to have her
voice tested. He listened a few minutes, then said brusquely: That's enough! Go
back to
your sewing machine. You may become a first-
class seamstress, A
singer, no! Remember, that was the voice of
authority speaking. The
girl could have been forgiven for deciding then
and there that she
would never sing again. Yet she had! and kept
possession of her own
mind. She became all the more determined that
she would learn to sing
and to sing well. This she did, and the world
became richer.
Authorities in your life may be your parents,
spiritual leaders,
mentors, teachers, office boss, friends,
boyfriend/girlfriend,
husband/wife, etc. but never you give them the
authority over your
mind. You may not be able to stop them from
saying
whatever they like, but you have the right not to
listen to them.

Let me end this article with a quote by Stephen
R. Covey; author of
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. "If the
only vision we have
of ourselves comes from the social mirror- from
the current social
paradigm and from the opinions, perceptions, and
paradigms of the
people around us - our view of ourselves is like
the reflection in the
crazy mirror room at the carnival."

Succeed You Must

(c) Johnspeak Uwangue
Motivational Speaker, Talent and Life Coach.

Johnspeak is solving complex issues through the wisdom of God, his personal experiences and in depth researches in the affairs of individuals, organizations and nations.