“A strong man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped, and even then the weak man must be strong of himself; he must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admires in another.  None but himself can alter his condition.”  

Of course those words come from “As a Man Thinketh,” by James Allen.  I keep that book by my bed and review it almost daily.

Those thoughts really became crustal clear to me a few years ago when I returned home to bury my grandfather…

Many of you have been in my seminars when I joked that my family’s motto is “We put the fun back in dysfunctional.”  My grandfather had 16 kids, by three marriages.  To watch the interaction between them all at the funeral was interesting, to say the least.

Even more fascinating, is the divergent paths they have taken.  In the same family, some kids are wealthy, others are almost destitute.  They had the same parents, the same environment, yet have manifested completely different results.

I believe it is the direct result of the thoughts they chose to have.

Some of the kids worked with my grandfather in his business, and did very well.  Some worked for him and quit with animosity.  Others were bitter when he left their mother and became estranged.   Some are pillars of society, and other ran into trouble with the law.

How else can you explain the different paths taken by kids who were raised in exactly the same circumstances?  Or to paraphrase W. Mitchell tells us, ‘It’s not what happens to you, it’s what you do about it.’

A person can remain weak, dependant and miserable by refusing to raise his or her consciousness.  A person can reject servitude, conquer limitations and achieve greatness by raising his or her consciousness.  And your consciousness is completely controlled by the thoughts you give precedence to.

So what are the thoughts you give the most precedence to?