Latest / The Growth Mindset Book Podcast: Ideas That Change the Way You Think / Autosuggestion: The Conversation That Changes Your Life.

Transcript

Autosuggestion: The Conversation That Changes Your Life. · The Growth Mindset Book Podcast: Ideas That Change the Way You Think

• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Today I want to talk about something Napoleon Hill teaches in Think and Grow Rich that I find absolutely fascinating.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: And what's really interesting about this particular idea is that you're already using it every single day, whether you realize it or not.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's called autosuggestion.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I know auto-suggestion might sound like some complicated psychological concept, but it's really not.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, when you understand what Hill is talking about, it's actually pretty simple.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you're going to find this incredibly interesting because it has everything to do with the conversations you're having with yourself throughout the day.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Let me ask you something.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever stopped to think about how much you actually talk to yourself?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not talking about walking around having conversations out loud.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about that little voice inside your head that's constantly commenting on everything that's going on in your life.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Think about what happens when you wake up in the morning.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Before your feet even hit the floor, you might be thinking, Oh boy, I've got so much to do today.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: You look at your calendar and say to yourself, this is going to be a crazy day.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you've got an important meeting coming up and you're thinking, I hope this goes well.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: I hope I don't mess it up.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's my question.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Who's telling you all those things?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: You are, right?
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: And what's really interesting is that most of us don't even realize we're doing it.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: These conversations have become so automatic that we barely notice them anymore.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: But what if those conversations are actually influencing the way you feel, the decisions you make, and the results you're getting in your life?
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's exactly what Napoleon Hill wants us to understand.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: In Think and Grow Rich, Hill describes autosuggestion as a way of influencing your subconscious mind through the thoughts and suggestions you repeatedly give yourself.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And his point is that the ideas you continually feed your mind can begin influencing what you believe about yourself and what's possible for you.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now think about that for a second.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: If somebody followed you around all day telling you that you weren't good enough, that you weren't capable, or that you were never going to succeed, how long do you think you'd want to be around that person?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Probably not very long, right?
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: But what happens when the person saying those things is you?
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: What happens when you're the one telling yourself, I'm terrible with money?
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not good at speaking in front of people, I'm not disciplined.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Things never seem to work out for me.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And here's what's really interesting.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: You may have been saying those things to yourself for so long that you don't even question them anymore.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: They just seem true.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: But are they true?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Or are they simply ideas you've repeated so many times that you've come to accept them?
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's a pretty powerful question when you think about it.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Let me give you an example.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine two people who are about to give a presentation in front of a hundred people.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: They're both equally prepared.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: They both know their material and they've both practiced.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: But the first person keeps thinking, I hate speaking in front of people.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to get nervous.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: What if I forget what I'm supposed to say?
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: What if everybody thinks I'm terrible?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the second person is having a completely different conversation with themselves.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: They're thinking, I'm prepared for this.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: I know my material.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: I've got something valuable to share, and I'm looking forward to helping these people.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Let me ask you something.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Which one do you think is more likely to walk into that room feeling confident?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Probably the second person, wouldn't you agree?
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And here's what I find so fascinating about that example.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing about the actual presentation has changed.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's the same room, the same audience, and the same level of preparation.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: The only thing that's different is the conversation each person is having with themselves.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now, does that mean the second person is guaranteed to give an amazing presentation?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Of course not.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: But don't you think the way they're talking to themselves could influence how they feel and how they perform?
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what makes this so important.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's something Hill talks about that I really want you to understand, because I think this is where a lot of people get auto suggestion wrong.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: They think it's just about repeating positive statements over and over again.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, things like, I'm successful, I'm successful, I'm successful.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: And listen, there's nothing necessarily wrong with saying something positive to yourself, but Hill makes a much bigger point than that.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: He talks about the importance of emotion and feeling.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, you can't just mechanically repeat a bunch of words while you're thinking about what you're going to have for dinner and expect something incredible to happen.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to become emotionally involved with what you're saying.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Let me explain what I mean.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say somebody tells you to repeat the words, I'm successful.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's great.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: But what does successful actually mean to you?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Seriously, think about that.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: What would success look like in your life?
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: What would you be doing differently?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: How would you feel?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Who would you be helping?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: What would your days look like?
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Because now we're talking about something completely different, aren't we?
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: We're not just repeating a sentence anymore.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're thinking about something that actually matters to us, something we want, something we can get excited about.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where the emotional connection comes in.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is also why Hill places so much emphasis on having a definite desire.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: He wants you to know exactly what you want.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you don't know what you want, what exactly are you trying to direct your thinking toward?
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Think about getting into your car and turning on the navigation system.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: What's the first thing it wants to know?
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Where do you want to go?
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well, imagine telling it, I don't know, I just want to go somewhere better.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: What's it supposed to do with that?
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: You need a destination, right?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a great way to understand what Hill is teaching.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Before you can begin deliberately directing your thoughts towards something, you need to decide what that something is.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now, earlier in Think and Grow Rich, in the chapter on desire, Hill gives us six steps for turning a desire into a definite plan.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things he tells us to do is write down exactly what we want, what we're willing to give in return, when we intend to achieve it, and how we plan to get there.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Then he tells us to read that written statement aloud twice a day, once in the morning and once before going to sleep.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: And while we're reading it, he wants us to imagine ourselves already possessing what we desire.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now, why do you think he wants us to do that?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Why not just write the goal down once, put it in a drawer, and forget about it?
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because repetition is important.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Think about how you learned to drive a car.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Remember the first time you got behind the wheel?
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: You had to think about everything.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Where do I put my hands?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: How much pressure do I put on the gas?
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: When do I hit the brakes?
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Where am I supposed to look?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: But after doing it over and over again, what happened?
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: It became natural, didn't it?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm not saying auto suggestion works exactly the same way as learning to drive, but I think there's a really useful lesson there.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: The things we repeatedly practice and focus our attention on can become more familiar to us.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And when something becomes familiar, it can begin feeling more natural.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Let me give you another example, because I think this will really help bring the idea home.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine somebody who spent most of their life believing they're terrible at meeting new people.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Every time they're invited to a networking event, they start telling themselves, I'm not good at this.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: I never know what to say.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just not a people person.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before they even walk through the door, how do you think they're feeling?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Probably uncomfortable, right?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: And what do you think they do once they get there?
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they stand off to the side, maybe they avoid starting conversations, maybe they leave early.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then afterward, what do they tell themselves?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: See, I told you I'm not good at meeting people.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: But let me ask you something.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Did that experience actually prove they couldn't become good at meeting people?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Or did they behave in a way that was consistent with what they already believed about themselves?
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Do you see the difference?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now, imagine that same person begins changing the conversation they're having with themselves.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of saying, I'm terrible at meeting people, they begin saying, I'm becoming more comfortable meeting new people.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: I enjoy learning about others.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Every conversation is an opportunity for me to improve.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the important part.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: They actually start practicing.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: They introduce themselves to one person, then another.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: They ask questions, they listen, they begin getting more comfortable.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And over time, what happens?
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: They start having experiences that give them new reasons to believe they're capable of doing something they previously thought they couldn't do.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's pretty exciting, isn't it?
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to make sure you catch something here.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: Auto suggestion isn't a replacement for taking action.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's about helping you develop the thinking that supports the action you want to take.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you take that action, you begin creating experiences that can strengthen the new belief.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's a pretty powerful combination.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now, let me ask you another question.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever had a song get stuck in your head?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you heard it on the radio while you were driving, and hours later you're still singing it.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: You didn't sit down and consciously decide to memorize the song.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: You heard it, it caught your attention, and somehow it kept coming back.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Well, think about the ideas you've repeatedly exposed yourself to over the years.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: What happens when you spend years telling yourself the same story about who you are?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not good with numbers.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not disciplined.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: I always procrastinate.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just not lucky.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, those statements can become so familiar that you stop questioning them.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: You begin treating them like facts.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: But here's what I want you to think about.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: What if some of those things you've believed about yourself for years aren't actually facts at all?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: What if they're simply conclusions you've been reinforcing?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: And if that's true, wouldn't it make sense to start questioning them?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Because maybe the problem isn't that you're incapable of becoming the person you want to become.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you've just spent a long time reinforcing a picture of yourself that's no longer serving you.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's another part of Hill's teaching that I really love.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: He wants us to become emotionally involved with our goals.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to imagine something for a moment.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say your goal is to build a successful business.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: You could sit there and repeat, I have a successful business a hundred times.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: But what if you actually spent a few minutes imagining what that success would mean to you?
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine waking up in the morning excited about the day ahead.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine having clients who genuinely appreciate what you do.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine the confidence that comes from knowing you're providing something valuable.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine the people you're helping, the opportunities you're creating, and the freedom that comes from building something meaningful.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: Now, let me ask you something.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't that feel completely different from just repeating a sentence?
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: Of course it does.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because now the goal has meaning.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: You're emotionally connected to it.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: You're not just thinking about words.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: You're thinking about a life you genuinely want to create.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what Hill is encouraging us to do.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: He doesn't want us to simply wish for something and hope it shows up.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: He wants us to develop a definite purpose, become emotionally connected to that purpose, and repeatedly direct our thinking toward it.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: And here's what I find so exciting about this whole concept.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can begin practicing it today.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to buy anything, you don't need special equipment, and you certainly don't need to wait until everything in your life is perfect.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: You simply need to become more intentional about what you're telling yourself.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: So let me give you something you can actually do with this.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Think of one area of your life where you'd really like to improve.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's your confidence, maybe it's your business, your health, your relationships, or the way you handle difficult situations.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever it is, just pick one.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now, ask yourself, what have I been telling myself about this area of my life?
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to be honest with yourself, because sometimes the things we say to ourselves aren't very encouraging.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you've been telling yourself, I'm always going to struggle with this, or I'm just not capable of doing that.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe I've tried before and it never works.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's the next question.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: What would you like to believe instead?
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't mean just come up with something that sounds nice.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean something meaningful that reflects the person you're working to become.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's I'm becoming more confident every time I take action.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's I'm learning how to manage my money more effectively.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it's I'm developing the habits that will help me build the business I want.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then I want you to ask yourself one more question.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: What would somebody who genuinely believed that do today?
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Would they make the phone call they've been putting off?
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: Would they start the conversation they've been avoiding?
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Would they spend 20 minutes learning something new?
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Would they finally take that first step?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because this is where the whole thing becomes real.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want you to finish listening to this podcast, feel inspired for 10 minutes, and then go right back to doing everything exactly the way you've always done it.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to use what you've learned.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that brings me to something else Hill emphasizes, which is persistence.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is where a lot of people give up too soon.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: They try something for a few days, maybe a week, and when they don't see immediate results, they say, well, that didn't work.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: But let me ask you something.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you've spent 20 years reinforcing one belief about yourself, does it really make sense to expect that belief to disappear because you repeated a new statement three times yesterday?
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: Of course not.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: You're working on changing a pattern of thinking, and that takes repetition, attention, and action.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Let me give you a simple analogy.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine planting a seed in your backyard.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: You put it in the ground, water it, and come outside the next morning to see what's happening.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: You come outside the next day and still nothing.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, would you dig the seed up and say, this thing doesn't work?
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: Of course not.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: You understand that growth takes time.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: You keep giving the seed what it needs.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think that's a useful way to look at the ideas you're deliberately planting in your mind.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: You decide what you want to grow, you give it your attention, you reinforce it, and you take the actions that support it.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: And no, that doesn't mean every goal is guaranteed to happen exactly the way you imagine.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Life doesn't work that way.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: But it does mean you're being much more intentional about the direction of your thinking and the actions you're taking.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: And isn't that better than leaving the conversation inside your head completely up to chance?
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I want to come back to something I said at the beginning because I think this is the biggest takeaway from the entire chapter.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: You're already using auto suggestion every single day.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Every time you repeatedly tell yourself what kind of person you are, what you're capable of, what you expect, and what's possible for you, you're reinforcing a message.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: The question isn't whether you're influencing yourself.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: The question is whether you're doing it deliberately and whether those messages are helping you become the person you want to be.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: So here's what I'd love for you to do.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: Tonight, before you go to bed, take a few minutes and write down one goal that's genuinely important to you.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Be specific about what you want and why you want it.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: Think about what you're willing to do to make it happen and write down a simple plan, even if that plan begins with just one small step.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: Then read it aloud.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Don't rush through it.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Think about what it means to you.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine yourself making progress.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine how you'll feel as you begin doing the things you've been putting off.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: And tomorrow morning, read it again.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Then do something that moves you toward it.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to be something enormous.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: It just has to be something.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: And keep doing it.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because here's what I really want you to remember.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: The conversation you have with yourself matters.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: You can spend your life repeatedly reminding yourself of your limitations, or you can begin deliberately reminding yourself of your possibilities.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: You can keep telling yourself why you can't, or you can begin asking yourself how you can.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: And you can keep reinforcing the person you've always believed yourself to be, or you can start developing the beliefs and habits of the person you want to become.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's the opportunity Napoleon Hill is giving us in the chapter on auto suggestion.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: And before we finish, let me leave you with one final question.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you could listen to a recording of every thought you've repeatedly told yourself over the last 30 days, would you be encouraged by what you heard?
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Seriously, think about that.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Would you want somebody you love listening to those same messages about themselves?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: And if the answer is no, isn't it time to change the conversation?
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because the most important person you'll ever speak to about your future is the person you speak to every single day.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yourself.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that conversation can begin changing today.