“Sow a thought, reap a habit; sow a habit; reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”

I’m not sure who said this for sure. One source I checked attributed it to Charles Reade. Another to Anonymous. Regardless, it’s good stuff and a great place to pick up where I left off.

Ahhhh, yes. Where I left off. Days ago.

The P&P Twins struck again…Procrastination and Perfectionism.

I’m back and this time I decided to pick an anchor to work from. I found it in an eBook that was passed along to me awhile back: Becoming Unstoppable, by Ruben Gonzalez.

Ruben is a three-time Olympian for the luge. I heard him speak several years ago and he has quite the story when it comes to overcoming the odds. He wanted to become an Olympian late in life and he did…three times. You can learn about him www.OlympicMotivation.com.

I decided to use the principles in his book as a springboard for some of the things I want to accomplish for myself as a lab rat creating a life of passion, purpose, influence, and success. In doing so, I hope to spread his ideas (which is what he wants!).

The “Sow a Thought” quote came to me as I was reading the first chapter of Ruben’s book - “You Were Created for Greatness.”

Honestly, there is no way to escape it: everything we do comes from a thought first. Even if our thoughts are on auto-pilot, they are still running behind the scenes of everything we do, whether deciding to hit the snooze button in the morning, eat that cheeseburger instead of a salad, or, yes, deciding to write a post for your blog (I’m making fun of myself).

I will be the first to admit that I’ve had a lot of crappy thoughts in my life…like, please take that out to the dumpster, and while you’re at it, spray it all down with lysol!

And I will also admit I’ve let a lot of thoughts sublet time in my brain, and like a bad tenant, they completely wrecked the place and expected me to pay for the damages.

Unfortunately, I have. Over and over again.

Ruben lays out 5 simple steps (I’d call them principles) which I would like to incorporate into what it means to develop an empowering ritual:

1. What You Say to Yourself

2. Your Beliefs and Thoughts

3. What You Do

4. Your Habits

5. Your Results

He writes: “What you tell yourself influences what your beliefs and thoughts are. Your thoughts determine what you do. What you do repeatedly becomes your habits. Your habits determine your results.”

Sow a habit…

I know The Secret has gotten both a lot of negative and positive attention. I’ve watched it several times and have to say it really doesn’t kill anyone to think good thoughts about themselves, others, the future, etc. I’d prefer that to using my thoughts to completely cripple my ability to do anything that would bring something better in my life, say, for example, going for a promotion or a quality friendship.

And as insane as it sounds, I will raise my hand and say yes, I’ve chosen crippling thoughts, after which I’ve run back to the good ones because they seem to yield a better result…if anything, just feeling better about myself.

I put this into action several years ago when I was looking for work. I found myself in a difficult position and needed to find a job. I remember telling myself, “The company that hires you will be really lucky.” I don’t know where that came from, but I said it a lot. Beats the hell out of “You really suck. I can’t believe anyone would hire you.” Don’t you think? At least that’s what I believe…and I landed the job I was looking for.

So that’s a starter for the first principle: What You Say to Yourself.

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