The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Earl Nightingale’

What’s your ASSIGNMENT in life? What were you put on this earth to accomplish? I was reading Mike Litman’s article “Why Most People Never Soar” and here’s what he wrote which got me thinking:

We were all born for a certain ASSIGNMENT.

A ‘position’ in life that our unique talents and skills
can serve the greatest amount of people and reap us
incredible prosperity.

The closer we are to this POSITION, the place where success
is practically guaranteed, the greater our likelihood of
massive success.

Why do most people never aim to locate their ASSIGNMENT, the
PLACE that their success can come naturally and in great
abundance?

Do we have just one assignment? Or do we have multiple assignments in life? Just like in school, I think that we have many assignments in life, and as we complete one assignment we are ready for more challenging assignments. These assignments prepare us for our ULTIMATE LIFE ASSIGNMENT.

At this stage in my life I think that my ASSIGNMENT is to teach others through this blog, using the skills that I have honed and developed over the years.The Invisible Mentor blog is a culmination of my research, analysis and writing skills. I’ve been told that I am an excellent interviewer because people feel comfortable around me so they open up. My articles usually have information that you can sink your teeth into because of my 15 years of research experience.

What is your ASSIGNMENT at this stage in your life? What have people told you that you are good at? And if you are doing what you love and aren’t reaping incredible prosperity, does that mean that you are not working on your ASSIGNMENT in life?

My ASSIGNMENT is to interview individuals who have wisdom and knowledge to share, and review books that contain information that you can apply to your life. There are times when I will fail my assignment, and I have to review and regroup and learn from the failure. And that’s okay because I gain experience in the process.

Do you agree with Litman when he says that “…Most people never aim to locate their ASSIGNMENT?’ If you agree, what’s the reason? Could it be that people conform and get into a position that’s too comfortable?

Earl Nightingale in his classic The Strangest Secret say:

“Rollo May, the distinguished psychiatrist, wrote a wonderful book called Man’s Search for Himself, and in this book he says: “The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice … it is conformity.” And there you have the reason for so many failures. Conformity — people acting like everyone else, without knowing why or where they are going.”

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Photo Credit: Google via Apture

I have often heard it said that reading, working on puzzles, learning a word a day and other such practices help to prevent dementia and Alzheimer.

Seven years ago while studying the program Lead the Field, Earl Nightingale stressed the importance of learning and growing. He suggested reading a book a week and learning a word a day. I mastered reading a book a week and now read on average eight books a month.

Initially, I had problems learning a word a day. I subscribed to a website that sent me a word every morning, and I purchased vocabulary builder books but I didn’t stick to the programs because either the words were so ridiculous that I didn’t want to waste time learning them. Or, the system was not easy to use and too time consuming.

Later, I purchased the Vocab system on tape, but didn’t stick to it because I believed it was too much of a hassle to rewind the tape, and I often didn’t remember all the words. But, while reading the book Superlearning 2000: New Triple Fast Ways You Can Learn, Earn, and Succeed in the 21st Century, I discovered that the best way to learn words is to hear them on a tape, while playing 60 beats per minute baroque music in the background.

I purchased Hemi Sync‘s Baroque Garden for Concentration and Vivaldi‘s The Four Seasons. Rewinding the tape was no longer a hassle because I noticed that if I counted to 15 while I rewound the cassette tape I would be exactly where I needed to be. It’s amazing how easy we can find solutions when we are truly inspired and motivated to accomplish our goals.

Even though I wasn’t exposed to classical music while growing up, like most things, the more you are exposed to them, the more comfortable you become with them. I used to have problems performing work which required concentration while the music was playing, but now it does not bother me. I guess it’s the type of music that has made a difference to my level of concentration. Listening to music stirs my heart and moves my soul and also makes me more alert. Does listening to music have an impact on you?

Now that I have developed the habit of learning a word a day, I do not have to listen to music while learning the word. I subscribe to A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg, which gives you the pronunciation, meaning, root and usage of the word.

What techniques do you use to build your vocabulary? Let’s keep the conversation going, please comment.

Download a copy of the white paper How to Build Intellectual Power from the Resources page of this blog.

Paul Swaby, Founder, ZOMPAS

Challenge: As a public speaker and real estate investor, each week, I have to talk to people about how to create wealth. I’m challenged because the majority of the individuals who attend my seminars know nothing about real estate investments. However, if they know about real estate they usually don’t understand the amount of long-term wealth they can attain.

Solution: I teach people specifically about the “New Found Freedom” (NFF) the fourth book I’m going to write. It hones in on the specific steps required to create long-term wealth and become financially independent.

Lessons Learned:

• The world is filled with pessimists and optimists
• Individual success and failure come from two things:
  • “You become what you think about.” Earl Nightingale
  • The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. I have realized that only enlightened and passionate people are the ones who are optimistic, and find the opportunity in every difficulty
• I have learned to only work with passionate people and I leave the pessimists to do their own self-discovery thinking

Formula For Success

Attitude + Expectancy + Knowledge + Action = Measurable Improvement

Daily measurable improvements need to be maintained through discipline to achieve success.

What do you think of Paul Swaby’s challenge and how he resolved it? In Jamaica, they often say “Show me your company and I’ll tell you who you are.” Who do you surround yourself with? Optimists? Pessimists? How do your friends hamper or promote you? Think on these things.

Related Posts

What Would Earl Nightingale Blog About?

Excerpt from June 2005 Ambeck Edge

Note: I have written this blog post based on information that I have researched on Earl Nightingale, and I have added my perspective to drive home his point. I have really appreciated Earl Nightingale’s The Strangest Secret and Lead the Field, two of his audio programs. This blog post is my attempt at distilling what he would blog about for his success tips.

Earl Nightingale‘s Success Tips 101

1. The key to success is that “we become what we think about”
2. You have to pay the price to be successful “As ye sow, so shall you reap”
3. Returns = Success: Enrich others and you will be enriched
4. Know where you are going
5. People who are successful have goals. Have a definite goal, focus on that important goal, channelling all your energies into accomplishing it
6. Act promptly and decisively
7. Knowledge is power when you take ACTION, always apply knowledge
8. We can do more than we think we can, so each day do just a little more that you have to do, even if it’s only one percent, because with the cumulative effect you reap big rewards
9. Read broadly and “study the world’s great religions, philosophy and psychology“
10. Be curious

What do you think about the success tips listed above? Do you agree or disagree with them? Think of someone who would make a great Invisible Mentor for you. Study that person and list 10 tips that you believe that person would deliver. How does it feel to do that exercise? The point of this exercise is to learn more about others so that when you are problem solving you have a larger body of knowledge to draw on. This exercise also expands your thinking.

Recommended Reading and Listening

Click here to listen to The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale

Related Posts: A Modern View

Before you answer this question, you have to understand how I define Invisible Mentors. Here is my definition of Invisible Mentors from my concept paper.

“An Invisible Mentor is a training tool as well as a different way of thinking, to move professionals from one stage of their life to a higher one through the systematic use of books, interviews, conversations and articles.  An Invisible Mentor awakens the “sleeping” genius within. To achieve this goal requires reading the right books, listening to the right interviews and conversing with the right people.”

So, who are your Invisible Mentors? My Invisible Mentors are:

Julia Conn Watt (She taught me to be a better listener, which is a critical skill for success)

Jim Rohn ( I have learned a lot from his books and training programs)

Earl Nightingale (His training programs – Lead the Field and The Strangest Secret have inspired me)

Key to Yourself (This book by Venice Bloodworth profoundly impacted me)

The Magic of Thinking Big (This Book by Dr. David Schwartz is another that profoundly impacted me)

As I grow and evolve as a person, and unleash more of the genius within me, I suspect that my Invisible Mentors will change. At this point in time, who are your five Invisible Mentors and why? Let us learn from each other!

Photo Credits: Avil Beckford

Very Old Tree in China

For the past few weeks, I have been thinking about people who have died, who would have been great bloggers, as well as great Invisible Mentors. These people were innovative thinkers and ahead of their time. I will present their names in this post and in subsequent weeks, together, we will learn more about them, and their contributions to humanity.

At a later date, I will present other innovative thinkers and we will go through the process again. This is an excellent way for us to expand our thinking.

1. Estee Lauder, Cosmetic Maven and Marketing Strategist
2. Margaret Mead, Anthropologist
3. Earl Nightingale, “Dean of Personal Development”
4. Mary Wollstonecraft, Writer and Philosopher
5. Thomas Edison, Inventor
6. Napoleon Hill, Author
7. Francis Bacon, Philosopher, Scientist and Lawyer
8. Benjamin Franklin, Inventor, Scientist, Author, Printer and much more
9. Plato, Philosopher
10. Simone de Beauvoir, Writer and Philosopher

Why would these innovative thinkers be great bloggers? They knew how to create value, they had a willingness to share with others, they had great lessons to teach and they sometimes went against the grain for things they believed in. We will also look at ways to use what they had to say to apply to our unique situations. Next week, we will start off with Estee Lauder.