The Strangest Secret

     In 1957, Earl Nightingale, speaker, author and co-founder of the Nightingale-Conant Corporation, recorded his classic motivational record "The Strangest Secret." The record sold more than one million copies and made history in the recording industry by being honored as the first gold record for the spoken word. Nightingale, known as the dean of personal development, concluded that life's strangest secret is that we become what we think about all day long.

     Your belief system, like your computer, doesn't judge or even question what you input; it merely accepts your thoughts as the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Think thoughts of defeat or failure and you're bound to feel discouraged. Continuous thoughts of worry, anxiety and fear are unhealthy and often manifest in the body as stress, panic attacks and depression.

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"The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large."

Confucius, Chinese thinker and social philosopher, 551-479 BC

     At the core of Nightingale's message, he reveals the incredible power of positive self-talk, belief and expectation. What you vividly imagine and hold in your subconscious mind begins to become your reality. Your belief system not only defines your reality, but it also shapes your character and determines your potential.

The Placebo Effect

     The ability of the mind to cure a disease even when the medicine is known to be worthless is known as the placebo effect. This occurs in medical trials where doctors give patients sugar pills, but tell them the pills will cure their illness.

     Often it does, even though the pills contain nothing of medical benefit. The only thing of value in these medical trials is the patient's belief the sugar pills will cure him or her. It's the power of the patient's belief and expectation alone that produces the improvement in his or her health. I recently read a remarkable story about a group of cancer patients who thought they were being treated with chemotherapy, but were actually given a placebo. Before their treatment began, the patients were informed about the complications associated with undergoing chemotherapy treatment, such as fatigue and loss of hair. Amazingly, based on nothing more than their belief and expectation, nearly one third of the patients who were given the placebo reported feeling fatigued and actually experienced hair loss.

The Power Of Affirmation And Positive Self-talk

     If you had access to a powerful tool that would enhance your self-esteem and allow you to reach your full potential would you use it?

     A good way to create positive self-talk is through affirmations. An affirmation is a positive statement that represents your desired condition or outcome. Interesting enough, your subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between a real experience and a vividly imagined mental experience. In tomorrow's Promotional Consultant Today we'll examine four steps you can take to effectively use self-talk.

     Source: John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions. He is a nationally recognized sales trainer and business motivational speaker with an impeccable track record in the meeting industry. A free newsletter is available on his website.