Your Own Mind Is The Key To Your Success

Whether I am functioning in my current job as a sales trainer working with new sales reps, or at the studio working with the artists who record with us at SadSon Music Group, my goal is to always empower them with the knowledge to help them be successful. The one thing I have done in my life that has made all the difference is reading every book on self-development and success that I could get my hands on. I read Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and Master Key to Riches; Jeff Olson’s Slight Edge; Dale Carnegie’s How To Win Friends and Influence People; John Maxwell’s Put Your Dream To The Test; and many, many more. But reading a book, while extremely enriching and important, is a time-consuming process. So in my work with my sales reps and my music artists, I am always on the lookout for media that expresses a lot of the ideas that I have read in those books in a shortened form. One such piece of media is a video I came across of Napoleon Hill. It is a video of him explaining what he learned from steel magnate Andrew Carnegie over 100 years ago, and is just as relevant today as it was then. Hill shares how it is true that what ever the mind can conceive, and believe, the mind can achieve.

As brilliant as Hill is however, this is an old video. When working with the youth of today, it’s important to find ways to grab their attention and show them something that they can relate to. For that reason, I was thrilled to find this video montage of Will Smith speaking about the power of the Universe and the power of one’s mind. It’s several Will Smith interviews combined together in one video, showing the brilliance of his thought process. He gives some truths in this video that are so profound, that I find myself watching it over and over again. To enrich anyone reading this blog post, I now share this video with you.

One of my favorite quotes from Smith is when he talks about his “ridiculous and sickening” work ethic and how no matter how talented you are, you will never be successful if you don’t spend hours and hours every day working on your craft. He speaks of his treadmill thought process and how it sets him apart from others. “I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill. You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me, but if we get on a treadmill together, there’s two things [that could happen]. Your getting off first, or I’m going to die. It’s really that simple.” Simply put, Smith is saying that he will succeed because he is willing to work as hard as he needs to in order to create the life he desires, or he’ll die trying. It’s a powerful thought process to know that one can create anything they desire if they simply believe they can and are willing to do the work (pay the price) to make it happen. Like I always say to everyone, life is about choices. If you don’t like your life, make different choices. Will Smith clearly understands this, and I hope those reading this blog post now understand it as well.