For twenty years or more I have been a student and advocate of positive thinking, always looking for words of motivation wherever I can find them. Yet somehow it has never quite worked and I think this is the case of most people reading these words.
I have thought long and hard about this, wondering why words of motivation do not work with so many. There are two reasons I have found so far (and there may be more).
Firstly, too many teachers of positive thinking are too upfront in their messages. Apologies for anyone from that country, but this tends to be an American trait primarily. I personally find what I call ‘ra-ra’ and over enthusiastic presentations to be off-putting. It’s like the inspiration messages are too intense and bounce off me.
Secondly, the purveyors of words of motivation are often Pollyannas.
The original book, ‘Pollyanna,’ was written in 1913 by Eleanor H. Porter and portrayed a delightful little girl who finds good in everything she sees. In the book she comes across people who do not think the same way and inevitably has trouble with other people who do not have the same outlook. The book is a delightful tale but the term ‘Pollyanna’ has subsequently come to be understood as someone who has a naive and innocently positive view of the world.
In a way it is sad that we see positivity in such a way and it is partly the responsibility of the bearers of inspiration messages.
Far too many proponents of positive thinking are in reality two-faced. I know of one person who publishes entirely positive thoughts online and yet also has shown prejudices and looks for sympathy for any problems she has. It is like the singer who sings about eternal love and is on her third marriage. So many see positive thinking as a way to deny the tough situations in the world and to dismiss unbelievers as ‘negative’ people.
It is difficult to strike the right balance, I know, but the most successful positive attitude has its roots in the real world. It accepts we have problems, understands them and then deals with them in a positive manner.
We don’t need to skip along saying, ‘Hello trees, hello grass – isn’t it a lovely day?’ We don’t need to refer to problems as challenges or to ‘share’ a message. We do need to say words of motivation such as ‘I can do this’ or ‘I am much greater than this’ or ‘isn’t the world amazing, aren’t we amazing as people?’ But quietly to ourselves when it will do the most good.
Believe there is a power to our lives and to us as people. Be quietly confident we can overcome problems and that the greater the problem, the greater the reward at the end. The inspiration needs to be internal; we need to internalize the beliefs to get the most power. We need to live the right attitude though our actions.
To be fair there are an increasing number of teachers who are recognizing this and who are passing on words of motivation in a practical and down-to-earth way. We need a lot more.
We need fewer mantras, less razzamatazz and more sober ‘you can do it and this is how.’ We need less waving the hands in the air and more ‘ah, that’s interesting.’
We urgently need words of motivation that will get into the hearts of people.
Contemplating the new century, my mind wandered back to the turn of the last century. I thought about some of the great men and women who made a profound impact on society by putting their dreams into action. I think you can observe a lot about the future from looking at the past.
Let’s step BACK 100 years (or there abouts) and reflect on the accomplishments of those who dared to dream. Most of these dreamers had to overcome incredible obstacles before their ideas would make it to the world stage. But each and every one of these people have had an affect on your daily life.
10,000 Failures precede Success
Most famous people are known for just one great feat or discovery. Not so with Thomas Edison. He is personally responsible for over 1,000 patented inventions. Many of those discoveries have evolved into products that we take for granted as a part of our everyday lives. The most famous of course, is the incandescent light bulb. This discovery/invention required 10,000 recorded experiments before Edison could use it.
Edison liked to make bold statements about his plans and then fulfill the statement. His belief in himself was so strong that he publicly promised a minor invention every 10 days and a major “big trick” item every 6 months. History records that he lived up to his word.
Committed to an Asylum
Guglielmo Marconi believed that messages could be sent through the air. This idea at the time was so absurd to most people that at one point his friends had him committed to an asylum. His vision was clear enough, and strong enough to withstand the ridicule and embarrassment. He KNEW that it could be done. On Dec 12, 1901
he finally was able to prove it to the world. He had a telegrapher tap the letter “S” from Cornwall England. Meanwhile, Marconi was 2700 kilometers away in St John’s Newfoundland with his new receiver and kite antenna. With the success of this experiment Radio and later TV were born.
Nobody Showed Up
Orville and Wilbur Wright dreamed of being able to soar above the earth like the birds. The closest way to achieve this at the time was with an air balloon. On Dec 17, 1903 they demonstrated their heavier than air flying machine at Kitty Hawk NC. You would expect there to be a lot of interest from the press and general public for such a momentous occasion. “Not many were willing to face the rigors of a cold December wind in order to see another
flying machine not fly,” the Wrights later recalled. But it did fly, and there were enough spectators watching to get the word out to the world. A new industry was born.
Jailed for Equality
Emmeline Pankhurst believed that women should be treated and respected as equals to men. In 1903 she founded The Womens Social and Political Union. Mrs Pankhurst had to endure being arrested and jailed several times. While in jail, she often would go on hunger strikes to further her ideals.
Her big dream was finally realized in 1928 when women in Britain were granted full voting rights. A few weeks later, on June 14th, she died. Her dream however, lives on. While there is still much room for improvement, womens rights have come a long way, thanks in large part to Emmeline Pankhurst.
From a Nobody to a Nobel Prize Winner x2
Marie Curie overcame the stigma of being a woman in a field (science) which was almost exclusively populated by men. Not only did Madame Curie excel at her chosen profession but she will always be remembered as the person who discovered radiation and thus x-rays. She also enjoyed the honor of being the first women to receive a Nobel Prize in 1903, and again in 1911.
Failed Twice Before Belting the Earth
In 1896 an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit, built his own self-propelled, gasoline powered vehicle – the Quadricycle. It wasn’t the first one, but it was the one that inspired Henry Ford to dream about ‘belting the earth’ with automobiles. He eventually left his job with Edison and attempted to establish an automobile manufacturing plant.
In 1903, after two previously unsuccessful attempts, he formed The Ford Motor company. In 1908, the first Model T rolled off his assembly lines. By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model T’s.
We could go on and on about ordinary people who would not accept mediocrity and instead will be written about for hundreds of years. I would love to talk with you about Andrew Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, Albert Einstein, Amelia Erhart, Alexander Graham Bell, George Eastman and many, many others who acted on their
dreams. The ideas that they brought forth are a big part of modern day life for us.
Each of them all started with a dream that consumed them and would not let go. Most of us at some time have big dreams, but allow them to dissipate. Circumstances and life in general tend to get in the way.
You may not have the vision of Thomas Edison, but your Dreams and goals can still impact the people around you. Let’s resolve to dream BIG dreams and to take big action towards their fulfillment.
Chris Small is a cyber entrepreneur and host of the very successful ‘World Deal Center’. His main website is http://www.WorldDealCenter.com/. You are invited to sample some of Chris’s other articles by going to http://www.worlddealcenter.com/reports.htm.
