Breaking Down Famous Motivational Quotes #1 - Napoleon Hill
Today marks the beginning of a new periodic series. I’ll take famous motivational quotes and break them down with the goal of providing deeper meaning and understanding. Our first quote is a very famous quote by Napoleon Hill.
This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. These 10 words contain quite a bit of depth. Let’s break it down.
The quote begins with the word whatever. Whatever is a word of unlimited possibility. A human mind is literally capable of an infinite number of possibilities. Remember this mind when you feel like you have no choices. Any thought is always open to you.
Then you get into the two steps leading to the result. Starting from that unlimited power of your mind, you can conceive anything. You can bring any thought, any possibility into your consciousness. I believe Hill also includes, in the word conceive, getting a clear picture of what you want. This conclusion is drawn from another of his famous quotes.
“There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.”
Conceiving is one thing, but you also must believe. This one is a little more advanced because it may raise a host of objections, challenge your conditioning, or push you think bigger than you have ever thought before. Many get stuck here, but if you’ve clearly conceived something powerful and meaningful for you and you are determined to have it, believe! It costs nothing to believe in yourself and everything not to.
The final piece of the quote is the goal. Hill promises, if you have clearly conceived it and powerfully believed it, you can achieve it. I often like to say that there comes a time in the pursuit of every dream when the only thing standing between your dream and you is you.
It’s a powerful equation that can be used over and over again throughout our lives. You are born the heir of an abundant universe. Start by believing this - NOTHING is impossible for you.
Conceive + Believe = Achieve
Remember, put your mind on your side.
Ray