Human beings are amazing. We dream. We dream amazing dreams. We create amazing things from those dreams. We make the impossible possible from those dreams. And here’s the thing. We are all, all of us, endowed with this innate genetic ability to create something out of nothing. There is no limit to our capacity to create, except our imagination and the limiting beliefs accepted by us. For some unknown reason, we were the only species on earth blessed with the unique gift to turn thoughts into reality.
As I watch the Sochi Olympians compete for gold and glory and as I learn about their incredible stories, I see the Rich Habits at work in each and every one of them. The Rich Habits are daily success habits that almost every successful person has. These Rich Habits propel ordinary human beings forward toward accomplishment and success in life. I spent five years studying the daily habits of 233 wealthy, successful people and identified certain, specific success habits that they have which are responsible for their success. What follows is an overview of each of the Rich Habits that have turned ordinary human beings from across the globe into Sochi Olympians.
Persistence -Successful people have a persistence that boarders on obsession. The ability to move from one disappointment to the next without giving up is a common theme among the successful. Persistence is sustained effort toward a goal or your Chief Aim in life. Most people lack persistence and it is the reason most are not successful. A lack of persistence is the main cause of failure in life. Successful people have this Rich Habit of Persistence. They simply never give up. They are obsessed with their goal or Chief Aim in life and will not stop until they achieve their goal or realize their Chief Aim in life.
Marcel Hirscher, ski racer, in February 2011 sped down the first run of a giant slalom race in Hinterstoder in his native Austria. He led by over half a second when he hit a deep groove that knocked him off his feet and sent him careening down the slope with a grimace on his face. When he finally came to rest, he had fractured a bone in his left foot and was sidelined for the rest of the season. There was a chance that his foot, and career, would never fully recover. Today, over two and half years later, Hirscher, 24, is the defending World Cup overall champion and one of the most dominant ski racers on the planet.
Marcel Hirscher has the Rich Habit of Persistence.
Belief – Our subconscious responds to our beliefs. Like software code, our beliefs direct our subconscious to manifest that which we think about and believe in. If we believe, without any doubts, that we are going to become successful in life, our subconscious makes it happen.
If you want to become successful you need to change your beliefs. Most of our beliefs were handed down us by our parents or our environment. If you want to change your beliefs you need to reprogram you subconscious. There are two ways to reprogram your subconscious:
- Daily Affirmations – Repeating certain daily affirmations three times a day will begin to reprogram your subconscious in as little as 30 days. The affirmations need to be in the present tense, such as “I am” and represent the future you or future state, such as “an Olympian speed-skater”. Adding emotional words to the affirmations is also important. Example: “I am so happy to be an Olympian speed-skater”.
- Visualizations – Our subconscious thinks in pictures. It converts all data into pictures. Words, sounds, smells, life experiences are all reduced to pictures and stored in to memory by the subconscious. If you want to reprogram the subconscious quickly you need to speak its language. Create visuals around your new daily affirmations and review these pictures daily.
Michael Christian Martinez will be the first skater ever to represent the Philippines in the Winter Games in Sochi. Michael’s story is inspiring, because it proves that with belief anything is possible. His belief in himself is shared by his mom, Teresa. People would have thought it foolhardy for a boy with asthma living in a tropical country where snow is unheard of to believe he could compete in the global stage against athletes from countries where skating is rather commonplace. And yet he was able to show that yes, with unwavering belief in yourself, even a Filipino boy can become an Olympian.
Michael Christian Martinez and his mom have the Rich Habit of Belief.
Following Your Dream – What is our limit? None. Human beings are the most amazing species to inhabit the earth. We still do not understand the capacity of human thought. We still do not understand how the brain truly works. We still do not understand how the conscious and subconscious parts of our brain function together. But we do know this: when we have a dream we are passionate about it stimulates the subconscious mind and miracles happen. Life is a funny thing. When we pursue our dreams, life places obstacles in our way and we say, why? Life makes our path seemingly impassible and we ask, why? Life puts our backs against the wall and we scream, why? Life isn’t working against us – it’s working for us. Every obstacle is an education. Every obstacle forces us to evolve. Every obstacle makes us more better.
Jacqueline Wiles, alpine skiing, has been following her dream to become an Olympic skier since she was five years old.
“It’s just incredible,” says Sandra James, Jacqeuline’s grandmother. “Because I knew it was her dream as a little girl.”
She started skiing at two, racing at five, and stood out early for her ability, her confidence and her positive attitude. Oregon Episcopal School ski racing coach Aaron Ruddick remembers Jackie at the age of six saying she was going to be on the Olympic team. “She didn’t say ‘I want to go to the Olympics,'” he said. “She said, ‘I’m going to the Olympics.'”
Jacqueline has not one but two Rich Habits: Following Your Dreams and Belief.
Conquering Fear – Everyone feels afraid at some point. Any change, even positive changes like marriage or a promotion, can prompt feelings of fear. Fear holds you back. It stops you dead in its tracks. Successful people have conditioned their minds to overcome fear. They use two key strategies to overcome their fears in life:
Five Year Letter: This is a letter you write to yourself as if it were five years into the future. The five year letter includes all of your accomplishments made during the preceding five years. It lists all of the goals you accomplished, how your life has changed and what great things have happened during the past five years.
Write Your Obituary: Your obituary describes the amazing life you’ve had. It describes all of the incredible things that have happened in your life that made you the super successful person that you were. Your obituary will share the great things you accomplished in life. It is the story of your amazing, incredibly successful life.
Kelly Gunther, speed-skater, suffered a devastating injury to her ankle in March 2012 and that injury should have ended her competitive long track speedskating career. Her foot was literally hanging off her leg. Ten pins, a plate, operations aplenty and months of life on crutches followed during a protracted rehabilitation period. Kelly had enough screws and plates inserted into her leg and ankle to secure a bridge. Kelly was told by doctors she would never skate at the Olympic level again. She proved them wrong. Kelly was back on ice within a year and less than one year later, back to Olympian form. But there was another problem – fear. Kelly was afraid of skating but did not let that fear stop her. Though she didn’t win, Gunther finished third with an unexpectedly fast time in the 1,000 on Tuesday and — perhaps most importantly — conquered her dark and smothering fears of skating in the same lane in which she crashed.
Kelly Gunther has the Rich Habit of Conquering Fear.
About Thomas C. Corley
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