Elevate Your Thoughts; Elevate Your Life

As I've reacclimated with life as a "normal" individual (that may be a stretch for most of us) I have realized one important lesson. The things that we put into our minds is critical. You might think I'm about to discuss the declining morality around us but I won't do that. Rather, it's important to keep ourselves focused on who we are, what we want to achieve, and who's been able to go there before us.

One of my personal goals is to find some way to improve life for those around me. A way I track that goal is to see if I can start my own business. Why? Well, a truly successful business person is somebody who improves the lives of others when you get down to basics. However, there are many subtle forces that keep me (or you) from achieving that goal or similar goals.

For one, much of the world around us encourages us to "go with the flow". We shouldn't leave the crowd, after all, because the crowd is a very safe place. Any attempt to break out of the typical mold is met with resistance and criticism. On top of that, new ideas are typically met with doubt until they've reached a certain critical mass of success. I remember a time when I told myself, "Kevin, you can't possibly get an iPod. Why would you want all of your songs on your computer? CD's are much more safe and reasonable." Now, I don't even have digital copies of my songs because I get all my music from cloud-based Spotify. The norm is to be critical of change.

This is why I believe it's necessary to put good information into your mind and soul. I'm not talking about statistics or techniques. I'm talking about a positive way of thinking. Enter Entrepreneur on Fire. This half-hour daily podcast interviews successful entrepreneurs. They rarely get into the technical aspects of the business but instead spend time discussing what obstacles were overcome to reach success. That kind of information is what fuels hope, optimism, and creativity. Without a mindset founded on those three things, flashes of brilliance will never come. So while I know everybody's dream is not to build a business, I believe everybody needs positive inputs that will elevate their thinking to what is possible rather than what is "normal".