“I am writing a book, just like you Mimi! I have a book idea.” “You do?” Natalie absolutely adored her grandson’s creativity. “I already have my cover,” he said proudly.
Natalie glanced over at her daughter Hope and smiled. Then she looked back at Ian and inhaled deeply with joy.
“Really? Bring it out. Let’s see it, Ian!”
He marched over to her with his copy. “This is my cover, Mimi.” He placed his list of possible book titles and the cover in her lap.
Natalie beamed as she looks over his concept. He had put his favorite Tony Hawke t-shirt on the copy machine and pushed the print button.
She laughed. “We might have some copyright infringement situations here but I love that you are thinking Ian! Most 10- and 11-year-olds aren’t thinking about book titles, book covers, or finding more ways to increase their value. You are a very special boy and a gift to this world.”
As you learned in our previous posts, you may have to dig around a bit in your mind to unearth some destructive thought processes. Do you believe people have a genetic propensity for success? Are they born with an innate ability to accomplish great feats? To this we must answer an emphatic “No!” Each one of us is capable of creating success. Take a look at Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, or Richard Branson. They are no different than any of us. We’re all born on a level playing field.
In our studies with personal development giant Bob Proctor, we’ve learned many of the underlying principles of success, and one of the first is raising your awareness. Think of your awareness being like the circular ripples in the water when you throw a rock. When you grow, your awareness expands to the next ripple. It can only go one direction—out. Once you expand your awareness, you can’t go back toward the rock. The more you grow in self- awareness, the better you understand your feelings and why you behave in certain ways. This, in turn, makes you aware of the effects your behaviors have on your children.
This week, take some time to look at yourself. Write down some of your behaviors, both good and bad, that impact your children. Now you can work on increasing the good ones and decreasing the bad ones.
Come back and tell us about your successes based on this new awareness.
