The strangest secret

by Marija
2 comments

This is a simple Law of Cause and Effect. What you send out into the world is what you get back. Send out love – love will come back. Send out anger and anger will come back. Send out hate and… you get the point. This notion is nothing new to your ears nor mine. But being the nerd I am, I always like to dig up stories behind to add sense or context to these notions. So here is one story that made me think about what kind of life I want to lead in 2019. 

Earl Nightingale was one of the pioneers in the subjects of human character development, motivation, and meaningful existence, and over half a century ago, he recorded “The Strangest secret” and played it to the sales people he worked with. They were positively electrified with its messaging and the word about his recording spread like a wildfire. All of a sudden, everyone wanted to hear it. But what were those life-changing truths hidden within this recording?

1. Every person is responsible for their own circumstances

George Bernard Shaw once said: “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, they make them.H

2. Your thoughts dictate how you will live your life


“The person who has no goal, who doesn’t know where he’s going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety and worry – his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry.

And if he thinks about nothing… he becomes nothing.”

3. You reap what you sow

A simple statement, taken from the Bible, that many of us have heard or said to others million of times before. Nothing revolutionary here but we often forgo to witness the truth reflected in these simple words. 

We reap what we sow. We become what we think about. 

So here is the great story taken from the book that methaporically explains the situation – why we become what we think about

“Suppose a farmer has some land, and it’s good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn’t care. It’s up to the farmer to make the decision.

We’re comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn’t care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn’t care what you plant.

Now, let’s say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand – one is a seed of corn; the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds – one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land…and what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted.

As it’s written in the Bible, “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

Remember the land doesn’t care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants – one corn, one poison.

The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn’t care what we plant…success…or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal…or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on. But what we plant, it must return to us.

You see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.”

– Earl Nightingale, The Strangest Secret

So what will you plant in 2019?

When we reflect on the past year, and sit with ourselves to make a list of our new year resolutions, what shall we write in our list? 

As many of you are aware of, we all make a list of life-changing resolutions each December and by March, most, if not all, fall into oblivion. There are just a handful of us who really stick to their set goals and persist in fulfilling these resolutions.

I’m not one of those. Obviously.

But after reading these lines and thinking to myself, I had to pose a question to my own Self:

  • Do I want to enter the new year as confused as I was in the year past?
  • Do I want to change my situation so I attract the life of abundance or do I want to stick to the once felt injustices and attract the same in 2019?

Most times, sailing against the wind of change is hard, if not impossible. But if the goal you’ve set before yourself is a meaningful one, then toughen up and sail away!

After all, things worth fighting for never come easy to any one of us. We’re in a business of “sweat and blood”, but for a better life and opportunities starting in 2019, who wouldn’t make this a number 1 priority?

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2 comments

Mila January 18, 2019 - 8:31 PM

I enjoyed reading this post! Love the story about what we plant 🙂 keep writing!!!

Reply
Marija January 19, 2019 - 10:30 AM

Thank you, Mila! 🙂 I appreciate this!

Reply

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