‘We become what we think about’ is the main takeaway from part 1 of this article about The Strangest Secret, Earl Nightingale’s classic self-help recording from 1956 of which we share a free audio (mp3) download. To become successful, he says on side 1 of the record, you have to know what you want, and deliberately focus your thoughts on your predetermined goal.
Your thoughts are shaping your future. In other words: what you think today, creates your life in the near future, so always mind your thoughts, and practice positive thinking. Just as easy as we can draw success to us, we can draw failure to us, as the universal Law (of Attraction) is working both ways! The mental seeds we plant will determine what (life experience) we harvest.
Nightingale speaks of the power of visualisation, recommending to see yourself having already achieved your goal, and then holding that imagined picture fixed in your mind. It helps you to move towards the progressive realisation of your worthy ideal. The first part ends by emphasising the importance of self-belief. Our deepest beliefs (dominant thoughts) will affect us most.
“No matter what your present job, it has enormous possibilities”
Side 2 of The Strangest Secret opens with an invitation to put the principles to practice in a 30-day challenge. Based on Isaac Newton’s physical law that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, the author believes that “we can achieve nothing without paying the price” and that “the result of your 30-day experiment will be in direct proportion to the effort you put forth”.
Earl Nightingale thinks that “each of us succeeds to the extent of his ability to sell”, whether we are a family member who’s selling ideas to his relatives or a sales representative who’s selling goods to his prospects. He then talks about the virtual ‘price’ that we must pay for everything that we want in our life, a ‘price’ that consists of the following principles:
1. Understand that you literally become what you think about. “We must control our thoughts if we’re to control our lives. It’s understanding fully that as you sow, so shall you reap.”
2. Realise that all of your limitations are self-imposed. “The opportunities for you today are enormous beyond belief. It’s rising above narrow-minded pettiness and prejudice.”
3. Set (and focus on) a definite, clearly defined goal. “Let your imagination speculate freely upon many different possible solutions.” You’re standing in your Acre of Diamonds.
4. Save at least 10 percent of what you earn. “It’s also remembering that, no matter what your present job, it has enormous possibilities if you’re willing to pay the price.”
“While each of us wants something, each of us is afraid of something”
A great idea is to write on a card what it is you want more than anything else, and carry that with you wherever you go. “Make sure it’s a single goal, and clearly defined. Think about it in a cheerful, relaxed, positive way, each morning when you get up — and immediately you have something to work for; something to get out of bed for; something to live for!”
Nightingale says to look at your goal card as much as you can, during your day and just before you go to sleep. These thoughts will become reality: “Remember that you must become what you think about, and since you’re thinking about your goal, soon it will be yours. In fact, it’s yours really the moment you write it down and begin to think about it.”
His advice is to look for abundance all around you, knowing that you deserve the same. “You have as much right to this abundance as any other living creature. It’s yours for the asking.” But he adds that, while each of us wants something, each of us is afraid of something, too. A challenge for most people is to break up their destructive way of thinking.
“Out of every hundred people, you belong to the Top 5”
“Stop thinking about what it is you fear”, Earl Nightingale emphasises. “Each time a fearful or negative thought comes into your consciousness, replace it with a mental picture of a positive and worthwhile goal.” This can save you when you think of giving up! “It’s easier for a human being to think negatively than positively, that’s what only 5 percent is successful.”
Create a habit of positive thinking; thinking of what it is you want (instead of what you fear). The 30-day challenge of The Strangest Secret is a challenge to take control of your mind! “It will think only about what you permit it to think. Each day for this 30-day test, do more than you have to do. Do this knowing that your returns in life must be in direct proportion to what you give.”
Nightingale reminds us that as soon as we define a goal and work towards it, we are successful. “Out of every hundred people, you belong to the Top 5.” An essential point is not being concerned with how you’re going to achieve your goal. “Leave that completely to a Power greater than yourself. All you have to do is know where you’re going. The answers will come to you of their own accord.”
“By being persistent, you’re demonstrating faith”
The author quotes from the Sermon on the Mount in the Bible, advising to review this citation frequently during your 30-day challenge. These are true words in the context of the lessons in The Strangest Secret (as well as those in The Teachings of Abraham by Jerry & Esther Hicks, known from their inspirational books Ask And It Is Given and The Law of Attraction, upon which a great part of the movie and book The Secret is based).
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
— Bible, Matthew 7:7 and 7:8
“It’s as marvellous and as simple as that”, Earl Nightingale says, making you realise that all you need to become successful is a purpose and faith. In his experience, persistence will pay off. “No matter what your job, do it as you’ve never done it before for 30 days, and if you’ve kept your goal before you every day, you’ll wonder and marvel at this new life you found.”
It’s good to make up your mind to stick with your 30-day challenge before you start. “By being persistent, you’re demonstrating faith. Persistence is simply another word for faith. If you didn’t had faith, you would never persist.” If you do find yourself overwhelmed by old, negative thought patterns within these 30 days, you should start over with a new 30-day period.
“All you have to do, is hold your goal before you”
“Gradually”, Nightingale promises, “your new habit will form, until you find yourself in that wonderful minority to whom virtually nothing is impossible”. He underlines the importance of always having your goal card with you as you’re still developing a new habit of thinking. The idea is to write your goal on one side, and a part of the citation on the other side of the card:
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
He recommends to read inspirational books in your spare time during the 30-day test, like the Bible, Wake Up And Live! by Dorothea Brande (a philosophy that basically says: “act as though it were impossible to fail”), The Magic Of Believing by Claude Bristol, and Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. “Nothing great was ever accomplished without inspiration.”
Earl Nightingale makes clear that we should forget about worrying. “Worry brings fear, and fear is crippling. The only thing that can cause you to worry during your test is trying to do it all yourself. Know that all you have to do, is hold your goal before you. Everything else will take care of itself. Remember also to keep calm, and cheerful. Calm, and cheerful.”
“Success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success”
“You must reap that which you sow”, the author summarises that which is known as the Law of Attraction today. “If you sow negative thoughts, your life will be filled with negative things. If you sow positive thoughts, your life will be cheerful, successful and positive.” He says we should remind ourselves of this knowledge often, and listen to this recording with our entire family.
Nightingale makes an interesting annotation about making money, a main goal for many people, and rather speaks of earning money. “The only people who make money work in the mint. The rest of us must earn money [-] by providing people with services or products which are needed and useful. The Law is that our financial return is in direct proportion to our service.”
“Success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success. Most people [-] believe that you’re successful if you earn a lot of money! The truth is that you can only earn money after you’re successful. It’s like the story of the man who sat in front of the stove and said to it: give me heat, and then I’ll add the wood. We’ve got to be of service first before we can expect money.”
“Just as surely as you breathe, you get back what you put out”
We should not be concerned with earning money, Earl Nightingale states. Instead of focusing on making money, we should “be of service, build, work, dream, create. Any person who contributes to prosperity must prosper in turn himself. Sometimes the return will not come from those you serve, but it must come to you from someplace, for that is the Law. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
“Remember that your success will always be measured by the quality and quantity of service you render, and money is a yardstick for measuring this service. No man can get rich himself, unless he enriches others. Some, like ministers and priests and other devoted people, measure their returns in the realm of the spiritual, but again, their returns are equal to their service.”
Nightingale believes that if you understand this Law, you can tell your own fortune, because you are in control of your own destiny through (the thoughts you think and) the service you render. “If you believe that you can enrich yourself by diluting others, you can only end by diluting yourself. Just as surely as you breathe, you get back what you put out.”
“You’ll have nothing to lose, but you have a life to win”
The author quotes psychiatrist David Harold Fink, who described 6 steps to become successful:
1. Set yourself a definite goal.
2. Quit running yourself down.
3. Stop thinking of all the reasons why you cannot be successful, and think of all the reasons why you can.
4. Trace your attitudes back to your childhood, and try to discover where you first got the idea you couldn’t be a success, if that’s the way you’ve been thinking.
5. Change the image you have of yourself by writing out a description of the person you would like to be.
6. Act the part of the successful person you have decided to become.
Earl Nightingale ends The Strangest Secret with an uplifting message to “pay the price by becoming the person you want to become”, and then reveals that this 30-day challenge actually doesn’t end after 30 successful days! Instead, we should repeat it again and again. “Each time, it will become more a part of you, until you’ll wonder how you could ever have lived any other way.”
“Live this new way, and the floodgates of abundance will open, and pour over you more riches than you may have dreamed existed. Money? Yes — lots of it. But what’s more important: you’ll have peace. You’ll be in that wonderful minority who lead calm, cheerful, successful lives. Start today. You have nothing to lose, but you have a life to win.” ( Part 1 )
Listen to Earl Nightingale | The Strangest Secret | Audio MP3 (1956 Original) | Part 2:
Right-click (PC) or Alt-click (Mac) to download for free!
Image: News article on the record cover of Earl Nightingale’s The Strangest Secret (credit: Columbia Records)
