Starting Point For Acquiring Riches

The book, "Think and Grow Rich" published in 1938 by Napoleon Hill states, "... desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches."

Well, guess what - he was wrong. Let me explain! We have two basic divisions of the brain - conscious and nonconscious. The conscious brain thinks and reasons. It is the part through which we exercise free will. Conscious mind impulses travel at 120 to 140 miles per hour, process 2,000 bits of information per second and remember about 30 seconds. We set goals, judge results and design new beliefs here.

Nonconscious mind impulses, on the other hand, travel at speeds of over 100,000 miles per hour, process 400 billion bits per second and remember forever. It is here that we hold our beliefs!! There are no judgments of value or results. The conscious mind provides the goals that the nonconscious mind executes.

Now get this! One of the greatest discoveries of neurological research is the conscious brain controls only 2 to 4 percent of our actual perceptions and behaviors. 96 to 98 percent of our behaviors are automatic!!

Established beliefs are self-fulfilling because "synaptic tracks" are formed neurologically in our brains from our past thought habits. These habits are thousands of times stronger than our desires. That explains why we set goals and don't reach them. The conscious mind sets them. Reaching them is a function of the nonconscious mind!

Having an obsessive mindset about attaining riches will work well - for a few minutes! But conscious thoughts are hard to sustain. To have the life you want, it will be necessary to change those habits and beliefs that interfere with your success. This will require imprinting the nonconscious mind. Our conscious mind power - our will and imagination -allows us to choose what we think. We must then focus and implement techniques to imprint on the nonconscious mind. From that imprint, we then form our habits of thought or beliefs. Making up our mind (both consciously and nonconsciously) sets the inevitable in motion. As the song goes, "Nothing can stop us now!"