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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Ratgeber
- Sprache: Englisch
Unlock Your Full Potential and Achieve Extraordinary Success
In Master Your Mindset, bestselling author Michael Pilarczyk reveals a life-changing approach that has helped countless individuals transform their lives. His unique method combines powerful insights with real-life examples, showing you how to break free from limiting beliefs and reach your most ambitious goals.
This book offers more than just advice—it provides a clear, actionable, and repeatable 12-step strategy to help you master your mindset and create lasting success in every area of life.
Inside, you'll discover how to:
- Shift your perspective and understand that your mindset shapes your reality.
- Achieve personal mastery through aligning your mindset, habits, and action to create lasting change and live a meaningful, fulfilling life
- Integrate mindfulness into daily life, work, relationships, and making decisions.
With Master Your Mindset, you'll have the tools to break free from limiting beliefs and take control of your personal and professional success. A practical, life-changing guide to unlocking your full potential—whether you seek personal fulfillment, professional success, or deeper inner peace and meaning in life.
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Seitenzahl: 376
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Author Note
Introduction
Part I: My Story
From Business to Buddha
Wizard and Millionaire
Radio Business
Valuable Life Lessons
A New Mission
Part II: The Philosophy of Success and Happiness
Success and Happiness
The Power of Thoughts
Clear Thinking
Can You Design Your Own Life?
Doing Something in a Certain Way
Coincidental Luck or Doing It a Certain Way
What Do You Focus On?
Conflicting Thoughts
Know Who You Surround Yourself With
Money and Happiness
The Power of Silence
Foggy Mind
Mindfulness and Meditation
Clear Your Mind
In Silence, You Hear Everything
The Power of Breathing
The Power of Asking Good Questions
Discovering Who You Really Are
How Would You Describe Yourself?
You Are Not Just the Way You Are
Personal Values
Getting to Know Yourself Better
Personal Values Shape Your Behavior
Assignment
Your Personal Statute
My Personal Values
My Personal Rules
Stay True to Your Rules of Life
Happiness Is a State of Mind
Part III: Master Your Mindset
Your Personal Operating System
Where Do Your Convictions Come From?
The Quality of Your Life
Static and Growth-Oriented Mindsets
Your Mental Wiring
Reprogram Your Personal Operating System
Assignment
Limiting Beliefs
Break Through Your Self-Limiting Patterns
Limiting Beliefs About Money
Create a Positive Money Mindset
Fear Is Just a Thought
You Are the Problem
Taking Stock of Your Life
Act As If Nothing and No One Bothers You
A Gratitude Mindset
The Law of Attraction and Creation
As You Sow, so Shall You Reap
Act As If You Are Living Your Best Life
What Do You Really Want?
Part IV: The Strategy
The Roadmap to Success and Happiness
Self-Knowledge Check: Get to Know Yourself Better
These Are the Three Essential Questions
Assignment 1
Assignment 2
Assignment 3
Assignment 4
The Law of Inverse Proportionality
Twelve Causes of Failure
My Way of Thinking and Acting
The 12-Step Strategy
What Is Personal Mastery?
The Path of Constant Improvement
The Eight Pillars of Personal Mastery
Health and Vitality
Emotions
Time Management
Relationships
Financial Security
Career
Relaxation
Personal Development
Assignment
Master Your Communication
Developing Self-Esteem and Confidence
The Importance of Self-Discipline
How to Train and Build Self-Discipline
The Journey of Personal Mastery
Set Goals in Every Area of Life
The Why Behind the Goal
Goals: Realistic or Not
I Like a Million Things
Different Approaches to Visualization
Why Do Affirmations Work?
Closing Words
Sources and Literature
About the Author
Index
End User License Agreement
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Author Note
Introduction
Begin Reading
Closing Words
Sources and Literature
About the Author
Index
End User License Agreement
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MASTER YOUR MINDSET
Live a Meaningful Life
MICHAEL PILARCZYK
Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
Editors: Sjors Sommer and Jet Hopser
US Editor: Julie Kerr
Translation: Jackie Davis and Michael Pilarczyk
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
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Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2025900582
ISBN: 9781394320127 (cloth)
ISBN: 9781394320134 (ePub)
ISBN: 9781394320141 (ePDF)
Cover Design: Wiley
The book you now have in your hands is like a shovel that you can use to dig within yourself. You’ll discover answers and insights that will give you guidance on where you want to go in your life. You can unearth all the truths about yourself if you’re willing to dig deep into the mine of your own soul. If you do, you’ll discover that you are the creator of your own character and the designer of your own destiny.
—Michael George Pilarczyk
Author Note
This book is intended to help you reach your maximum potential and make a positive difference in the world. We cannot give you any guarantees of the results. We do not believe in programs and books that promise wealth, success, happiness, or enlightenment in a short time. These can only be achieved through hard and smart work, a well-founded strategic plan, delivering unique added value, perseverance, and serving others with your talents and quality services. Any action you take related to the contents of this book is your own responsibility. Decisions based on the contents of this book are made voluntarily. We advise you to consult your specialists before you undertake any drastic actions that can have consequences of any nature whatsoever. Under no circumstances will the author and publisher be held liable for any consequences and/or results arising from the use of this book. We wish you success and happiness.
Live your best life!
“I am the master of my faith
The captain of my soul.”
—William Ernest Henley, Invictus
“A beautiful, healthy, wealthy, and successful life is possible for so many people, if only there was access to the right insights, key knowledge, good role models, and extraordinary teachers to learn from.”
Introduction
This Book Can Change Your Life
HOW WOULD YOU like to live your ideal life? A meaningful life, whatever that may look like to you personally. To paint a clearer picture of that, I wrote this book for you.
Can one book change your life? Absolutely. With me that was certainly the case. The book was Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I was 21 the first time I read it, and it became the foundation for the way I live. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to become a renowned DJ, TV host, successful businessman, world sailor, meditation teacher, inspirational speaker, and bestselling author.
Yes, I’ve been very fortunate to make all my dreams come true, and I’m very grateful for that. But success never comes without setbacks, disappointments, and deep lows. Sometimes life takes you on a bumpy ride and tries to knock you down. But for those who pass that mental test and refuse to give up, life offers a fair reward. For me, that reward was financial freedom at the age of 37.
A beautiful, healthy, wealthy, and successful life is possible for so many people, if only there was access to the right insights, key knowledge, good role models, and extraordinary teachers to learn from. I know from experience that I can be that person, helping you live your best life. How do I know that? Well, I am living my best life. I’m 55 now. I’ve been through a lot and I have learned a lot. But most importantly, I practice what I preach.
Here’s an important piece of advice to remember: if someone wants to show you the way, first ask if they’ve walked that path themselves. Never just take someone’s word for it. Always ask yourself if that person has the right to speak on the matter. What have they accomplished themselves?
Now, you may be thinking, “Yeah, that’s easy for you to say, but such a rich and luxurious life isn’t in the cards for everyone.” And maybe it’s not for everyone—but not everyone will read this book. You, however, are reading it. So, what’s on your wish list? Happiness, money, personal growth? Your dream home with the love of your life? More free time, a trip around the world, your own business, living on the beach or in the quiet mountains? More peace of mind? What does your best life look like? Have you ever seriously thought about that? And more importantly, have you written down that wish list in concrete terms?
In this book, I’ll ask a lot of questions—because questions are more important than answers. Questions make you think, and thinking leads to insights. Why do you do what you do? Why do you think the way you do? And how do you know if your thoughts align with the life you truly want to live? If you pay close attention while reading this book, the answers will arise within you.
This isn’t a theoretical self-help book. I don’t believe in programs or books that promise quick success, instant wealth, or enlightenment. Nor do I believe you have to be a millionaire to live your best life—though having money is practical. Money can help you achieve your goals and create the lifestyle you desire, but it’s not the whole picture.
Much of this book is about awareness. Getting to the bottom of yourself so that you understand what causes your thinking and your behavior. This will give you peace of mind and also the power to start living life the way you want. You will be less likely to lose yourself in emotions that determine your behavior, and you will spend much less time brooding. On the contrary, you will become much more decisive in the choices you make, and you will gain more control over your behavior and thus over your daily life. And only when you know yourself are you able to understand how other people think and able to explain their behavior. This makes your dealings with others easier, and you will find that, as a result, many obstacles you’re faced with and resistance you face will disappear from your life. It paves the way to start living your life the way you would prefer. A meaningful life.
Master Your Mindset is based on the Think and Grow Rich principles, to which I have added my own unique experiences in life and business, and all the valuable lessons I’ve learned from my teachers, including my business mentor, Mr. Dan Peña.
I share with you my personal story. How I, by trial and error, made my dreams come true, found inner peace, and achieved freedom, both spiritually and financially. Is this what you want too? Then you’ll find questions and answers in this book that will help you on your way. I share what I’ve done and how I’ve done it. And how you can apply the same way of thinking and the same strategy to improve the quality of your own life.
Don’t expect your life to suddenly look completely different tomorrow. That requires more than simply reading this book. You have to study it and live it. I will help you along the way, and I will explain to you in detail what you have to do. I’ll guide you through it, you’ll reflect on it, and ultimately, you’ll decide what to do with it. But it’s also important to know that without action there will be no results.
You can’t change your life in a day, but you can change your daily life. The secret of long-lasting success is found in your daily routine. Gold and diamonds are only found by searching and digging. The book you now have in your hands is like a shovel that you can use to dig within yourself. You’ll discover answers and insights that will give you guidance on where you want to go in your life. You can unearth all the truths about yourself if you’re willing to dig deep into the mine of your own soul. If you do, you’ll discover that you are the creator of your own character and the maker of your own destiny.
“Life is an adventure waiting to be taken on,
a mystery to discover, an opportunity to seize,
a challenge to take up.
Life is both the journey and the destination.
Life is so beautiful.
Wake up, live.”
What Does Your Best Life Look Like?
This might not be an easy question. It’s a big question. And to understand big things, it’s best to break it down into manageable chunks. You don’t need to be able to answer that question in detail yet.
To begin with: What would you like to change in your daily life? Why aren’t you doing more of what you would like to be doing? And why do you do things even though you’d rather not? After we explore these questions, I’ll take you through more philosophical questions. Why do you get out of bed every day? Why do you do what you do? What do you do it all for? Finally, the last questions, and not the easiest ones: Who are you really, deep down? And who do you want to be?
This book is about these essential life questions.
I’ve asked thousands of people these questions. Virtually no one has been able to give clear and concrete answers to them. Yet their importance has become increasingly clear to me. They make you think; they bring insights. They awaken your consciousness. Both the questions and the many different answers to them remind me of Apple founder Steve Jobs’ legendary words at Stanford University in 2005: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it by living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other people’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow know what you genuinely want.”
To live your best life, you first have to master your mindset, master the way you think. That way of thinking determines your vision of the world around you and of yourself, your self-image. Using countless examples and my own experiences, I’ll help you understand your way of thinking: how it came to be and the unseen blockages that might now be preventing you from living your best life.
Do you feel like you’re not yet making use of your full personal potential, that there’s more to you? Do you have goals you want to achieve? Do you have dreams you want to make come true? Do you want to give deeper meaning to who you are and what you do?
The examples I use in this book will show how your thoughts guide your behavior. And that your behavior determines both your daily actions and the results you get. It all starts with the way you think.
It’s important to be aware of your thoughts and of the fact that you are the cause of that mental activity. Realize that you assign meaning to every thought with that intelligent brain of yours. And that through infusing thoughts with meaning, you give rise to certain feelings and emotions. Additionally, every judgment you have is also the result of the meaning you assign to your thoughts. Reading this book now, you’re forming thoughts about it—you have an opinion on it. You might agree or disagree with what I have to say. Where does that opinion come from?
Over the years and while I was doing research for this book, it became clear to me how the way we think comes about. It’s the result of our perception, and our perception isn’t an objective representation of reality. It’s the lens through which you see life. It’s your personal reality. Not pure, therefore, but colored. “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one,” claimed Albert Einstein.
Watching a film is a good example of how your perception determines your reality. Despite the fact that you know what is on screen isn’t real, you can have a sleepless night after watching an exciting thriller or a gripping drama. And how many times have you not shed a tear or two when watching an especially heartbreaking death scene? Your thoughts and emotions can, therefore, make you believe in something that resembles reality yet is actually made up.
Something similar happens when you watch an illusionist. You know beforehand that what you’re going to see isn’t real, but still, you believe in that temporary illusion. Things don’t only work that way when you’re watching a movie or an illusionist. It’s also how you look at the outside world. You experience it as reality through your perception, and through the personal lenses of your conditioning.
Your experience of reality is affected by everything that filters through the lens of your perception. Day in, day out, you’re programmed by what you see and read: the news. But is all that news true? Is everything you see really real? In recent years, we’ve heard the term “fake news” bandied about, but what is that, really? And who decides what’s true and what isn’t? Some people are convinced that something is true “because it was on the news.” Still others don’t believe everything just because someone said so and do their own research into “the truth.” In this way, everyone chooses their own truth to believe in.
One final example: Just like you use a filter to edit photos on Instagram to make them more beautiful, you view the outside world through your own filter. And that filter colors things the way you want to see them. This is called a paradigm: a frame of reference from which you interpret reality. Your convictions are formed from that frame of reference. In this book, we’re going to carefully investigate that filter. I want to show you the influence that filter has on your view of the world and on yourself. And vice versa: What influence do you have on your own filter?
Your filter is the consequence of your paradigms and conditioning; it’s your way of thinking. And since you are the cause of your thoughts, you also have the ability and the opportunity to change those thoughts, and thereby change what you see and what you get in life.
The title of this book is Master Your Mindset: Live a Meaningful Life. Your mindset is your way of thinking, and it determines how you lead your life: whether you’re happy and successful or not, how you interact with others and with yourself, how you deal with your feelings, and whether you live life the way you’d like. Your behavior is, therefore, a direct consequence of your mindset. Do you want to improve something about yourself, your behavior, and the quality of your daily life? Then you’ll need to change your mindset and your convictions.
If you’re 25 years old, you’ll read this book differently than if you’re 40 or 55. Where you’re at on your life path largely determines how you’ll interpret my words. The beauty of it is that everything I write is universal. It works for everyone, including you, provided you’re open to it.
That’s why I ask you to read this book with an open mind. Read receptively suspend your judgment. I have no intention to convince you of anything, so I’m not out to prove anything. I’m not a scientist. But I know what works based on my own experience and the results of the tens of thousands of people I’ve taught in recent years.
If you don’t believe in what I have to tell you, it won’t work for you. First believe, and then you’ll see. That’s my mantra.
There are four parts to this book. In the first part, I will tell you briefly about my life, where I got the knowledge and wisdom that have made me who I am now. It’s my personal story, but if you read carefully, you’ll discover you can use many elements of my philosophy and strategy to create your own best life.
In Part II, I describe that philosophy: the quest for happiness and success, for yourself, for your personal values, and for your own truth. This helps to form your personal statute: a guide with your own rules for life, which then determines the quality of your life. I want to mention right away that success and happiness are not an end unto their own. They are not a “place” you reach. Success and happiness are experienced when you live a certain way. They are a state of being, a way of life.
In Part III, you’ll learn how to master your mindset, your thinking. If you know that your behavior, how you feel, and the results you get are the result of your thinking, then it’s also critical to understand how your thinking mind works. I will explain the origins of your way of thinking and how you can transform self-limiting beliefs into a powerful, positive mindset.
In Part IV, I explain the strategy that underpins my own continued success. This part is about the path to success and happiness. But again, it’s as much about the journey as the destination. It’s your way of living that will bring you success and enable you to experience happiness. Using practical principles and examples, I explain how you can achieve your personal and business goals and make your dreams a reality. This requires a well-thought-out strategy, which I describe in my 12-step plan. I’ve developed this strategy and philosophy over the years, and it’s grounded in my experiences as a human being and an entrepreneur. Moreover, I’ve also been inspired by many professionals and spiritual teachers. It’s a philosophy that can be seen in the mindsets of sports heroes, famous artists, top entrepreneurs, and other successful people.
Perhaps what I’m writing is new to you and a whole world will open up as you read this book. Maybe what I have to share is already obvious to you. Perhaps you think you already know it all. But there is a vast difference between knowing and understanding. If you think you “already know it all” but your life still isn’t what you’d like it to be, then you don’t have it all figured out. Don’t tell me that you know it, show it!
Understanding is doing what you know and doing it frequently. It sounds simple, but discipline and repetition lead to success. That’s a universal principle. Spend as much time as possible studying and practicing. Only by taking action can you achieve the results you aim for.
What I’m telling you is derived from centuries-old wisdom. These insights have been passed on for generations. I’ve borrowed many of them from books and stories by Napoleon Hill, James Allen, George Clason, Wayne W. Dyer, Alan Watts, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Wallace D. Wattles, Tulku Lobsang Rinpoche, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Deepak Chopra, Bob Proctor, Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, and Jim Rohn. I’ve done my utmost to explore and understand their intentions, insights, and wisdom.
This—supplemented with what I’ve learned from my business mentor, Dan Peña; my spiritual teacher, Rajshree Patel; and my life coach, Egon Massink—has become my philosophy of life. I share that vision and mindset in this book so you, too, can apply it to live your best life.
“Belief in yourself is your greatest power.”
Follow Your Desires
The recipe for a happy and successful life is simple: do what you really like, and become extremely good at it. That may sound like an oversimplification, but it’s precisely this simplicity in thought and deed that characterizes many successful people.
Three decades ago, when I was 21, I wasn’t consciously on a quest to understand how the mind works. I was more interested in how some were able to earn millions and lead lives of luxury while most others went to work every day, earning salaries that just paid the bills—the difference between making a life and making a living. If you’re happy with that, that’s wonderful, but I noticed that a lot of people were happy when the weekend came around again or when they could finally take a vacation. What does it say about your work when you’re overjoyed that it’s Friday afternoon? That it’s time to leave your job and do something you do like!
Of course, I understand that bills have to be paid. You need to work to support yourself, but then why not do something that you like and that brings you satisfaction? If you don’t enjoy your job, someone will pick up on that sooner or later, with the result that you’ll have no other choice but to look for another job. And if you reluctantly go about your work, it just gobbles up your energy. It’ll never make you happy, you’ll never have the intention to get better at it, and you’ll never perform beyond average.
When I was 37, I was ranked on a list of the hundred wealthiest self-made millionaires under 40, similar to Forbes 40 Under 40, with a stated net worth of $9 million. What made these people in their twenties and thirties multimillionaires so early in their lives? The vast majority of them were living for their passion. They worked with passion, they did what made them happy, and by spending all their time on it, they managed to achieve extraordinary things. The resulting fame, wealth, or both is a byproduct and hardly ever a goal unto itself. Many of these successful entrepreneurs, artists, and athletes don’t hide the fact that the financial outcome of their activities is also a driving force. But it’s usually not the predominant one.
Following your desires automatically points you in the right direction on your life path. This requires courage, trust, and faith in yourself. In The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho writes: “Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”
Not listening to your heart and ignoring your desires often leads to a dead end. That happened to a friend of mine from school named Chris. He didn’t have to do much to get A’s and B’s, and classmates and teachers alike thought Chris was intelligent. We didn’t really know what our fathers did for a living, except that they left early in the morning and came home late in the evening—and that all had to do with traffic jams. That was in the early 1980s, and we were in high school. Chris and I vowed we would never get stuck in traffic jams just to go work for a boss. We had dreams and futures rich with possibilities.
A few years ago, I went to our reunion. It was great to see the people I’d shared my life with so long ago, and we talked about how the past few decades had gone for everyone. For fun, I shouted out, “Who sits in traffic jams in the morning?” The room fell silent. All but one of them raised their hands, and it wasn’t Chris. “I don’t know what happened along the way,” he later said. Things had gone differently than he’d wanted. “It was the circumstances at the time. I listened too much to people around me who thought I shouldn’t do this and shouldn’t do that. I wanted to make so many other choices. . .”
“Chris, why didn’t you?” I asked him. He didn’t know. “How old are you now?”
“Forty-three,” he answered.
“What are you going to do with the rest of your life?”
And Chris thought about that question for a while. I found it fascinating. Two people with nearly identical backgrounds, who went to the same school, from the same kind of neighborhood—how could he, with all his intelligence, be unhappily trapped in his life while I was living my best life?
“All we have to do is decide what to do with the time given us.”
– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Your Life Has a Deadline
Suppose it were possible to redefine your existence. What would you want to do? What would you change? Would you dare to follow your heart and make your dreams come true?
You may think you have all the time in the world ahead of you. In reality, though, your future gets shorter every day. This life has a deadline, and although we all know this, we’re often not really aware of it, especially when we’re young. I’m not saying you have to entertain notions of your own mortality every day, but if you have greater appreciation for each moment, you’ll show more gratitude, and gratitude is a form of happiness.
For that reason alone, it’s good to consciously reflect on this. But let it also guide your actions, your choices. What would you do if you were told today that you had no more than one year left to live? Take time to think about this. What would you no longer do? What would you not spend a minute more on? And what would you do with those last few months? What decisions would you make right now? And why?
Suppose the day of your death was already determined on the day you were born. That would mean you’d know when your last day on this planet would be. Would this affect the way you live now? If so, how?
What have you done with your time? You need to take time to contemplate this question. What have you done with your time over the past few months, over the past 5 or 10 years? Where do you stand on your own timeline between birth and. . . the as-yet-unknown end? You don’t know how much time you have left, but you do know the path you’ve traveled. What have you spent your time on? That has largely determined where you are now in your life. A very important question: What have you done with your time?
I often hear that we don’t have enough time. Is that true? What would you do if you had more time available? “If I had more time, I could earn more money and do more fun things,” someone said to me. “That’s an illusion,” I explained. “More time doesn’t exist.” I quoted the words of Gandalf the wizard from The Lord of the Rings: “All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given us.”
Every day, you make choices. You choose to do certain things and not do others. This means you set priorities, either consciously or unconsciously. Why do you sometimes not do things you’d like or need to do, and instead waste your time on activities that don’t contribute to your happiness and quality of life? It’s of inestimable value to be in harmony with the choices you consciously make because then you can meaningfully spend the time you’ve been given. In our modern society, our life is governed by time and money. And money largely determines how we spend our time.
Dreams Are Seeds
“Dreams are the seeds of a future reality,” Napoleon Hill wrote in Think and Grow Rich. Desire is the source of every success. Your soul’s power assists you in making that deep desire a reality. Great explorers, inventors, sports heroes, artists, musicians, and successful entrepreneurs are all driven by a boundless desire. Genuine desire produces energy, miraculously making you one with the energy of the universe, which I call “Cosmic Intelligence.” By this I mean energy, visualization, imagination, and the law of attraction and creation. We’ll revisit these fundamental elements later in this book.
I’d like to ask you a few important life questions: What do you sometimes dream of? What would you really like? What do you do it all for? What does your best life look like?
To give worthwhile meaning to your life, it’s important to transform your desires into concrete goals. Where are you heading if you have no idea what your destination is? Imagine you hop into your car and set your navigation device to “wherever.” Where do you think you’ll end up? If you don’t know where you’re going, there’s a good chance you’ll end up somewhere you don’t want to be. It works the same way with your personal navigation system. Program your own destination. What end result do you want? Once that’s clear, you can envision it. And if you can envision it, then there’s almost always a way to get there. How you’re going to get there isn’t relevant at this point, but you have to know exactly where you want to go.
It’s of absolute importance that you decide on a direction, just as a ship’s captain sets course for the next destination. It doesn’t have to be your final destination right away, so don’t think that you should have one huge life purpose right off the bat. A goal can also be an in-between step in achieving your ultimate, bigger goals or making your dreams come true.
If you have a dream, it can literally determine the destination of your life. Sailing is something I dreamed of since I was little. I was six when my father took me out on a little rented wooden boat on a small lake. That afternoon gave birth to my longing to take long sailing trips and live on a boat, and that dream became my driving force. It took 30 years before I made it come true. The ones who hang in there win, maybe not every time, but often. Winners never quit, and quitters never win.
“If you don’t know where you’re going, there’s a good chance you’ll end up somewhere you don’t want to be.”
Whatever You Can Conceive and Believe, You Can Achieve
Dreams give you the strength to change your life, and even the world. History has been largely written by creative people and dreamers. I’m not suggesting that everyone has to become a world champion or megastar.
Nor do I claim that everything is possible for everyone. That’s not the case; every individual has their own personal potential. But don’t immediately allow this to become a self-limiting thought.
Don’t also think you can only have dreams when you’re young or have exceptional talents. Or that making dreams come true is only for the lucky few. It’s about whether you have the courage to dare to dream. My advice: follow your desire, listen to your heart, live with passion.
You have your own vision of life and how you want to lead yours. You have your own wishes, goals, and dreams. “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve,” said Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich.
Buddha tells us in his lessons that we’re formed by our thoughts. We become what we think. I share that philosophy. I also believe that you’re almost always able to do more than your rational mind can possibly imagine.
Whenever I talk about great role models who knew early on what their dreams or passions were, I often hear the refrain “Most people don’t know exactly what they want; it’s really hard, especially when you’re young.” This sounds to me like the kind of self-limiting thoughts that originate in our education. School doesn’t educate us to lead successful and happy lives; rather, it gives us a false sense of security and prepares us for a job. Unfortunately, educational systems are trapped in webs of regulations and leave little room for innovation and creativity. At home and at school, they tell you what the rules are, but hardly anyone teaches you how to play the game. You learn that the lines are the limits, but who teaches you how to score?
I really like teaching and working with young people because I’m interested in how they see things. In my lectures at colleges and universities, I always ask students about their goals and dreams. That question often overwhelms them. They do not have a list of clear goals. Most students have never really thought deeply about their goals and dreams.
And when I ask what they think determines whether a person becomes successful and rich, I get remarkable answers: wealthy parents, you have to have to start off with money, you need to know the right people who can help you get a good job, and, above all, you shouldn’t make many mistakes. I tell them mistakes make great teachers. By making lots of them, sometimes even painful ones, I’ve become who I am now and can live life the way I want to. See making mistakes as learning moments. By learning from them, you gain experience, and you become better at something.
Of course, it can certainly work to your advantage if you know the right people, yet if you don’t offer added value, those people won’t line up to hire you.
Many of the students I’ve spoken to think hard work and excellence aren’t deciding factors for success. According to them, external factors over which they can’t exert any influence determine the course of their lives. Where do these misleading convictions come from? Who put up these invisible prison bars?
If it’s true that so many people can’t figure out what they really want, why is that? What’s the reason for it? Our upbringing? Our educational system compartmentalizes us and then expects us to make a choice for the rest of our lives within this limited range of possibilities.
“At home and at school, they tell you what
the rules are, but hardly anyone teaches you
how to play the game.
You learn that the lines are the limits,
but who teaches you how to score?”
What School Doesn’t Teach You
“How do I figure out what I like?” I hear it time and again. How can you not know? Or do you not dare to say it out loud? Perhaps because of fear? Because you’re afraid that it’s not possible, that you won’t succeed? Are you afraid of being disappointed? Is that why you don’t dare to dream of your most ideal life? In the past, when you were younger, your mind was still free. Your imagination fueled a vibrant existence. But time robs many people of their dreams. You allow your imagination to run dry and your creative ability to die off. Do you think that’s how you avoid disappointment?
Is that why parents and teachers don’t ask you to dream without limits? “You have to be realistic,” they say. What’s realistic? Thinking from within their limited thoughts? Because they themselves have never stepped up to the plate out of fear, or “because that’s the way it’s supposed to be,” or because they were also robbed of their own dreams at a young age? Keep your head down. Don’t color outside the lines. Fit in. Blend in. Don’t live from your heart, but let your life be determined by your environment, by the judgments of others, by the way they think it should be. Make sure you can get through this life on Earth without too many bumps and bruises; then you can look back on a meaningless existence at the end of it all.
In its present form, the educational system is rapidly losing its legitimacy, in my opinion. It offers children and students prospects that are too limited. Naturally, basic skills like writing, reading, and arithmetic are extremely important. But why do you learn so little about yourself at school? About psychological insight, self-esteem, your health, communication skills, but also about earning money, meditation, and the kinds of philosophical insights that can broaden your worldview? Why do you learn so little or even nothing about your thoughts and emotions in all those years in primary and secondary school?
British professor and best-selling author Ken Robinson was known for being an international expert on creativity and innovation in education and business. His entertaining 2006 TED talk on how the educational system has been destroying talent and creativity worldwide has been watched tens of millions of times. In it, he argues that educational systems need to be overhauled because they’re rooted in the outdated Industrial Age. Our current system educates us for the past and doesn’t allow us to develop and make use of our personal potential. Robinson shares the story of a six- year-old girl who drew a picture of God. Her art teacher told her that no one knew what God looked like. The girl answered, “They will in a minute.”
As a little girl, Dame Gillian Lynne was seen by her school as a restless and untalented child. When her mother took her to a doctor to sort out her shortcomings, he turned on the radio. Gillian started dancing spontaneously, and the doctor told the mother that her daughter was a dancer. It may well be that you’ve never heard of her, but not only did Gillian Lynne become a great ballerina, she’s also the choreographer of my favorite musical, The Phantom of the Opera
