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The Strangest Secret Transcript

I’d like to tell you about the strangest secret in the world.

Not long ago, Albert Schweitzer, the great Doctor and Nobel Prize winner was being interviewed in London and a reporter asked him, “Doctor, what’s wrong with men today?”

The great doctor was silent a moment, and then he said, “Men simply don’t think!”

And it’s about this that I want to talk with you.

We live today in a golden age. This is an era that man has looked forward, dreamed of, and worked toward for thousands of years. But since it’s here, we pretty well take it for granted.

We in America are particularly fortunate to live in the richest land that ever existed on the face of the earth – a land of abundant opportunity for everyone.

But do you know what happens?

Let’s take 100 men who start even at the age of 25. Do you have any idea what will happen to those men by the time they are 65? These 100 men who all start even at the age of 25 believe they’re going to be successful.

If you asked any one of these men if he wanted to be a success, he’d tell you that he did, and you’d notice that he was eager toward life; that there was a certain sparkle to his eye, an erectness to his carriage, and life seemed like a pretty interesting adventure to him.

But by the time they’re 65, one will be rich. Four will be financially independent, five will still be working, 54 will be broke.

Now, think a moment. Out of the 100, only five make the grade.

WHY DO SO MANY FAIL?

What has happened to the sparkle that was there when they were 25? What’s become of the dreams, the hopes, the plans? And why is there such a large disparity between what these men intended to do, and what they actually accomplished?

When we say about 5% achieve success, we have to define success. And here’s the definition I’ve ever been able to find: Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.

If a man is working toward a pre-determined goal and knows where he’s going, that man is a success. If he’s not doing that, he’s a failure. Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.

Rollo May, the distinguished psychiatrist wrote a wonderful book called “Man’s Search for Himself.” In this book, he says the opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice. It is conformity.

And there you have the trouble today. It’s conformity – people acting like everyone else without knowing why, without knowing where they’re going.

Now think of it.

In America right now, there are over 40 million people 65 years of age and over, and about 30 million of this 40 million are broke. They’re dependent on someone else for life’s necessities.

Now we learn to read by the time we’re seven. We learn to make a living by the time we’re 25. Usually, by that time, we’re not only making a living we’re supporting a family.

And yet, by the time we’re 65, we haven’t learned how to become financially independent in the richest land that has ever been known.

Why? We conform.

The trouble is that we’re acting like the wrong percentage group – the 95% who don’t succeed.

NOW WHY DO THESE PEOPLE CONFORM?

Well, they don’t know really. These people believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances, by things that happen to them by exterior forces, they’re outer-directed people.

A survey was made one time that covered a lot of men, working men, and these men were asked, “Why do you work?” “Why do you get up in the morning?” 19 out of 20 had no idea.

If you ask them they will say, “Everyone goes to work in the morning,” and that’s the reason they do it – because everyone else is doing it.

Now, let’s get back to our definition of success.

WHO SUCCEEDS?

The only man who succeeds is the man who is progressively realizing a worthy ideal. He is the man who says, “I am going to become this,” and then begins to work towards that goal.

I’ll tell you who the successful people are. The success is the school teacher who is teaching school because that’s what he wanted to do.

The success is the woman who is a wife and mother because she wanted to become a wife and mother and is doing a good job of it.

The success is the man who runs the corner gas station because that’s what he wanted to do.

The success is the successful salesman who wants to become a top-notch salesman and grow and build with his organization.

A success is anyone who is doing deliberately a pre-determined job because that’s what he decided to do deliberately. But only 1 out of 20 does that. That’s why today there isn’t really any competition unless we make it for ourselves.

Instead of competing, all we have to do is create.

Now for 20 years, I looked for the key which would determine what would happen to a human being. Was there a key, I wanted to know, which would make the future a promise that we could foretell to a large extent?

WAS THERE A KEY THAT WOULD GUARANTEE A PERSON’S BECOMING SUCCESSFUL IF HE ONLY KNEW ABOUT IT AND KNEW HOW TO USE IT?

Well, there is such a key. And I found it.

Have you ever wondered why so many men work so hard and honestly without ever achieving anything in particular, and others don’t seem to work hard and yet seem to get everything? They have a magic touch.

You’ve heard them say that about someone. “Everything he touches turns to gold.”

Have you ever noticed that a man who becomes successful tends to continue to become successful? And on the other hand, have you noticed how a man who’s a failure tends to continue to fail?

Well, it’s because of goals. Some of us have them; some don’t. People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.

Now think of a ship leaving a harbor and think of it with a complete voyage mapped out and planned. The captain and crew know exactly where it’s going and how long it will take. It has a definite goal. 9,999 times out of 10,000 it will get to where it started out to get.

Now let’s take another ship, just like the first, only let’s not put a crew on it, or a captain at the helm. Let’s give it no aiming point, no goal, and no destination. We just start the engines and let it go.

I think you’ll agree with me that if it gets out of the harbor at all, it will either sink or wind up on some deserted beach, a derelict. It can’t go any place because it has no destination and no guidance.

It’s the same with a human being. Take the salesman for example. There is no other person in the world today with the future of a good salesman.

Selling is the world’s highest paid profession, if we’re good at it and if we know where we’re going. Every company needs top-notch salesmen, and they reward those men. The sky is the limit for them. But how many can you find?

Someone once said the human race is fixed. Not to prevent the strong from winning, but to prevent the weak from losing.

The American economy today can be likened to a convoy in time of war. The entire economy is slowed down to protect its weakest link, just as the convoy had to go at the speed that would permit its slowest vessel to remain in formation. That’s why it’s so easy to make a living today.

It takes no particular brains or talent to make a living and support a family today. So we have a plateau of so-called security, if that’s what person is looking for.

But we do have to decide how high above this plateau we want to aim for.

Now let’s get back to the Strangest Secret in the World, the story that I wanted to tell you today.

WHY DO MEN WITH GOALS SUCCEED IN LIFE, AND MEN WITHOUT THEM FAIL?

Well, let me tell you something which, if you really understand it, will alter your life immediately.

If you understand completely what I’m going to tell you from this moment on, your life will never be the same again. You will suddenly find that good luck just seems to be attracted to you, the things you want just seem to fall in line.

And from now on you won’t have the problems, the worries, the gnawing lump of anxiety that perhaps you’ve experienced before. Doubt, fear, well, they will be things of the past.

Here is the key to success and the key to failure. We become what we think about.

Now let me say that again. We become what we think about.

Throughout all history, the great wise men and teachers, philosophers, and prophets have disagreed with one another on many different things. It is only on this one point that they are in complete and unanimous agreement.

Listen to what Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman Emperor, said, he said:

“A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.”

Benjamin Disraeli said this:

“Everything comes if a man will only wait. I’ve brought myself by long meditation to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will that will stake even existence for its fulfillment.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson said this:

“A man is what he thinks about all day long.”

William James said: “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” And he also said, “We need only in cold blood act as if the thing in question were real, and it will become infallibly real by growing into such a connection with our life that it will become real. It will become so knit with habit and emotion that our interests in it will be those which characterize belief.”

He also said this, “If you only care enough for a result, you will almost certainly attain it. If you wish to be rich, you will be rich. If you wish to be learned, you will be learned. If you wish to be good, you will be good. Only you must, then, really wish these things, and wish them exclusively, and not wish at the same time a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly.”

In the Bible you will read in Mark 9:23: “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said this: “This is one of the greatest laws in the universe. Fervently do I wish I had discovered it as a very young man. It dawned upon me much later in life, and I found it to be the greatest discovery, if not my greatest discovery outside of my relationship to God.”

And the great law briefly and simply stated is that: If you think in negative terms, you will get negative results. If you think in positive terms, you will achieve positive results. That is the simple fact, which is at the basis of an astonishing law of prosperity and success.

In three words: “Believe and Succeed.”

William Shakespeare put it this way, “Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.”

George Bernard Shaw 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, make them.

Well, it’s pretty apparent, isn’t it? And every person who discovered this, for a while, believed that he was the first one to work it out. “We become what we think about.”

Now it stands to reason that a person who is thinking about a concrete and worthwhile goal is going to reach it, because that’s what he’s thinking about. And we become what we think about.

Conversely, the man who has no goal, who doesn’t know where he is going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety, fear, and worry becomes what he thinks about. His life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety, and worry. And if he thinks about nothing, he becomes nothing.

Now how does it work?

WHY DO WE BECOME WHAT WE THINK ABOUT?

Well I’ll tell you how it works as far as we know. Now to do this I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.

Suppose a farmer has some land. And it’s good fertile land. Now 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.

Now remember we are 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 is 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.

Now 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… failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety, and so on. But what we plant it will return to us.

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

Now you might say, well if that’s true, why don’t people use their minds more?

Well I think they’ve figured out an answer to that one too.

Our mind comes as standard equipment at birth. It’s free. And things that are given to us for nothing, we place little value on. Things that we pay money for, we value. The paradox is that exactly the reverse is true. Everything that’s really worthwhile in life came to us free: our mind, our soul, our body, our hopes, our dreams, our ambitions, our intelligence, our love of family and children and friends. All these priceless possessions are free.

But the things that cost us money are actually very cheap and can be replaced at any time.

A good man can be completely wiped out and make another fortune. He can do that several times. Even if our home burns down, we can rebuild it. But the things we got for nothing, we can never replace.

The human mind isn’t used merely because we take it for granted. “Familiarity breeds contempt”. It can do any kind of job we assign to it, but generally speaking, we use it for little jobs instead of big important ones.

Universities have proved that most of us are operating on about 10% of our abilities.

Decide now. What is it you want? Plant your goal in your mind. It’s the most important decision you’ll ever make in your entire life.

Do you want to be an outstanding salesman? Do you want to excel at your particular job? Do you want to go places in your company, in your community? All you have got to do is plant that seed in your mind, care for it, work steadily towards your goal, and it will become a reality. It not only will, there’s no way that it cannot.

You see, that is a law – like the laws of Sir Isaac Newton, the laws of gravity. If you get on top of a building and jump off, you’ll always go down – you’ll never go up. And it’s the same with all the other laws of nature. They always work, they are inflexible.

Think about your goal in a relaxed, positive way. Picture yourself in your mind’s eye as having already achieved this goal.

See yourself doing the things you will be doing when you have reached your goal. Ours has been called The Phenobarbital Age, the age of ulcers and nervous breakdowns.

At a time when medical research has raised us to a new plateau of good health and longevity, far too many of us worry ourselves into an early grave trying to cope with things in our own little personal ways, without learning a few great laws that will take care of everything for us.

These things we bring on ourselves through our habitual way of thinking. Every one of us is the sum total of his own thoughts. He is where he is because that is exactly where he really wants to be, whether he will admit that or not.

Each of us must live off the fruit of his thoughts in the future, because what you think today and tomorrow – next month and next year – will mold your life and determine your future. You are guided by your mind.

I remember one time I was driving through Arizona. And I saw one of those giant earth-moving machines roaring along the road at about 35 miles an hour with what looked like 30 tons of dirt in it – a tremendous, incredible machine – and there was a little man perched way up on top with the wheel in his hands, guiding it.

And as I drove along I was struck by the similarity of that machine to the human mind. Just suppose you are sitting at the controls of such a vast source of energy. Are you going to sit back and fold your arms and let it run itself into a ditch?

Or are you going to keep both hands firmly on the wheel and control and direct this power to a specific, worthwhile purpose? It’s up to you. You are in the driver’s seat.

You see, the very law that gives us success is a two-edged sword. We must control our thinking. The same rule that can lead a man to a life of success, wealth, happiness, and all the things he has ever dreamed of for himself and his family, that very same law can lead him into the gutter. It’s all in how we use it: for good or for bad.

This is The Strangest Secret in the world.

NOW WHY DO I SAY IT’S STRANGE, AND WHY DO I CALL IT A SECRET?

Actually, it isn’t a secret at all. It was first promulgated by some of the earliest wise men, and it appears again and again throughout the Bible. But very few people have learned it, understand it. That’s why it’s strange, and why for some equally strange reason it virtually remains a secret.

I believe that you could go out and walk down the main street of your town and ask one man after another what the secret of success is and you probably wouldn’t run into one man in a month who could tell you.

Now this information is enormously valuable to us if we really understand it and apply it. It’s valuable to us not only for our own lives, but the lives of those around us, our family, employees, associates, and friends.

Life should be an exciting adventure. It should never be a bore. A man should live fully, be alive. He should be glad to get out of bed in the morning. He should be doing a job he likes to do because he does it well.

One time I heard Grove Patterson make a speech, the editor-in-chief of the Toledo Daily Blade. And as he concluded his speech, he said something that I’ve never forgotten.

He said something like this, “My years in the newspaper business have convinced me of several things. Among them, that people are basically good, and that we came from someplace and we are going someplace. So we should make our time here an exciting adventure. The architect of the universe did not build a stairway leading nowhere. And the greatest teacher of all, the Carpenter from the Plains of Galilee gave us the secret time and time again: As ye believe, so shall it be done – unto you.”

30 DAY ACTION IDEAS FOR PUTTING THE STRANGEST SECRET TO WORK FOR YOU

On side number one of this record I’ve explained the Strangest Secret in the World, and how it works.

Now on this side, I want to explain how you can prove to yourself the enormous returns possible in your own life by putting the secret to a practical test.

I want you to make a test that will last 30 days. Now it isn’t going to be easy, but if you will give it a good try, it will completely change your life for the better.

Back in the 17th Century, Sir Isaac Newton, the English mathematician and natural philosopher gave us the natural laws of physics, which apply as much to human beings as they do to the movement of bodies in the universe. And one of these laws is that: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”.

Simply stated as it applies to you and me, it means we can achieve nothing without paying the price. The results of your 30 day experiment will be in direct proportion to the effort you put forth.

To be a doctor, you must pay the price of long years of difficult study. To be successful in selling, and remember that each of us succeeds to the extent of his ability to sell, selling our families on our ideas, selling education in schools, selling our children on the advantages of living a good and honest life, selling our associates and employees on the importance of being exceptional people. To, of course, the profession of selling itself.

But to be successful in selling our way to the good life, we must be willing to pay the price.

NOW WHAT IS THAT PRICE?

Well it’s many things. First, it’s understanding emotionally as well as intellectually that we literally become what we think about, that we must control our thoughts if we are to control our lives. It’s understanding fully that: “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

Second, it’s cutting away all fetters from the mind and permitting it to soar as it was divinely designed to do. It’s the realization that your limitations are self-imposed, and that the opportunities for you today are enormous beyond belief. It’s rising above narrow-minded pettiness and prejudice.

Thirdly, to use all your courage to force yourself to think positively on your own problem. To set a definite and clearly defined goal for yourself. To let your marvelous mind think about your goal from all possible angles.

To let your imagination speculate freely upon many different possible solutions. To refuse to believe there are any circumstances sufficiently strong to defeat you in the accomplishment of your purpose.

To act promptly and decisively when your course is clear and to keep constantly aware of the fact that you are at this moment standing in the middle of your own “Acres of Diamonds” as Russell Conwell used to point out.

Fourth, save at least 10% of what you earn. It’s also remembering that no matter what your present job, it has enormous possibilities, if you are willing to pay the price.

Now let’s just go over the important points in the price each of us must pay to achieve the wonderful life that can be ours. It is of course worth any price.

One: You will become what you think about.

Two: Remember the word imagination. Let your mind soar.

Three: Courage – Concentrate on your goal every day.

Four: Save 10% of what you earn.

And Action – Ideas are worthless unless we act on them.

Now, I’ll try to outline the 30 day test I want you to make.

Now keep in mind that you have nothing to lose by making this test, and everything you could possibly want to gain.

There are two things that may be said of everyone:

1. a) Each of us wants something, and
2. b) Each of us is afraid of something.

I want you to write on a card what it is you want more than anything else. It may be more money. Perhaps you’d like to double your income or make a specific amount of money. It may be a beautiful home. It may be success at your job. It may be a particular position in life. It could be a more harmonious family. Each of us wants something.

Write down on your card specifically what it is that you want. Make sure it’s a single goal and clearly defined. You needn’t show it to anyone, but carry it with you so that you can look at it several times a day.

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. Look at every chance you get during the day and just before going to bed at night.

As you look at it, remember that you must become what you think about, and since you’re thinking about your goal, you realize that soon it will be yours.

In fact, it’s really yours the moment you write it down and begin to think about it. Look at the abundance all around you as you go about your daily business. You have as much right to this abundance as any living creature. It is yours for the asking.

Now we come to the difficult part. Difficult because it means the formation of what is probably a brand new habit. New habits are not easily formed. Once formed, however, it will follow you for the rest of your life.

Stop thinking about what it is you fear. Each time a fearful or negative thought comes into your consciousness, replace it with a mental picture of your positive and worthwhile goal.

And there will come times when you’ll feel like giving up. It’s easier for a human being to think negatively than positively. That’s why only 5% are successful! You must begin now to place yourself in that group.

For 30 days you must take control of your mind. It will think only about what you permit it to think about. Each day for this 30 day test, do more than you have to do.

In addition to maintaining a cheerful positive outlook, give yourself more than you have ever done before. Do this knowing that your returns in life must be in direct proportion to what you give.

The moment you decide on a goal to work toward, you immediately are a successful person. You are then in that rare and successful category of people who know where they are going. Out of every 100 people, you belong to the top five.

Don’t concern yourself too much with how you are going to achieve your goal. Leave that completely to a power greater than yourself. All you have to do is know where you are going. The answers will come to you of their own accord.

Remember these words from the Sermon On The Mount, and remember them well. Keep them constantly before you this month of your test.

“Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh: findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

It’s as marvelous and as simple as that. In fact, it’s so simple, that in our seemingly complicated world, it’s difficult for an adult to understand that all he needs is a purpose and faith.

For 30 days, do your very best.

If you are a salesman, go at it as you have never done before, not in a hectic fashion, but with the calm cheerful assurance that time well spent will give you the abundance in return you deserve and want.

If you are a homemaker, devote your 30 day test to completely giving of yourself without thinking about receiving anything in return, and you will be amazed at the difference it makes in your life.

No matter what your job, do it as you have never done it before for 30 days, and if you have kept your goal before you every day, you will wonder and marvel at this new life you have found.

Dorothea Brande, outstanding editor and writer, discovered it for herself and tells about it in her fine book “Wake up and Live”. Her entire philosophy is reduced to the words: “Act as though it were impossible to fail.” She made her own test, with sincerity and faith, and her entire life was changed to one of overwhelming success.

Now, you make your test for 30 full days. Don’t start your test until you have made up your mind to stick with it. You see by being persistent, you are demonstrating faith. Persistence is simply another word for faith. If you didn’t have faith, you would never persist.

If you should fail within your first 30 days, by that I mean you suddenly find yourself overwhelmed by negative thoughts, you’ve got to start over again from that point and go 30 more days.

Gradually, your new habit will form, until you find yourself one of that wonderful minority to whom virtually nothing is impossible. And don’t forget the card. It’s vitally important as you begin this new way of living.

On one side of the card, write your goal, whatever it may be. On the other side, write the words we’ve quoted from the Sermon On The Mount.

“Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

Nothing great was ever accomplished without inspiration. See that during these crucial first 30 days your own inspiration is kept to a peak.

Above all … don’t worry!

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, don’t let petty things annoy you and get you off course.

Now since making this test is difficult, some may say, “Well, why should I bother?” Well look at the alternative. No one wants to be a failure. No one really wants to be a mediocre individual.

No one wants a life constantly filled with worry, fear and frustration. Therefore remember that you must reap that what you sow. 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.

Now gradually you will have a tendency to forget what you have heard on this record. Play it often. Keep reminding yourself of what you must do to form this new habit.

Gather your whole family about and listen to what has been said here at regular intervals. You know most men will tell you that they want to make money, without understanding the law. The only people who make money work in a mint. The rest of us must earn money. This is what causes those who keep looking for something for nothing, or a free ride, to fail in life.

The only way to earn money is by providing people with services or products which are needed and useful. We exchange our product or service for the other man’s money. Therefore the law is that our financial return will be in direct proportion to our service.

Success is not the result of making money. Making money is the result of success and success is in direct proportion to our service. Most people have this law backwards. They believe that you are successful if you earn a lot of money. The truth is that you can only earn money after you are successful.

It’s like the story of a man who sat in front of the stove and said to it: “Give me heat and then I’ll add the wood.”

How many men and women do you know, or do you suppose there are today, who take the same attitude toward life? There are millions.

We’ve got to put the fuel in before we can expect heat. Likewise, we’ve got to be of service first before we can expect money. Don’t concern yourself with the money. Be of service: build, work, dream, create! Do this and you’ll find there is no limit to the prosperity and abundance that will come to you.

Prosperity is founded upon a law of mutual exchange. 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.

As you go daily through your 30 day test period, 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. There are no exceptions to a law.

You can drive down any street in America and from your car estimate the service that is being rendered by the people living on that street.

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF THIS YARDSTICK BEFORE?

It’s interesting. Some, like ministers, priests and other devoted people measure their returns in the realm of the spiritual, but again their returns are equal to their service.

Once this law is fully understood, any thinking person can tell his own fortune. If he wants more, he must be of more service to those from whom he receives his return.

If he wants less, he has only to reduce his service. This is the price you must pay for what you want. If you believe you can enrich yourself by deluding others, you can end only by deluding yourself. Just as surely as you breathe, you will get back what you put out.

Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking you can avert this. It’s impossible: The prisons and the streets where the lonely walk are filled with people who tried to make new laws just for themselves. We may avoid the laws of men, but there are greater laws that cannot be broken.

An outstanding medical doctor recently pointed out six steps that will help you realize success.

1. Set yourself a definite goal.
2. Quit running yourself down.
3. Stop thinking of all the reasons why you cannot be successful and instead think of all the reasons why you can.
4. Trace your attitudes back through your childhood and try to discover where you first got the idea you couldn’t not be a success if that is 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.

The doctor who wrote those words is a noted West Coast psychiatrist, David Harold Fink, MD. Do what all the experts since the dawn of recorded history have told you you must do: pay the price by becoming the person you want to become. It’s not nearly as difficult as living unsuccessfully.

Make your 30 day test, then repeat it … then repeat it again. Each time it will become more a part of you until you’ll wonder how you could have 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.

Howdy! I’m Evan Brown and if you’re like me, you have big dreams and lofty goals.  I currently own and operate 4 companies and that’s just the beginning of what I want to do.  How am I able to do this and continue to achieve my goals? I use The Promise Code.

Every day, I make consistent steps forward with all my Promises. With The Promise Code, you can do the same. The Promise Code is a step-by-step process you can use to plan out your goals and promises, so you can work your plan, track your progress and achieve your goals and keep your Promises!

The practice of setting goals is running rampant.  Everyone does it.  We see this at work, in school. However, setting a goal is a lot easier than achieving a goal. We see this every year, January 1^st, Goals being set, and not achieved.

If your dreams are good enough for the new year, why wait for January 1^st.  The Start of your new year begins now.  Your new year begins every morning.  It begins today. 

What’s at Stake

At the Evan Brown Corporation, we know you’re the kind of person who wants to achieve your goals, keep your promises, and live the life you want.  In order to for that to happen your goals and dreams can’t continue to sit on the shelf.  The problem is, everyone is talking about setting goals, yet they never talk about how to achieve them. This is frustrating, as you watch your dreams just sit there.

Now IS Your Time

You should achieve your goals and make your dreams a reality.  It’s time to stop talking about setting goals.  It’s time to focus on achieving them.  It’s time for you to use The Promise Code and achieve your goals and keep your promises.

Here’s How it Works 

After you purchase The Promise Code, you:

1: Pick a Promise you want to Keep

2: Plan out How to keep your Promise using the worksheets provided &

3: Keep to the Code

Purchase The Promise Code today so you can stop watching your dreams and goals continue to sit and gather dust on the shelf and start making them your reality. 

Once you have purchased The Promise Code

You can access your My Promise Code page using the button below to view the videos and download the worksheets.

Howdy! Welcome back to the Entheos Initiative. I want to discuss success. There are blanket statements of what success is.  Earl Nightingale gave us a great definition of success.  He said, “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”  Napoleon Hill defined success as the “attainment of your definite chief aim without violating the rights of others.”  However, there are 2 types of success.  There is short-term or single success and long-term or overall success. 

Most people will only experience one of them.  Very few will experience both. 

Let’s define what these two successes are. 

The 1^st type is Short-Term or Single Success. This is the classic definition of success found in the dictionary. It’s the favorable or prosperous completion of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one’s goals. 

This is the success that most people, if not everyone, will at some time or another, will experience.  We all succeed at something at least once.  This can be getting an “A” on a test or winning a race or winning a hand at the poker table or getting an award at work.  This is what Snipers are good at.  Check out this article about the 3 Types of People. Snipers, they find their target and they hit it.  They have a Single Success. 

These are all one-off successes.  These are all great to experience and these Short-Term, Single Successes need to happen.  They keep us motivated.  They drive us toward the second type of success. 

The 2^nd type is Long-Term or Overall Success: This is success in life as a whole.  My definition for this type of success is: Deliberately contributing goods and services related to one’s own purpose, that benefits others and society. 

This is the type of success that Trackers enjoy.  Overall success not only brings prosperity, but true success.  Here’s the difference between prosperity and Success.

Prosperity only results in financial and material gain.  Success, true Success results in contentment, satisfaction, and prosperity. 

There are 4 parts to Overall Success that need to be in place in order to achieve it.  Those parts are:

1. Deliberate action,

2. Goods & Services,

3. One’s own purpose and

4. Benefit to others. 

Let’s discuss these individually.

Deliberate Action:

Overall Success only comes through deliberate action.  You need to act and act on your own volition.  The action can’t be forced by someone else.   The action must be of your own choosing.  You need to do this deliberately and consciously.  You choose the action.   

Goods & Services:

Goods & Services must be provided to obtain Overall Success.  It doesn’t matter the goods or services, but they do need to be provided.  Goods and services come in many shapes, sizes and varieties.  You get to choose the what and the how of this step, but it needs to happen.

You might be thinking, “I don’t want to start my own business.”  Don’t worry, you don’t have to.  You can have a job. 

The services provided by an Archeologist vs. a Server at a restaurant are completely different, however, one is neither greater than or less than the other, provided that the individual is serving at their best. 

The Server at a restaurant is providing people with a great dining experience and bringing joy and good food into the lives of those he serves.  The Archeologist, though indirectly, is serving the same people as the Server.  They’re uncovering the past so that we can learn about our past and gain a better understanding of the human condition and bettering our futures because of it. 

You need to provide goods and services in some way.

One’s Own Purpose:

This is probably the hardest part of Overall Success.  Though this is the 3^rd component for Overall Success, it’s the one that’s most important.  This one step is what brings satisfaction to you as you provide those goods and services you’ve decided to do. 

I’ve seen many entrepreneurs that have fulfilled the other 3 steps of this Success and missed this one.  They have the financial gains but they’re usually miserable in the process. 

This step also dictates what Goods & Services you provide.  You want to provide a products and services that you can get behind and actually enjoy providing. 

I can’t tell you what your purpose is. That is up to you to decide. Take the time to figure that out. It does need to be yours.

Benefit to others:

The Goods & Services that you provide must benefit other people.  You might think this one’s kind of a “no brainer”, but you’d be surprised at how many people produce goods and services that nobody wants.  Many small businesses start out this way.  They produce something that they think is awesome, but nobody wants it, and then they go out of business. 

If people don’t want what you’re offering or it’s not helping them in any way, you won’t be able to experience and enjoy Overall Success. 

Overall Success is the type of success that we all want.  We want to live the life we want doing the things we love.  This can only happen with Overall Success.  So, what kind of success do you want?

There are 3 types of people when it comes to goals and promises.  I call them Drifters, Snipers and Trackers.  Let’s discuss each of them. 

Drifters:

Drifters, a term I borrowed from Napoleon Hill, are your unsuccessful individuals.  They drift wherever life takes them.  They have no purpose.  They have no goals, no objectives.  These people might set goals, because that’s what they’re supposed to do, but they never reach those goals.  They let the world and others dictate what happens to them.  Many, if not most of them, depend on someone else for their basic necessities.  Drifters usually live paycheck to paycheck and have no desire to get out of their current situation or improve themselves.  They are content with their circumstances.  They might even hate their circumstances and want to get out, but not enough to actually change them. 

Unfortunately, Drifters make up the majority of the population.  They conform to social norms because that’s what everyone else is doing.  They follow fads because that’s what everyone else is doing.  Once that fad is over, they jump to the next fad for no other reason than everyone else is.  They go to college because that’s what you’re supposed to do, not because they want an education.  They get a job because that’s what you’re supposed (and it’s usually a job that they don’t like).  The live under the radar at their job, doing just enough to not get fired.  Then they head home after work to do, well, anything, as long as they don’t have to think about it or put forth any effort. 

If this sounds like you, since you’re reading this post, you’re wanting to change that and become one of the other two types. 

The other two types are successful individuals. 

These are individuals that are progressively realizing a definite chief aim without violating the rights of others, as Napoleon Hill talks about.  Those that have a passion and those that love trying new things.  These are the people that I like to call Snipers and Trackers.

Snipers

Let’s start with the Sniper.  These are your target hitters.  They are goal-oriented people.  They love hitting a goal, whatever it is.  They’re addicted to it.  They are completely content hitting goal after goal in any endeavor, subject or field.  Once they accomplish a goal, they jump right onto the next one and the next one and the next one.  

Don’t confuse Snipers with Drifters.  Drifters jump from one endeavor to the next without finishing them.  They seldomly finish anything.  Snipers find a target, they have a goal, and they will pursue that goal, a single goal, for as long as it takes until they get it.  They hit their target.   They achieve their goals.  Only then do they move onto the next goal.   A lot of the time, Snipers are driven to do better than they did before. They’re driven by self-improvement and growth.   They compete against themselves.  These are competitive individuals.  If presented with a challenge, they will do it, no ifs, ands or buts.   They will do even if it kills them.  Again, it doesn’t matter the subject or the field or what the goal is, except for one thing; they are the ones that set the goal.  It is rare that they work on goals set by someone else, and they will accomplish those, however, the goal must be something that they want to do. 

In the military, snipers go through rigorous training.  They learn the tools of their trade inside and out.  They know that the basic are key to hitting their target.  They know every inch of their rifle.  They study math and physics related to their bullet trajectory.  They study windage, range estimation, how to lead a target, how to read DOPE (Data On Previous Engagement), the effects of weather on the trajectory of their ammunition and how that effects their bullet drop.  They study harmonics in relation to their rifles.  They learn how their weapon fires cold bore or hot.  They study breathing techniques and other stress relieving skills.  Not to mention the thousands of rounds they send down range.   All of this is in preparation for the mission.  It’s to prepare to hit their target, no matter how different this target is from their last target.

In Goal setting and keeping promises, Success Snipers do the same.  They understand and have a clear knowledge of the basics.  These don’t change goal to goal.  Each goal has its own set of obstacles to overcome, just like a military sniper on a mission, but the basics create a foundation get past those. 

What are these basics? There will be other videos and articles about these.

Let’s talk about Trackers. 

Trackers

The Tracker on the other hand is driven by a passion for one specific field.  It can be any field, but one field, sometimes there’s two or three, but usually not more than that and it’s usually just the one.  They are most happy when they are working in that particular field.  Put these individuals into another field and they don’t do very well. They struggle.  

I call these individuals Trackers, because just like when tracking an animal, the tracker becomes engrossed by the trail and will follow that trail for as long as possible, really knowing full well that they might never reach the end of it.  The trail continues forever.  The Tracker is okay with that.  They are learning and growing within their passion and they’re becoming better at it.  Finding the next track becomes everything to them.  Each track along the trail teaches them something new.  

Just like Snipers, Trackers must learn the basics of tracking.  These basics don’t change.  Knowing the basics, the Tracker can see the slight differences in the tracks he or she is following to be able to tell different those tracks and other tracks.  Trackers study print shapes and sizes, they study different gaits, including the length of a gait, the straddle, the stride and the pitch of a track.  They study pressures releases and how they show up in different terrains.  They study different soils and how they react to walking, jogging or running.  They also study how to measure trails and tracks.

This creates the foundation so when they get on the trail, they can follow it.  As said before, finding the next track becomes everything.

Success Trackers do the same.  They use the same skills as Success Snipers.  They know the basics inside and out and use those skills and knowledge to accomplish their goals within the one field of focus. 

I personally fit into this category.  I’m a filmmaker.  That’s been my passion for as long as I can remember.  I do have a few passions; filmmaking, storytelling, magic, wilderness survival and yes, Tracking and others, but filmmaking is my greatest passion.  It’s what I love.

Trackers Are Snipers, Snipers Aren’t Trackers

As you observe people from these two groups, you’ll notice that Trackers are also be Snipers.  But Snipers rarely are Trackers.  Not that they can’t, they just find too many different things of interest and can’t focus on a single field forever.  They might have multiple goals or targets that they pursue within a single field, but they will eventually step out of that field and do something different. 

Trackers on the other hand, once they find their passion, their single field, they stay there and rarely get out.  Within that specific field they act as Snipers, targeting one goal after another (just like finding track after track), but it’s always related to the specific field of interest.   Put a Tracker in a field that they are not interested in, and they flounder.  They don’t feel fulfilled.  They can feel trapped. 

I’m a Tracker.  I’m this way with filmmaking.  In the field of filmmaking, I doggedly pursue goals and love every minute of it.  Once I accomplish one goal, there is always another one to pursue.  There is always something else to learn and better myself.  I can always make my films better.  I never tire of it.  Some days I’m exhausted from the work, but I’m ready and excited the next day when I get up and out of bed in the morning. 

I will venture out of filmmaking and pursue other goals, usually in my other areas of interest, such as my other companies and others hobbies.  Once I’ve completed that goal, I’m right back to my filmmaking.   Anyway, enough about me. 

These people (Snipers and Trackers), they are the ones who become a success in whatever it is that they decide to do.  That’s the key.  They decided to do it. They decided to take action on what they wanted.

The Promise Code

To help you become a Sniper and/or a Tracker, check out The Promise Code. It’s a step-by-step process to achieving goals and keeping promises.

Announcing The Promise Code!

Available July 29, 2023!

Howdy! I’m Evan Brown and if you’re like me, you have big dreams and lofty goals.  I currently own and operate 4 companies and that’s just the beginning of what I want to do. 

We, as human beings, are a goal setting people.  It’s part of our makeup.  We’re always trying to accomplish something.  Our brains are wired to work on projects and ideas 24/7.  Our subconscious mind never stops working.  

The practice of setting goals is running rampant.  Everyone does it.  We see this at work, in school. We see this every year, January 1^st. However, setting a goal is a lot easier than achieving a goal.

If your dreams are good enough for the new year, why wait for January 1^st.  The Start of your new year begins now.  Your new year begins every morning.  It begins today. 

At the Evan Brown Corporation, we know you’re the kind of person who wants to achieve your goals, keep your promises, and live the life you want.  In order to for that to happen your goals and dreams can’t continue to sit on the shelf.  The problem is, everyone is talking about goals and to set them, yet they never talk about how to achieve them. 

You should achieve your goals and make your dreams a reality.  It’s time to stop talking about setting goals.  It’s time to focus on achieving them. 

To help you do this we are excited to announce The Promise Code.  The Promise Code is a step-by-step process you can use to plan out your goals and promises, so you can work your plan and track your progress and achieve your goals! 

The Promise Code will be available July 29th.

Here’s how it works.  After you purchase the Promise Code, you:

1: Pick a Promise you want to Keep

2: Plan out How to keep your Promise &

3: Keep to the Code

Purchase the Promise Code when it’s available so you can stop watching your dreams and goals continue to sit and gather dust on the shelf and start making them your reality. 

Available July 29, 2023!

Howdy, I’m Evan Brown, and I’d like to welcome you to the Entheos Initiative! Here I’ll be sharing strategies to improve talent and skill and to achieve your goals and keep your Promises.   

The word Entheos means the “God Within”. The word is derived from the Greek words, En meaning “within” and Theos meaning “Spirit” or “God”. You are a child of God and as such, you are a god in Embryo. There is divinity inside you. You have unlimited potential.    

I believe this whole heartedly. Everyone, no matter who you are, is a god in embryo, with potential beyond our imaginations.  

The whole purpose of The EBC is to help individuals, families, organizations and communities reach their full potential and make a positive impact in the world.  

This is why we started the Entheos Initiative…To help our Family Members and Friends to learn the laws and principles of success, to learn how to improve their talents and reach their full potential, because that’s what our Heavenly Father wants for all his children.

We all have greatness within us. We have the potential to reach our dreams and succeed. Including you.  

Actualizing ones potential is a lifelong endeavor. I certainly haven’t mastered success yet, and probably never will in this life.  

I only hope that I can be of service to you, by letting you watch me as I work to keep my Promises and learn new skills.

I’ll work to demonstrate my use of the laws and principles of success, so you can see how you can implement them in your own journey toward your goals and dreams.  

I’ll be keeping you up to date on my journey, as well as discussing the laws and principles of success in more detail, with regular videos and articles.  

I’d also like to hear about your journey and your successes. Hearing how you have been able to use the laws and principles successfully will encourage others to do the same.  

As we share with each other about what we’re doing, we’ll be helping each other reach our goals and dreams.  

The Entheos Initiative was launched to provide inspiration to as many people as possible in hopes to build better individuals and communities around the world, making this earth a better place for all.  

If we can help even just a single individual live a better life and reach their potential, then all the work and love poured into this Initiative was been and will be worth it. Hopefully that individual is you.  

Together, let’s embrace this entheos, this God within, and actualize our potential.  

Live on purpose my Friend.  

You can follow the Entheos Initiative here or our Social Media Profiles: Facebook & Twitter

Welcome to the new website for The Evan Brown Corporation!

The whole purpose of The Evan Brown Corporation is to help individuals, families, organizations and communities reach their full potential and make a positive impact in the world.  

The EBC’s philosophy; its belief, is found in the letters E.B.C.  

•E is for Excellence in all things.  

•B is for the Building up, growth and success of the individual.  

•C is for Compassionate service to Family Members and Friends.   

This belief goes beyond our business practices. The EBC wants to instill these principles in every person that we interact with; as a lifestyle, not a business model. Hopefully these are principles that everyone strives to live by. 

We are here to serve the community and make a positive impact in the world. We do this through, the Entheos Initiative, our leadership training, and all the companies that we have established and will establish.  

The EBC can’t make this impact without you. With you, we can make a difference. Let’s make the world a better place for all of us.