As an entrepreneur, marketing consultant, retail stock trader, soon-to-be husband, and some-day father, confidence is absolutely necessary to my success. I read about a page-and-a-half worth of affirmations to myself each day. I have these printed on a sheet of paper that has been laminated. There are sections near the end for AM and PM affirmations.
These, when read aloud, remind me each morning and evening of what I already know, but don’t want to forget. Namely, that I am confident, capable, and extremely grateful for all that I have.
The first paragraph, and quite possibly other later paragraphs, were adapted from Napoleon Hill’s seminal work, Think and Grow Rich. If you haven’t read this, you should.
Paragraphs two and three were borrowed from Mark Douglas and his essential trading book, Trading in the Zone. If you’re not a trader, feel free to cut these paragraphs.
Most of this, however, was adopted from my man Zig Ziglar. Some of it was rewritten to suit my own personal preference.
At some point I plan on whittling this down a bit and then adding in some words of wisdom from Stoic philosophers Marcus Aurelius and Seneca.
I hope that you take this opportunity to copy the text below and adapt it to suit your needs, then read it aloud every day and feel the difference in how you approach problems and roadblocks in your personal and professional life!
By the 1st of January, 2021, I will have one million dollars, which will come to me in various amounts from time to time during the interim. In return for this money, I will give the most efficient service of which I am capable, rendering the fullest possible quantity and the best possible quality of service I can as a consultant and marketer. I will invest 20% of my money wisely, and use the financial and real estate markets as a means to compound my investments.
I believe I will have this money in my possession. My faith is so strong that I can now see this money before my eyes. I can touch it with my hands. It is now awaiting transfer to me in proportion to the services I intend to render in return. I am awaiting a plan by which to accumulate this money, and I will follow that plan when it is received.
I am a consistently successful stock trader. I objectively identify my edges. I predefine the risk of every trade. I completely accept the risk or I am willing to let go of the trade. I act on my edges without reservation or hesitation. I pay myself as the market makes money available to me. I continually monitor my susceptibility for making errors. I understand the absolute necessity of these principles of consistent success and, therefore, I never violate them. I am a consistent winner.
In order to help fulfill the above stated, I intend to believe in the following statements with full faith, a full heart, and an open mind: I am a self-starter who is disciplined, focused, dependable, and persistent. I am a positive-thinker with courage and great self-control. I am an energetic and diligent team leader who focuses on listening and influencing. I am a hard worker who appreciates the opportunities that the free enterprise system offers me. I am thrifty with my resources and apply common sense to my daily tasks. I am an honorable person and am balanced in my personal, family and business life, and have a passion for being, doing and learning more today so I can be, do and have more tomorrow.
I am a compassionate and encouraging leader who is non-judgmental. I am supportive and forgiving. I am a sincere and open-minded listener. I am trustworthy and I always find the goodness in people. I am a person of integrity, with the faith and wisdom to know what I should do and the courage and convictions to follow through. I have the vision to manage myself and to lead others. I am decisive, authoritative, and confident. I am grateful for all opportunities life offers me. I am a consistent and well-spoken teacher with strong character and a finely-tuned sense of humor.
I believe that failure is not a person but a path to wisdom. I have the courage to admit mistakes and to ask for help. I have the courage to continually strive to be physically, emotionally, and financially successful.
I have vision in my life, which means I see not only with my eyes but also with my heart. I have 525,949 minutes in every year of my life and I utilise them well to maximise my ability. I focus on the task at hand and experiment with different ways of improving my life each day.
I am successful because I believe that to be truly educated I must be mentored, either in business or in my personal life, or by reading or by association with superior minds with greater skills and mature spirits. I discipline myself to do the things that I need to do when I need to do them, because I know that doing those things will enable me to one day do the things I want to do when I want to do them. I clearly understand that if I develop yearning power and apply learning power, I will increase my earning power.
I am successful because I don’t confuse activity with accomplishment. I understand that staying busy for the sake of busy-ness is nothing more than a futile distraction. I know that I can’t make it in life as a wandering generality, so I am a meaningful specific. I enjoy life because I have a great sense of humour and an ability to laugh at myself. I recognise and learn from my mistakes. I am not bothered by someone else bragging or accepting undeserved credit. I fully understand that it isn’t the whistle that pulls the train.
I move forward in my life everyday, even if it’s only a tiny step, because I know that great things are accomplished with tiny moves, but nothing is accomplished by standing still. I am a hard worker but I don’t overdo it, because I know that the person who is always as busy as a bee may one day awaken to discover that someone has swiped his or her honey.
I fully realise that no wealth or position can long endure unless built upon truth and justice. Therefore I will engage in no transaction that does not benefit all whom it affects. I will succeed by attracting to myself the forces I wish to use, and the cooperation of other people. I will induce others to serve me because of my willingness to serve others. I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness, and cynicism by developing love for all humanity because I know that a negative attitude towards others can never bring me success. I will cause others to believe in me, because I believe in them, and in myself.
AM {
Today I will seriously look for the good in every situation and find something about which to praise every person who works with me. Today I will be friendly to the people I work with, and will treat them as though they are completely responsible for my career. Today I will express gratitude for my career and for the society of which I am a part, and specifically for my family and friends. I will also express gratitude for the fact that my career is rewarding in ways that go far beyond financial remuneration.
I will sign my name to this formula, commit it to memory, and repeat it aloud every day with full faith that it will gradually influence my thoughts and actions so that I will become a self-reliant and successful person. Today is a brand new day and it’s mine to use in a marvelously productive way.
(Now think of the person you want to become for 5 minutes)}
PM {
These are the qualities of the winner I was born to be and I am fully committed to developing these marvellous qualities with which I have been entrusted. Tonight I’m going to sleep wonderfully well. I will dream powerful, positive dreams. I will awaken energized and refreshed; tomorrow’s going to be magnificent and my future is unlimited. Recognizing, claiming and developing these qualities which I already have gives me a legitimate chance to be happier, healthier, more prosperous, more secure, have more friends, greater peace of mind, better family relationships and legitimate hope that the future will be even brighter.
(Now think of the person you want to become for 5 minutes)}