I was going to call this article ‘How to Install a Successful Person’s Mindset into your Brain‘…
Because that’s essentially what this is all about. I think you’ll love this post. It may even change your life. Even Will Smith agrees with me – you’ll see below.
Just take 5 minutes to read it and I’m sure you’ll be very glad you did.
Whether you want:
- Your dream body
- Your dream career
- Financial Independence
- ________fill in the blank…
…there is one factor that is absolutely necessary before you can be confident of success.
And it’s rooted in 1 word…
DECIDE
Do you know what that word really means? Do you understand the power of that word?
The following is an excerpt from the beginning of my fat-loss program ‘Total Six Pack Abs‘:
“The word ‘decide’ actually comes from Latin ‘dēcīsiō’, which literally means to ‘cut off’.
When you TRULY ‘decide’ something you ‘cut off’ any other possibility from happening; it’s going to happen – period! No plan B.
The whole course of your life is shaped by the STRENGTH of your decisions”
Decide comes from Latin dēcīsiō which means to cut off. Decide = cut off all other possibilities Share on X
The Power of a “Made-Up” Mind
There is tremendous POWER in a “made up” mind! If you have truly decided, then your mind is made up. You are committed. You know where you are going – period!
There is tremendous POWER in a MADE-UP mind! Share on X
When the inevitable challenges arise in your pursuit of a goal, they don’t discourage the made-up mind. This guy will learn and grow from it and carry on. He or she KNOWS where they’re going.
But the guy that is going to “try” to achieve something, feels defeated and sooner or later gives up.
If you’re serious about doing things in life…there is no “try”. You either do it or you don’t.
Let me give you an example of a made-up mind...
Let’s say there’s a guy who has “decided” to “try” to lose 40lbs over the next 6 months.
Will he do it? Probably not. His mindset is all wrong. Because he is only “trying” to do it, he will fall after a few hurdles; those hurdles being hunger, being around others eating high-calorie foods, lack of motivation to train, and so on.
Now, let’s take the same guy and imagine that a gang of bad guys have kidnapped his family. They send a video to him of guns pointed to the heads of his wife and kids (yeah I know this is a little extreme). Their demand? Lose 40lbs over the next 6 months or they die!
Will he do it? You know very well that he will.
I call this the gun-to-the-head mentality.
People that constantly tell themselves they can’t do something are simply full of…poop. Put a gun to their head and all of a sudden they’ll find a way to achieve the goal. They’ll move heaven and earth to get it done! What seemed “impossible” is now very do-able. Strange that, isn’t it?
What If You Couldn’t Fail?
In the pursuit of a goal, always ask yourself: How would I think and act if I knew I couldn’t fail? This question puts the mind in a whole new state of resourfulness and you’ll come up with better ideas and a willingness to follow through.
In the pursuit of a goal always ask yourself: How would I think and act if I knew I couldn't fail? Share on X
Remember that it’s actually impossible to succeed without failing. You must “fail” sometimes on your journey to acquire the necessary new skills and knowledge that will take you to your goal.
When Thomas Edison was working hard try to invent the light bulb, a reporter expressed his sympathy to Edison that he had tried and failed 10,000 times to create it.
Edison replied, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”.
You see, success is a numbers game. And if you keep persisting you’ll realise that success lies on the far side of failure.
Success is a numbers game so persist! Success lies on the far side of failure Share on X
Brian Tracy in his book “Maximum Achievement” says, “Life sets up a series of hurdles to teach you exactly what you need to learn to reach your goal”.
Will Smith sums up the made-up mind perfectly. Watch this video of clips of him talking about the success mindset.
[The audio isn’t syncing correctly at the beginning, but it will. Keep watching]
I love at 22 seconds in he says, “It’s very simple…this is what I believe…and I’m willing to die for it – period.”
When I started MuscleHack, I gave myself 2 options:
- It succeeds, or…
- I die trying.
Will states at 1:53, “The only thing that is distinctly different about me is…I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill. You might have more talent than me. You might be smarter than me. But if we get on the treadmill together, there’s 2 things: Either you’re getting off first or I’m gonna die. It’s really that simple.”
And at 3:42 he really defines a made-up mind, “There’s no reason to have a plan B because it distracts from plan A”. Indeed, a made up mind is a very powerful thing.
So…you can’t get a six-pack, you say? You know you can. Here’s a lady in her 40’s that got ripped after having 4 kids. But you can’t?? Come on!
You can’t get a better job or earn more money? What if your mind was fully made up and you had 100% commitment? You’d get that job.
Stop with the lame-ass excuses and DECIDE how your life is going to be.
If you’d like to share something with me, just leave a comment below. I’d be happy to see it.
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And if you are serious about building the body of your dreams, I have the workout for you. And it’s free.
If you bring the mindset, I’ve got the strategy.
Download my free Targeted Hypertrophy Training now. Get results like these guys. I recommend you begin with the 3-day plan in the 8-12 rep range. You don’t have to go to your email to confirm anything. Once you click the button, you’ll be taken straight to the download page 😀 I operate a ‘Strictly Zero Spam‘ policy.
Stay Motivated!
Mark
Thank you for this Mark! It gave me a renewed sense of motivation!
Fantastic! This is something I picked up on watching Arnold Schwarzenegger in his movie Pumping Iron. Listening to his focus, they told a story of how his father died and his mother wanted him to go to the funeral, he said sorry competition is in a few weeks. Sounds cold but he explained it as his goal was to be ready for competition nothing else.
I also find what helps is becoming obsessed with your goal. Keeping it fresh in your mind, whether it’s reading articles, going over your previous spreadsheets or even searching for new recipies (for diet). A majority start it, initial woosh of something new, wears off because of tired, bored, etc. Even a simple piece of paper written goals to read over every night before bed.
All the great positive thinking advocates that sell self help all say you have to keep it fresh in hour mind or negativity comes back
Mark,
I love your site, but I think maybe stay away from the self-help articles…
While the “gun to your head” example may work in the weight loss example, quite simply, it will not necessarily work when what you “decide” depends on factors outside of your control (ie. getting a job, becoming financially independent, getting the girl, etc.).
I realize your site is devoted to body building, and there’s no doubt that if one were as extreme as actually believing there was a gun to their head they would work harder towards that goal than if they didn’t believe that, but in reality that mindset is practically impossible to achieve.
This whole article smacked of those books from the so-called “gurus” that say things like, “The Universe is just waiting for you to tell it what you wants, then it will GIVE it to you! Now everyone, scream out, or better yet, write down, what it is that you DEMAND from the Universe! You deserve it!!!”
-Doug
This is not a “healthy” path, folks.
Arnold’s behavior is not something to emulate. As described below in the medical definition of “Obsession,” most reasonable people would think it UNreasonable to blow of a father’s funeral for a bodybuilding competition. One has one father, who has one death and funeral, yet there are countless bodybuilding competitions.
Do the math…
Medical Definition of OBSESSION
: a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling
@Doug. I appreciate the comment, but I couldn’t disagree more. I don’t know how you came to the conclusion that this “article smacked of those books from the so-called “gurus” that say things like, “The Universe is just waiting for you to tell it what you wants, then it will GIVE it to you!”.
This article is about earning success through your own efforts and seeing failure as a opportunity for learning. It’s about work and persistence. If you read the biographies of successful people, they all think like this. It’s not optional for ambitious people. It’s absolutely necessary to think this way.
And I’m not into “the universe” giving you things without effort. It’s dumb. I think that’s clear from the article.
And the Arnold thing from Pumping Iron wasn’t actually true, guys 😉
@Tony. Yes it can be good to help impress the subconscious mind with your goals by reading or writing them out at bedtime. You have to stay focused on a daily basis.
@Mark,
Okay, perhaps I misunderstood, but I have quoted below the statements that led me to believe that you took it a bit too far. Quite simply, just because one “decides” something does not mean they’re going to get there. I’ll use the example you gave in your own life. You said this site would succeed OR you’d die trying. While hyperbolic, that statement is at least coherent. Let’s assume that the site did not succeed. Therefore, you’re dead. So what did you do? You “decided” but “failed,” so therefore, you simply “tried.” Does that mean you didn’t REALLY “decide,” because if you did, then the site would have been successful? Of course not. it might mean any number of things: You simply didn’t have the talent and/or ability to write a decent site or book. Maybe you had the talent but at the point of time you made the attempt the general public was no interested enough in fitness to continue to read your site or spread the word. There are many other possibilities that don’t depend on whether you “decided with all your heart and mind” or “tried,” etc.
Sure, persistence is key in accomplishing anything difficult and in enduring through failure. But I’m afraid that’s about as far as one can reasonably take it.
(Your quotes follow)
“There is tremendous POWER in a “made up” mind! If you have truly decided, then your mind is made up. You are committed. You know where you are going – period! When the inevitable challenges arise in your pursuit of a goal, they don’t discourage the made-up mind. This guy will learn and grow from it and carry on. He or she KNOWS where they’re going. But the guy that is going to “try” to achieve something, feels defeated and sooner or later gives up.If you’re serious about doing things in life…there is no “try”. You either do it or you don’t.”
and
“You can’t get a better job or earn more money? What if your mind was fully made up and you had 100% commitment? You’d get that job.”
@Doug. I didn’t make the point that deciding means that you are guaranteed to achieve your goal. Nevertheless, this mindset is NECESSARY in order to do big things. It’s not an optional thing. Just ask any successful entrepreneur on the planet.
So there are 3 ways to go about this:
(1) Attempt nothing since there are no guarantees.
(2) Just “try” things and almost certainly fail as you do not have the mental toughness to persist when the inevitable challenges arise. Nor do you have the motivation that comes from having faith in your success.
(3) Believe in your ability to achieve your dream, as it is the necessary first requisite of success. While it does not guarantee success, if you persist over time, you dramatically increase your odds of succeeding.
So is it your point that you would recommend option (1) or (2) to people because, after all, your success is not guaranteed?
Sorry, but you don’t get to set up a straw-man and choose the 3 possible outcomes!
The mindset is actually not a necessary component to success. There are plenty of people that “take a shot” at something and succeed, to their utter surprise.
I believe we’re getting off track here though. I’m not denying that a positive attitude helps people go further than a negative one. At this point, I’m simply saying that maybe you should take a step back and see that you’re giving it too much importance–just look at your all caps “NECESSARY” pronouncement and you should see that.
Are you telling me that there is not ONE person who attempted something big and succeeded even when they thought they would likely fail? If there’s only ONE…just one time that was the case then your argument fails.
I’ll leave it at that, as I get the feeling that you don’t want to argue rationally about it.
-Doug
@Doug. No the argument doesn’t fail. Sure the odd person may get lucky from time to time, but surely no one setting out to be successful is going to count on that. Therefore, yes faith and belief in yourself is necessary unless you’re one of the 0.1% of entrepreneurs who get lucky. But the thing about that is that you don’t know before you begin your journey if you’re going to be one of those “lotto winners”.
Nor is this kind of success built on a solid foundation, since obviously certain external factors played a role in this “luck”. Therefore, since these factors will change, this success will be short-lived. Therefore, it’s clear – just as any long-term successful person will tell you – belief and faith in your goals is critical to stable and long-lasting success.
🙁
Not used to debating I guess. You can’t keep moving the goal posts, Mark.
It may be important in many instances, but it’s not necessary. I’ll accept that, but it’s a far cry from where you started.
@Doug. I didn’t move the goalposts. I stand by everything I said in the article. You haven’t made a coherent argument, and you’ve moved the goalposts 3 times.
(1) First you said the article was like those who claim you can ask the universe for what you want, and it delivers it.
I certainly did not make that point. But at least you admitted your error on that.
(2) Then you said I was claiming that having faith “guaranteed” your success.
I certainly did not make that point. Only that your odds of success dramatically improve with faith and persistence.
(3) Then you changed your argument a third time because some people get lucky. And? So what? What’s your point? Should I not have written the article because a tiny fraction of people succeed with luck?
Should you have not written the article–that’s not at all what I’m saying.
I would suggest that if you’re going to get involved in a back and forth (and I give you credit for posting all of this rather than censoring it–kudos for that) that you don’t misquote the person you’re going back and forth with!
I never said you “guaranteed” anything. If I did, please share the quote.
I never changed my argument. I began with saying you went to far and you’ve tailored your answers to scale back what you originally said, which is why I agreed with your last formulation.
Just look at your own quote: ““You can’t get a better job or earn more money? What if your mind was fully made up and you had 100% commitment? You’d get that job.”
Did you not say that if you fully made up your mind and hat 100% committment, you’d get that job?
That is going to far and perfectly illustrates my point, which I’ve maintained all along.
Lastly, I hope, is that you are now making it sound like luck is only involved in those who didn’t “decide” and fully make up their mind to succeed. Are you still one of the people that think that the successful people got there all because of their inherent abilities and not because of luck as well?
Speaking of asking any successful businessperson in the world (almost)… ask them that and I’m pretty certain you’d find that they would admit that they were very, very lucky, in addition to working hard.
Why are you finding it so hard to accept and/or admit that you may have exaggerated a bit in the article? It’s not a big deal… everyone exaggerates from time to time. It doesn’t detract from your earlier, more scientific articles.
Hi Mark,
Love this post. It’s something I’ve always believed in throughout my life. How much do you want it? If you decide you want it and are prepared to hammer yourself into the ground in its pursuit you’ll achieve it. Sure you will fail sometimes along the way but when ever I did I’d ask myself ‘did you do all you could in that moment’? If you did you just weren’t ready yet but keep giving it your all and you’ll get closer every time. If you didn’t do all you could you need to ask yourself again if you really want it because if not all you’re doing is wasting your own time and that goal/dream will only ever be a dream.
Andy
Great work Mark. It resonates with my own experience. I am a business owner (and gym freak) who has set goals for over 2 decades. This way of thinking has saw me through the tough times. Keeping on believing and learning from my mistakes as I went along. But you articulate it better than I can. Love the Will Smith video too, esp the no plan B thing haha.
@doug
Your arguments are way off base and are out of ignorance. This article is awesome and is based on a success model that has made many millionaires. People go from bankrupt to beachfront, create amazing inventions and visualize their dreams come true through persistence. There have even been movies created based on true stories about people who have persisted through extraordinary obstacles and succeeded to do the impossible. …examples October Sky, Cool Runnings, Door to Door. Watch them and learn what a made up mind can achieve. Even when others often scoff and ridicule their ideas. A Made up mind will stop at nothing.
Another way to see persistence in action is to walk the halls of a children’s hospital and see the great lengths a mother will go to save her child. The movie Lorenzo Oil shows a mother who did just that and help many other children with the same condition as her son. Without a medical background and astonishing even the “expert doctors”
The best book ever written on the subject was the book of Napolian Hill who wrote Think and Grow Rich. The book was a 20 year project for Mr. Hill who studied 500 of the richest men in history. You May recognize these men… Henry Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell. Even if you don’t pick up the book, read the title “Think and Grow Rich”
A quote I read almost daily by Calvin Coolidge “nothing in the world can take place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The Slogan PRESS ON! Has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
When you mention those that “succeed” without persistence and that it may be shear luck.. well most of them will have their ups and downs and their success will probably be short lived. When studying Think and Grow Rich, I saw many successful people in their stories, unconsciously have developed these principles as described in the book.
All the best to you Doug. I hope you choose to pick up the book.
Awesome article mark!!! The mindset is what is all about about. It seperates the men from the boys. And obvisously Doug is one of the boys. Never Give Up And Never Surrender!!! (quoted from a world war II veteran the day after D-Day). KEEP UP THE GREAT THE GREAT WORK MARK MAN!!!
Yep, this is what I expected.
Comment threads are loaded with “yes-men” and boot-lickers.
It looks like this one is also full of people with severe reading comprehension issues. Instead of suggesting a self-help book to me, why not actually read what I wrote above and you’ll see I never said a positive attitude was not an attribute that contributes to success.
What I said is that Mark exaggerated its effect and made the leap that one could do things with a positive mindset that simply aren’t true in many cases.
I give up trying to get you all to take off your rose-colored glasses and read what I actually wrote now. Keep your heads in the clouds and enjoy yourselves.
I think this is great advice. Thank you for sharing.
Regarding the comments above I see a lot of defence to the personal positions… Just like in bodybuilding what works for one person may not very the best fit for another, but for sure the mind plays a big role in life and everybody can benefit if they train it.
Oh, and the video is awesome. Thanks again.
@Andy. Exactly right, buddy.
@Cathy. What a great comment, and thanks for your contribution. I’ve read the book you speak of and one of the most profound parts in setting your ‘Definite Chief Aim’ and reading it twice a day to impress the subconscious.
I agree with everything you said.
@Mike Huber. Thanks, man! I’ll keep it coming 😀
@David. Thanks, bud. I’ve watched that video for inspiration dozens of times now.
@DOUG….you’re an idiot!!