YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE

IT’S OBVIOUS. MUCH HUMAN behavior is puzzling. Others see in us what we see in ourselves. We receive the kind of treatment we think we deserve.

To be important, we must think we are important, really think so; then others will think so too.

Here again is the logic:
How you think determines how you act.
How you act in turn determines: How others react to you.
Self-respect shows through in everything we do

LOOK IMPORTANT—IT HELPS YOU THINK IMPORTANT

People do evaluate you on the basis of your appearance. Your appearance is the first basis for evaluation other people have. And first impressions last, out of all proportion to the time it takes to form them.

The better you are packaged, the more public acceptance you will receive.

Pay twice as much and buy half as many. Commit this advice to memory. Then practice it. Apply it to hats, suits, shoes, socks, coats—everything you wear. Insofar as appearance is concerned, quality is far more important than quantity.

You are what you think you are. If your appearance makes you think you’re inferior, you are inferior. If it makes you think small, you are small. Look your best and you will think and act your best.

THINK YOUR WORK IS IMPORTANT

There’s a story often told about the job attitudes of three bricklayers. It’s a classic, so let’s go over it again.

When asked, “What are you doing?” the first bricklayer replied, “Laying brick.” The second answered, “Making $9.30 an hour.” And the third said, “Me? Why, I’m building the world’s greatest cathedral.”

Job thinking tells a lot about a person and his potential for larger responsibility.

Like your appearance, the way you think toward your work says things about you to your superiors, associates, and subordinates in fact, to everyone with whom you come in contact.

The key to winning what you want lies in thinking positively toward yourself. The only real basis other people have for judging your abilities is your actions. And your actions are controlled by your thoughts.

You are what you think you are.

People continue to imitate others throughout life. And they imitate their leaders and supervisors; their thoughts and actions are influenced by these people.

Consider just one characteristic of successful people: enthusiasm. But how does one develop enthusiasm? The basic step is simple: Think enthusiastically.

You are what you think. Think enthusiasm and you’ll be enthusiastic.

Here are two suggestions for getting others to do more for you:

1. Always show positive attitudes toward your job so that your subordinates will “pick up” right thinking.
2. As you approach your job each day, ask yourself, “Am I worthy in every respect of being imitated? Are all my habits such that I would be glad to see them in my subordinates?”

GIVE YOURSELF A PEP TALK SEVERAL TIMES DAILY

To be on top, you’ve got to feel like you’re on top. Give yourself a pep talk and discover how much bigger and stronger you feel.

Practice uplifting self-praise. Don’t practice belittling self-punishment.

You are what you think you are. Think more of yourself and there is more of you.

The half-alive person needs to be resold on himself. He needs to realize that he’s a first-class person. He needs honest, sincere belief in himself.

Don’t accept the judgment of average people. You are not average. If you have any doubts as to the basic soundness of the “sell-yourself-to-yourself” principle, ask the most successful person you know what he thinks about it. Ask him, and then start selling yourself to yourself.

UPGRADE YOUR THINKING. THINK LIKE IMPORTANT PEOPLE THINK

Upgrading your thinking upgrades your actions, and this produces success.

In a nutshell, remember: Look important; it helps you think important. Your appearance talks to you. Be sure it lifts your spirits and builds your confidence. Your appearance talks to others. Make certain it says, “Here is an important person: intelligent, prosperous, and dependable.”

Think your work is important. Think this way, and you will receive mental signals on how to do your job better. Think your work is important, and your subordinates will think their work is important too.

Give yourself a pep talk several times daily. Build a “sell-yourself-to-yourself” commercial. Remind yourself at every opportunity that you’re a first-class person.

In all of life’s situations, ask yourself, “Is this the way an important person thinks?” Then obey the answer.