Your “other self” …
It may seem strange to the reader (and indeed looking back upon it right now, it seems like a lifetime away indeed!) — — but just a few years ago, I was in the hole BIG TIME … in more ways than one.
I was working upon a new business at the time (note to self — I should have of course focused more on THIS business at the time than the other one; but hey, hindsight is always 20/20, and as Napoleon Hill correctly stated in “Outwitting the Devil” — what man really knows himself?) which was NOT doing well, and I wasn’t just in the hole — I was in the hole big time financially.
My personal life at the time was a shambles. There seemed to be no way out except for DOWN .. .further down and as I mention in one of the tips in ‘Gumption galore’, you know it’s bad when you’re forced to decide between buying milk for your daughter, or bread and cheese for the family!
Anyway, the point of me telling you all this isn’t to complain, but rather, to chronicle two interesting turning points in my life both personally and business wise.
By the way, I often recommend reads from Napoleon Hill in these emails, and one of those reads is “Outwitting the Devil” — -perhaps even MORE so of a favorite with me than “Think and Grow Rich”.
The latter is an all time famous book, sure, but the lesser known first book was actually so explosive that it was hidden away by Hill’s family until 70 years or so after his death … and it was in THIS book that he really went behind the scene and gives the reader (if you so choose to accept it, of course) a glimpse into (as he says in Think and Grow Rich) … that WONDERFUL mind of his — — and some of the trials and tribulations he went through on his admittedly very rocky path to success.
Anyway, so things had gotten so bad for me at the time that I didn’t even have enough cash flow in one of my businesses to keep my fitness domains alive (which though they were making money at the time, weren’t making a lot — — and I was barely focusing upon at that point anyway).
But I did know one thing — I had put my heart and soul into the fitness thing more than anything else, and giving it up or being forced to was something I couldn’t accept no matter what.
I still remember that afternoon. Had an argument with the wife over something trivial, and then headed out to the park to workout.
Arrived in a crappy, despondent mood, but something HAPPENED during that workout.
Towards the middle of that workout, I saw “stairs” appear in front of me — and then suddenly vanish.
At the time, I was in India — but it was like I was back in China — back on my favorite hill … and a short while later, as I thought about the business costs I had to cough up in a few days (or else) … guess what happened.
A feeling of CALMNESS swept over me, and I felt a sense of surety that all the logic in the world cannot describe, and that I cannot explain until this date — other than to tell you this — my OTHER self had awakened, and how.
That night I wrote an email to my list “Bulldog tenacity”. Within a few hours of writing that email all the money I needed to keep not one, but BOTH my businesses afloat showed up — and how!
That wasn’t the end of it though as a few months later I found myself in an even worse boat — personally.
I was given an unfair ultimatum in many regards (which is a long, long story and one I won’t get into here) and suffice it to say I needed to make a decision — and quick — in terms of a DATE.
And as I was asked a date, even though I had NOT expected the question or ultimatum, and even though I had NO idea or plan in terms of the “date” … my mind clicked into action almost instantly, as if by sheer magic.
I gave the person asking a DATE … and then another a minute later, which was the final date.
To this date, I do NOT know what prompted me to say what I did, and give those folks the deadline I did … but I do know THIS.
I had NO funds at the time of doing this. I was being hammered from all directions — quite literally (not physically, but you get my drift!).
Personal life … again in TATTERS.
No safety nets of any sort. No savings left at all (I was overdrawing at the time I believe).
Credit cards maxed out. You get the drift!
Anyway, that SAME night, believe it or not, as I spoke to a couple of friends, the money I needed for my plan (which to be honest hadn’t even crystallized in my head right then!) showed up (and no I didn’t borrow the money, or should I say, I didn’t ask to borrow the money!).
Out of the blue, a friend of mine helped me with the capital I needed to start.
It was about 30% of what I needed in all, but it was a START.
And in another month, the rest of the money showed up … funnily enough, from a source that was present all along, but that I hadn’t “tapped” for whatever reason until then and had never thought of doing so!
As Napoleon Hill writes of young Gonzalez, the preacher who tried for years to get a million dollars for a plan but couldn’t — and then one fine day put uncertainty in the background and decided right there and then he would get the money within a WEEK, no more … PERIOD.
And funnily enough, the money showed up too — within 36 hours, no less!
As Hill notes, faith moves mountains, and there is always enough capital available for the man with a plan!
And at this point, it would be right of me to bring up what Andrew Carnegie told the young Napoleon Hill during their first meeting, when he tasked him with finding out the secrets of SUCCESS by studying successful men of that era (which would take Hill, as Carnegie noted, at least twenty years before any considerable leeway was made!).
“If you undertake this job, you should interview not only the few who have succeeded, but the many who have failed. You should carefully analyze many thousands of people who have been classed as ‘failures,’ and I mean by the term ‘failures,’ men and women who come to the closing chapter of life disappointed because they did not attain the goal which they had set their hearts upon achieving. As inconsistent as it may seem, you will learn more about how to succeed from the failures than you will from the so-called successes. They will teach you what not to do.
Along toward the end of your labor, if you carry it through successfully, you will make a discovery which may be a great surprise to you. You will discover that the cause of success is not something separate and apart from the man; that it is a force so intangible in nature that the majority of men never recognize it; a force which might be properly called the ‘other self’ Noteworthy is the fact that this ‘other self’ seldom exerts its influence or makes itself known excepting at times of unusual emergency, when men are forced, through adversity and temporary defeat, to change their habits and to think their way out of difficulty.
“My experience has taught me that a man is never quite so near success as when that which he calls ‘failure’ has overtaken him, for it is on occasions of this sort that he is forced to think. If he thinks accurately, and with persistence, he discovers that so-called failure usually is nothing more than a signal to re-arm himself with a new plan or purpose.
Most real failures are due to limitations which men set up in their own minds. If they had the courage to go one step further, they would discover their error.”
And I don’t know if I’ve told you — well, I did above — but this book that Hill wrote truly DOES resonate with me.
As Hill details his trial and tribulations, as he details his ups and downs for seemingly NO apparent reason (and reasons which others thought him crazy for) … it was as if I was the one that wrote the book.
Sure, the specifics were different in terms of the exact situation but the descriptions and overall situation were exactly the same right down to the tone, which is nigh uncanny in my opinion, and something no other book has been able to accomplish in my case.
On both the occasions I mention above, it was my OTHER self that made it’s appearance.
When it most needed to.
On both the occasions that Hill referred to, this other self made it’s appearance too … and then finally during a “final fling with the Devil” as he says.
The “other self” follows no precedents, recognizes no limitations, and always finds a way to accomplish desired ends! It may meet with temporary defeat, but not with permanent failure. I am as sure of the soundness of this statement as I am of the fact of being engaged in writing these lines.
And a of temporary defeat, here is how the great man himself describes it …
From Christ on down to Edison, the men who have achieved most have been those who met with the most stubborn forms of temporary defeat. This would seem to justify the conclusion that Infinite Intelligence has a plan, or a law, by which it hurdles men over many obstacles before giving them the privilege of leadership or the opportunity to render useful service in a noteworthy fashion.
I would not wish to be again subjected to the experiences through which I passed during that fateful Christmas Eve in 1923, and since, on that eventful evening when I walked around the school house in West Virginia and fought that terrible battle with fear, but all the wealth in the world would not induce me to divest myself of the knowledge I have gained from those experiences.
And if you study successful men and women through the ages — — those that did it themselves (no silver spoon, no family helping them out — perhaps the opposite, plenty of ridicule and scorn, and so forth) .. you’ll find this “other self” has been instrumental to no small degree in their success.
And you’ll find that EVERY successful man or woman will tell you that you can learn from your failures than all your successes combined!
Steve Jobs once made the remark about not being able to join the dots looking FORWARD.
Paraphrasing from what he said, you can only join the dots looking backward — Not forward. So you have to trust at the time the dots will line up. Trust in God, the Universe, Universal Energy, or whatever.
The above is me paraphrasing, but this is pretty much the sum and substance of what he said.
And in these “dark” times of uncertainty, this is one of the BEST messages I can share with y’all.
Have faith in yourself — and trust your OTHER SELF to come through when its needed the most!
Some of you are going through job losses. Some through uncertain times. Yet others are at a low nadir when it comes to fitness (and I know this for a fact), while others have “almost burnt through their savings” and don’t know what will come next.
Yet others are worried, and anxious in general.
Personal relationships. Divorces … (hell, I read the divorce rates in mainland China alone skyrocketed due to the lockdowns and enforced time spent together, and that is just China!).
In all this though, you probably have one question.
Just what the heck exactly is this other self?
Well, as Napoleon Hill would say, “I could tell you right now, but that would DIVEST you of MOST of the benefits you’d receive if you actually ground through and discovered it yourself!”
And that might sound like a sales pitch, or me being indirect, but it’s not, and those that KNOW what I’m talking about can attest to this fact.
As Hill says at the start of “Think and Grow Rich”, the secret is RIGHT THERE for the taking in front of your eyes … in every Chapter of the book.
And I’m here to tell you I’v ementioned it at least FOUR times, if not more.
Can YOU find it?
Write back and let me know!
In the meantime, also remember that a sound body and sound health is of PRIME importance in your life … especially during these uncertain “survivor” like times. Work out right with the workouts I give you in the 0 Excuses Fitness System, that you can grab right here — — https://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem/.
Get in the best shape of your life — and keep the faith — and a solid, positive mental ATTITUDE — and TRUST that it will all work out for you … and believe you me, it WILL!
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee
P.S. — If you enjoy motivational articles such as this, check out Gumption Galore right here — — https://0excusesfitness.com/gumption-galore/
P.S #2 — Make sure to pick up a copy of both Think and Grow Rich and Outwitting the Devil wherever you can find ’em — well worth it!
P.P.S. — While you’re at it, don’t also forget to check out the 0 Excuses Fitness products page for some of the very best health and fitness products you’ll ever see — https://0excusesfitness.com/products/
