Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: So What the Heck Do I Do Now? (End)

This is a chapter-by-chapter summary of a book by T. Harv Eker’s Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth (2005) series. One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book. Enjoy!

“If you want to change the fruits, you will first have to change the roots.
If you want to change the visible, you must first change the invisible.”

(Harv T. Eker)

An old saying, “What you hear, you forget; what you see, you remember; what you do, you understand.” As you read Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, do you remember Eker’s motto? Exactly, action always beats inaction! That’s why I suggest that you get started. Take the ONE Wealth File that you liked and/or needed the most and read it again and follow the action plans. Think of what you could do RIGHT NOW that would bring you closer to how rich people think and act. That’s the first step. It’s your actions that count!

Now, reading is a start, of course, but if you want to succeed in the real world, it’s going to be your actions that count. Reading is an action as well, and reading great literature is a HUGE step in the right direction. Still, it is very important to integrate what you’ve learned into your life. Otherwise, it doesn’t help you grow. Getting rich said Eker throughout this book, takes focus, courage, knowledge, expertise, 100% of your effort, a never-give-up attitude, and of course, a rich mindset. So work on yourself. Work on your thinking. Work on your mind. Work on who you are. And if you choose to be rich, or better – if you commit to being rich – then it helps to know that the most important ingredient to self-made millionaires’ success is the MILLIONAIRE MIND!

I Have A Millionaire Mind!

Essential Thinkers #24 David Hume, Hero of Modern Day Sceptics and and Empiricists

David Hume (1711-1776) is the philosophical hero of modern day sceptics and empiricists, renouncing all knowledge except for that which can be gained from the senses. Alas, as W.V.O. Quine would later famously say, echoing Hume, what can be granted from the senses is, after all, not much.

From John Locke, Hume drew the conclusion that all human knowledge is based on relations amongst ideas, or ‘sense impressions.’ Anything not given in experience is mere invention and must be ruthlessly discarded. As a result he denies the existence of God, the self, the objective existence of logical necessity, causation, and even the validity of inductive knowledge itself. His aim is twofold: at once demolitionnary – to rid science of all falsehoods based on ‘invention rather than experience’ – and constructive, to found a science of human nature.

Much impressed with how Isaac Newton had described the physical world according to simple mechanical laws, Hume had a mind to do something similar for the nature of human understanding. His Treatise on Human Nature is a painstaking study in experiential psychology in search of general principles. In this Hume can be seen as having failed spectacularly, primarily because his whole taxonomy of ‘impressions’ and ‘ideas’ is derived from the much discredited Cartesian model. Nevertheless, Hume’s negative program is a devastating example of the power of logical critique. His sceptical results, especially regarding induction, remain a problem for modern philosophers.

Hume observes that we never experience our own self only the continuous chain of our experiences themselves. This psychological fact leads Hume to the dubious metaphysical conclusion that the self is an illusion, and that in fact personal identity is nothing but the continuous succession of perceptual experience. “I am,” Hume famously says, “nothing but a bundle of perceptions.”

Following a similar line of thought, Hume notices that the force that compels one event to follow another, causation, is also never experienced in sense impressions. All that is given in experience is the regular succession of one kind of event followed by another. But the supposition that the earlier event, the so-called ‘cause,’ must be followed by the succeeding event, the ‘effect,’ is merely human expectation projected onto reality. There is no justification for believing that there is any causal necessity in the ordering of events.

Hume’s scepticism does not stop there. He regards human belief in causation as just a special case of a more general psychological trait: inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is the process that leads us to make generalisations from observing a number of similar cases (remember frictional character Sherlock Holmes?). For example, having observed many white swans but no black swans, one might seemingly be justified in the conclusion that “All swans are white.” Equally, being aware that men often die, we conclude “All men are mortal.”

But such generalisations go beyond what is given in experience and are not logically justified. After all, black swans were found in Australia, and there is always the logical possibility of coming across an immortal man.

Hume claimed that inductive reasoning could not be relied upon to lead us to the truth, for observing a regularity does not rule out the possibility that next time something different will occur.

Since all scientific laws are merely generalisations from inductive reasoning, this so-called ‘problem of induction’ has been an urgent one for philosophers of science. Trying to show how induction is justified has taxed them throughout the 20^th century. Karl Popper is notable for offering the most promising solution to Humean scepticism.

[Summarized from Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers by Philip Stokes, 2012.]

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Essential Thinkers #7 Cicero, A Mixture of Scepticism and Stoicism

For much of his life Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43BC) was known as a Roman politician, lawyer and orator, who despite his humble origins, rose to pre-eminence among the conservative Roman aristocracy. As a youth he had travelled and studied in Greece and maintained a firm interest in philosophy throughout his public life. He maintained friendships with philosophers from all the leading schools but it was not until his retirement, finding himself in the political wilderness, that he devoted his final years to translating large parts of the Greek corpus into Latin. Much of our knowledge of Greek thought is due to Cicero’s translations and he remains a primary source for students of Hellenistic philosophy.

Of Cicero’s many works the most important include his Acedemica, on the impossibility of certain knowledge, the De Finibus and De Officiis, in which he discusses the ends of human action and the rules of right conduct, the Tusculan Disputations, concerning the problems of happiness, pain, the human emotions and death, and On the Nature of Gods and On Divination, both concerned with theological matters.

Mostly produced in the last two years of his life, Cicero’s philosophy comprises a mixture of scepticism in the theory of knowledge and stoicism in ethics. He was largely critical of all things Epicurean. Although he maintained a claim to some originality in his thought, Cicero’s dialogues are principally a ‘pick and mix’ of the three leading Greek philosophical schools. This was neither by accident, nor disguised. Cicero felt that the more modern Latin language could resolve and clarify the problems of Greek philosophy, as well as make it more appealing to a modern audience.

In this aim Cicero is largely judged to have been successful. The philosophical vocabulary invented by him is responsible for Latin becoming the primary philosophical language over Greek: despite the invention of modern languages, Latin remained the primary language of philosophy right up until the Renaissance. Even Descartes’ hugely influential Meditations of First Philosophy, published in 1641, was written first in Latin and only later translated into French. Its most famous conclusion ‘Cogito ergo sum’ (popularly translated as “I think, therefore I am”) is still today referred to in philosophical schools by its Latin name, “the Cogito.”

Although philosophy no longer uses Latin as its first language, many of Cicero’s philosophical terms are still in common employment today. Latin phrases such as a priori (meaning “prior to experience”), a fortiori (even more so), reductio ad absurdum (reduction to absurdity), ceteris paribus (a caveat meaning “other things being equal”), are not just in common philosophical usage but also, in some cases, set the agenda for the philosophical debate. For example, the great debate between empiricists and rationalists is primarily a debate over whether there can be such a thing as a priori knowledge – as the rationalists maintain – or whether all knowledge is a posteriori, in other words, derived from experience. In both logic and philosophical logic, Latin terms remain in current and widespread use.

[Summarized from Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers by Philip Stokes, 2012.
Also listen to Forgotten Thinkers: Cicero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rswj2AvC1Xk ]

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

'Doing Your Own Thing' is Not Necessary a Mark of Creativity

“For many people,” George F. Kneller, author of The Art and Science of Creativity (1965) observes, “being creative seems to imply nothing more than releasing impulses or relaxing tensions… Yet an uninhibited swivelling at the hips is hardly creative dancing, nor is hurling colours a canvas creative painting.” Creativity does involve a willingness to break away from established patterns and try new directions, but it does not mean being different for the sake of being different or as an exercise in self-indulgence. It is as much a mistake to ignore the accumulated knowledge of the past as it is to be limited by it. As Alfred North Whitehead warned, “Fools act on imagination without knowledge; pedants act on knowledge without imagination.” Being creative means combining knowledge and imagination.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Steve Jobs said "Creativity is Just Connecting Things"

Picture: Credits to Hugh MacLeod & Vitor Bellote  

“You cannot force creativity to happen—every creative person can attest to that.

But the essence of creativity is making connections and solving puzzles”

(Nancy C. Andreasen, Neuroscientist)

Creativity is connecting things. In other word, making connections where none existed before is what creativity is all about. The world is our field. Thus, there are practically unlimited possible connections that can be made. We are making connections all the time as part of our learning process. For example, a lot of things happen when I’m doing one thing and I’m not thinking about what my mind is doing. I’m either watching movie, I’m reading a book, eating my lunch and then – I make a connection. It may have nothing to do with what I am doing, but somehow or other I see something or hear something or do something, and it pops that connection together. People use to say, millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked, ‘why?’

“Creativity is just connecting things,” Steve Jobs, late CEO of Apple told Wired magazine. “When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people… Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem.”

Jobs told a story when he took calligraphy in college, a course with no practical applications to his life then. But after he came back later he used his knowledge and skills to added Macintoch, the first computer with beautiful typeface, fonts, and calligraphy. The dots were connected. Creativity is connecting things. Can be few years from now, can be months from now, can be in a minute later. So how to connect the dots? Here are my suggestions (at least, these are the things that I do myself):

§  Carry a notebook and keep track of everything – especially in the toilet (sometime I just write ideas on tissue!)

§  Read to add more knowledge. Logically, the more knowledge you have, the more connection you can make.

§  Play or try to experience more things in life. Most of the time, connections just happen when you least expected it.

§  Review the last sermons or scratch or whatever notes you had wrote before. Recalling and reminding are the best way to spark creative connections.

§  Try observation skill. Just look around you and try to make connections between things which may show similarity or maybe totally unrelated.

Don’t just stare the ceiling, make connections.

Don’t just read and play, make connections.

Don’t just eat and sleeping, make connections.

Maybe just relax, and there is a connection!

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Characteristics of a Creative Person #5: Stay Flexible at All Times

“The creative person is flexible – he is able to change as the situation changes,

to break habits, to face indecision and changes in conditions without undue stress.

He is not threatened by the unexpected as rigid, inflexible people are”

(Frank Goble)

New ideas sometimes need to change direction, shape, size and composition along their developmental path. None of that upsets the creative person. Although it’s more convenient for new ideas to work perfectly the moment they’re conceived, that rarely happens. A creative person will nurse a new idea along and make whatever investment in it that’s required.

Part of remaining flexible is the willingness to abandon an idea if it proves unworthy of further development. Forcing a square peg through a round hole for the sake of pride is not the kind of attitude you’ll find in a truly creative person. Creative people don’t think in terms of failure, but in terms of learning from every experience. To the creative person a failed idea represents knowledge gained.

Creative people stay flexible at all times

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

*I recommend you to read Danny Cox and John Hoover’s Seize the Day (Book-mart Press, 1994), “Step Two: Developing Strengths” page 77-118.

Creativity is an Attitude!

            

Creativity is more than knowledge and is also more than an ability. It is an attitude. People are born with creative ability and most people possess adequate knowledge but because they think they are not creative and hence true to the rule of self-fulfilling prophesy, they become not creative. The second obstacle is society’s attitude. Society tends to ridicule those who are different – not only those who behave differently but those who think differently. Different is assumed to be abnormal.

Creative people do not toe the line. They are independent thinkers. They are not worried to what others think. History is full of ‘eccentric’ thinkers and inventors who not only think differently (and hence discover new theories) but they behave differently too, as seen in their dressing and demeanour (perangai, tabiat, kelakuan, tingkah laku), for instant. Can you picture Albert Einstein with his trademark shaggy hair? Or A. Samad Said without his shaggy beard and moustache?

Creativity is more than knowledge. It is an attitude. Many people possess the knowledge, but they dare not translate it into action in the form of inventions or innovations due to the variety of factors, one of which is the fear of failure. Failure to attempt, people say, is worse that actually failing. We learn after a failure. We learn nothing if we did not even attempt it. People, in general, also fear being laughed at. They have an idea but they dare not articulate it in case people laugh at them (People laughed at my ideas so often that I tend to take it as pre-congratulations).

Creative people are risk-takers; to them, failure is taken as a learning experience. Their first article writing maybe a disaster but they will push on, knowing that mistake or failure is the first step towards success. Creative people are also very persevering. They will keep on trying until they succeed. Creative people are independent, humorous and may appear eccentric but they are all there. Many well-known creative people are a little different. They know that they are creative. These creative people are much better off than those who think that they are not creative when they actually are, who incidentally form the majority. Do not be part of the majority. Be the minority who knows they are creative.

Creativity require knowledge, no doubt. It is an ability.

But most important of all, creativity is an attitude!

Think creative and we will be creative. This I know.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s) 

Story of Idea #2: Albert Einstein the Scientist had the Mind of a Child

“I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.

Imagination encircles the world” (Albert Einstein)

When Albert Einstein was interviewed on the source of his creative genius, he was purported to have replied, “It was because I’m mentally retarded.” Is it possible that one of the greatest geniuses who ever lived was mentally retarded?

Fortunately, Einstein explained what he meant. Einstein had the mind of a child but the brain of a scientist. Like a child, he was constantly asking probing questions which adults regarded as ‘silly’ like: “What will happen if I ride on a light beam?” Incidentally, it was this question that led to his discovery of his famous Theory of Relativity.

In essence, Einstein never grew up. He retained his childlike curiosity. That was why he considered himself “mentally retarded.” Unlike a child, however, Einstein was able to answer his own questions because he had the knowledge and creativity of a scientist.

Another quality of Einstein was that he imagined in pictures rather than using the language of words in his thinking. Every language carries with it inherent limitations that restrict thinking. For instance, the definition of the word “atom” as an indivisible part of matter restricted thinking about the structure of atoms for many years. Words have limitations. Thinking visually and escaping from our linguistic limitations enriches our imagination.

Therein lies a secret to creativity – maintain the innocent curiosity of a child and imagine in pictures more than words.

Note: Short article above is taken from Dr. Yew Kam Keong’s You Are Creative: Let Your Creativity Bloom, 3^rd Edition (Petaling Jaya: Advantage Quest Publications, 2007), Page 17.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)