Hill's Notion of Setting for Ideas

For those who have read, perhaps more than once, the legendary paperback
"Think and Grow Rich" by  Napoleon Hill, perhaps you recall him explaining the process of
"setting for ideas".

It is a profound respect for the process and value of simply being still, and solitary and thinking productively..

I have been enjoying my read of Edward O. Thorpe's book "A Man for All Markets"....which is available btw in both print and audio format.

One of Mr. Thorpe's remarkable discoveries when he began to conquer some gambling games successfully, was illustrated in this one statement of his:

"What intrigued me.....it was the possibility that merely by sitting in a room and thinking.....I could figure out how to win".    (found in Chapter 5: first page, of his book "A Man for All Markets".)

I want to ask you today. What incredible ideas could you create if you gave your mind the credit and space and time to work that it requires?

Perhaps you live and/or work in noisy places. Noise can clutter your thinking power, unless of  course it is predictable white noise which your mind may find comforting and conducive to concentration.

But if you find you are chronically distracted and unable to focus, you may need to carve out for yourself an authentic "thinking spot". It may be a picnic table isolated by the creek  or lakeside so that yu can look out on some moving water. Or perhaps you may find yourself able to think simply by downloading some white noise onto your smart phone so that you can listen to it, as you walk solemnly around the block.

Everyone is different. But we are all the same in that we are much more productive when we have access to the space and time and place that is conducive to thinking in solitude.


Be blessed, my smart friends and colleagues. You have unlimited potential.

Peace,
Carla





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On the Hunt to Audio-Ize

Over the years perhaps you have noticed that  I have a particular fondness for soaking in nonfiction books via audio recordings.

It has become a passion to hunt down the most cost effective format in which to locate an audio  version of my current book of obsession.

So today I went to go  see some computer nerds. I brought in my fave crisp new book,ready for them to magically transform into an audio format for me....only to be shocked by their retort. Perhaps the dude had just spent an all-nighter coding, because his reply was rather chalky.
He stated that it would cost  thousands of dollars for him to manually feed my book   into a scanner which would then be turned into a text file which would then be fed into a software that could transform text into a computerized voice file. He said the computerized voice would suck....why would anyone want to listen to that......and would most  likely contain errors from either the paper to text file conversion, or from the text to computerized voice conversion process.

He seemed  to be quite adamant that my request was not ideal....nor reasonable. What a waste of a treacherous drive up our slippery newly snow covered streets.

Sigh..... But alas,  i am not one to give up too easily! I considered briefly the idea of contacting our  local CNIB to see if perhaps they had more user friendly methods for their visually impaired clients when transforming some written works into audio formats.

Instead I called our local book  store. The clerk did a search for me, to see if there was any kind of audio version for sale globally for my current book obsession. Woot woot! They found one. And guess what .....it was very easy to purchase on my phone via Kobo.

I had thought that Kobo was only an e-reader type of gadget.....like an ipad  for e-books.

But lo and behold, because the clerk in the book store was willing to do a search that did not in any way benefit  her employer, I have been able to listen to my fave new nonfiction book on my phone.

Perhaps some day  computers will have advanced so far into artificial intelligence, that it will  be a simple and cost effective feat simply to convert a paperback or hardcover into a seamless audio book.....but for now at least I have another method with which to chow down on my next new must-hear non-fiction book.
Be courageous friends in your lifelong learning. It leads somewhere good.....and is worth the effort.

Peace,
Carla




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Why You Just Might Succeed

You just might succeed because  when your friends...your family and perfect strangers giggled at your goals ......you persevered.You plodded onward.

Even when u ran out of money u didn't back down. The money finally surrendered to your will as you conquered it's mystique. You now have more than you need and plenty to share.

You finally understood that success does not always rest upon the prettiest, the fastest or the affluent. You waited for wisdom to reveal herself to you. You were patient and alert.

You tore through books. You asked questions. You weren't shy to speak your goals aloud and often to yourself. You tweaked your list of goals as often as needed...

but not to please anyone other than yourself. You became the creator of your own destiny.

Sometimed people listened. Sometimes people laughed.

And now....now they who once mocked you are calling you desperately for advice. Folks who criticized you openly are now bragging of those times long ago when they knew you.

You smile gently.

You learned to smile when folks were cruel. You learned to let nothing disuade you from your chosen path.

It is righteous. It is good.

Now you have reached that pleasant plateau...where not only have you reached your own personal goals....but you can help others reach their's too.

It is so well.

It is so good.

Thankyou God.

Peace.

C.

There for the Taking

My local city libraries have approximately 170,000 items on their shelves. That total spans two library branches located within our city limits. i dont live in a particularly large city. however, our local libraries are well used by residents and highly valued by city planners.

I so enjoy that legendary Robin Williams film entitled "Good Will Hunting". It's main character, a rebellious genius, gets into a verbal battle with an Ivy League brat, by stating quite convincingly.... that he was able to get all the same knowledge as the ivy brat simply by paying less than 5$ a year in late fees to his local public library. i can't help but applaud. 

Now  before u think i am just some bookworm with a penchant for books....permit me to enlighten you otherwise. I am not a mere reader of books.

i read to learn. THEN i take what i have learned and try it out in the real world. I put into practice what i personally study. Through trial and error i tweak my strategies until i receive the desired outcome.

Much of what i have personally put into practice which has propelled me forward in life, has been eagerly gleaned from free or low cost high quality books. Sometimes i splurge on a high cost book and usually discover it is worth every single penny...even if the cost is over a 100 dollars. Good timely accurate information is priceless.

Some of my learning curve has stretched from written pages to dance playfully with websites, podcasts and blogs.  i have also , on more than one occasion, taken it upon myself to personally contact a well respected author with the intent of being able to ask more precise questions. 

 I pride myself on having the courage to contact well accomplished authors for the sole purpose of learning more about a vital subject of interest.

You must bet on yourself sometimes, to use the skills u already have to get u moving towards your written life goals. 

Well, i am going to be brief today. i am simply going to ask u  a question. Are u sure that u have taken full advantage of what your local public library has to offer?  Have u maxed out it's advantages for the attainment of your life goals?

It just may be possible, that somewhere, hidden in a massive library book shelf or in a stack of audio book cd's..... lies the next bite of information u have been waiting for. Don't u want to get that much closer towards the accomplishment of one of your life goals?You are passionate about your life goals aren't u ?

in peaceful productivity , 

Carla.