On Accurate Thinking: Not What, but How to Think

Have you listened to lectures from Wes Brown, Wayne Dyer, Napoleon Hill, Earl Nightingale, Tony Robbins or Jim Rohn? They are all great motivational speakers. With Youtube, you have the option of listening to these people for inspiration! None of them were perfect, but they all learned from their trials of life. And they all decided to share their wisdom. Napoleon Hill, specifically, taught about accurate thinking. I think our world needs more of that. And particularly at this time.

These days, our educational systems (as well as our media outlets) are good at telling people what they should think. But unfortunately, our schools do very little, if any, teaching on how to think accurately. In a lecture, Napoleon Hill said, “You are given, as your richest birthright, the privilege of controlling your own thoughts. Therefore, treat this divine gift with a profound respect to which it is entitled and do not allow anyone to do your thinking for you, to influence your thinking in any manner whatsoever, except by the rules of accurate thinking I am passing on to you.”

Mr. Hill goes on to lay out those seven rules (listed in a Youtube video) to help us improve our logic. I especially appreciate several gems of knowledge from him, such as, “Do your own thinking on all occasions.” He emphasizes the importance of the difference between facts and opinions. Also, Napoleon says, “Separate facts from fiction or hearsay.” And don’t waste your time or brainpower, instead, “Throw out unimportant facts.”

Another gem from Mr. Hill is on keeping an even keel. He says, “Examine statements of derogatory nature from one person against another, because they are biased.” And he also encourages an open mind, or flexibility with this, “Don’t justify a decision you’ve made if you determine it was wrong.” These are all great means of using accurate thinking.

Hill also encourages us to use our brains, our most powerful tools, to help us individually. He said, “Remember, your dominating thoughts attract their physical counterpart.” He encouraged the use of positive affirmations, such as those in my Dojo Kun affirmations blog.

Napoleon Hill also had a lot to say to encourage people not to drift aimlessly and helplessly through life. He did not like people to be drifters. In his book “Outwitting the Devil,” he wrote, “Recognize that fear is a general filler with which the Devil fills your mind to make you drift.” That was one of his rules on how not to be a drifter. Matt Tillotson tells more about the book, and lists all of the rules here.

As a part of our efforts toward more accurate thinking, and thinking for ourselves, we can focus on having a more positive focus in life. We can strive to be non-drifters. Jim Sereney helps, here, with 11 traits of a non-drifter. We can start to put those to use today! For example, number 11 is, “The major distinguishing feature of the non-drifter is this: He has a mind of his own and uses it for all purposes.” Let’s get to work, using our own power of accurate thinking.

Note: Some of the quotes from Napoleon Hill above are from my own notes and they may be paraphrased. 

-Jenifer Tull-Gauger