Welcome to reThink Your Perspective’s blog. Helping you to unlock your potential, empower your mindset, create productive habits, and boost your motivation. Today’s instalment looks at the topics of being decisive, making decisions and making advance decisions, as discussed in the 6 minutes to success program from the Proctor Gallagher Institute.
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Snippets From 6 Minutes to Success – Being Decisive
On the blog at the moment, I am doing a sequence of content taken directly from the Proctor Gallagher Institute’s 6 Minutes To Success program. Today’s post concerns the topics of being decisive, making decisions and making advance decisions.
Effective decision making is something that very few of us are taught how to do. And that needs to be addressed! If we cannot make effective decisions then we lose a lot of control over our daily lives.
These next three lessons will help you to understand why being decisive and making decisions quickly is vital to your success. And how making decisions in advance can save you a lot of time and energy during your day to day life.
Enjoy!
Just 6 minutes to a successful life. Click to find out more.
The following sections are transcribed from the actual 6-minute lessons given by Bob Proctor.
Enjoy!
Being Decisive – 6 Minutes to Success #27 – Decision
See a short reel on this topic here.
“Hello and welcome back, this is Bob Proctor, and I’ve got a big one for you today.
It’s on decision.
A single mental move you can make that’ll carry you to great heights.
You know, this book (Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill), is the first book I ever read, and I’ve never stopped reading it. It’s not that I’m such a slow reader, there’s just so much in the book. And I like to ask myself, am I doing that when I read it? And if I’m not doing it, I just keep reading it. Well, I’m not doing everything in this book.
Listen to what he said, he devoted an entire chapter, Napoleon Hill said,
“Accurate analysis of over 25,000 men and women who had experienced failure disclosed the fact that lack of decision was near the head of the thirty major causes of failure.”
This isn’t a statement of theory, it’s a fact.
Now, he said,
“Analysis of several hundred people who had accumulated fortunes well beyond the $1,000,000 mark,” (and this is back at 1930), “disclosed the fact that everyone of them had the habit of reaching decisions promptly and changing those decisions slowly, if and when they change them at all.”
He said,
“People who fail to accumulate money, without exception, have the habit of reaching decisions, if at all, very slowly and changing those decisions quickly and often.”
I’m going to take you right near the end of the chapter and read a part to you. He said,
“Those who reach decisions promptly and definitely, know what they want, and they generally get it. The leaders in every walk of life, decide quickly and firmly. That’s the major reason why they’re leaders. The world has a habit of making room for the man or woman whose words and actions show they know where they’re going…
Indecision is a habit which usually begins in youth. The habit takes on permanency as the youth goes through grade school, high school, and eventually through college without any definiteness of purpose.
The major weakness of all educational systems is that they neither teach nor encourage the habit of decision.”
Make Decisions!
Photo by Engin Akyurt via pexels
Now if you were to talk to anyone that knows me, they’ll know that I make decisions on the spot about big things. I make the decision to do things before we’re anywhere near ready to do them. I always figure, if you start before you’re ready, you’ll pull everything together. And it’s a habit I’ve got. You wanna know something? The people around me have got into the habit of doing the same thing.
Follow the quiet voice within that’s telling you which way to go. Quit asking other people ‘what do you think I should do? What do you think I should do?‘
First of all, they probably don’t think. The average person said what they were thinking they would be speechless; they just keep making noise. Listen to their conversation, it’s going to become obvious they are not thinking, because they would never do what they are doing. Watch their behaviour, you know they’d never do what they’re doing if they were thinking.
Decision. Being Decisive.
You probably got a whole load of decisions you can make today! Maybe you should stay right where you are and write out all the things that you have to make decisions on and make them. One after another. And advise people this is the way it is.
It’s like President Reagan said one time. He said,
“When I make a decision, I gathered the information I needed and I make a decision… I don’t take a vote, I make a decision.”
I like that.
A great American general one time said,
“Make a decision, right or wrong, make the decision. If it is the wrong one you can go back and change it.”
He (Napoleon Hill) studied the lives of 25,000 people. Successful people, every one of them. I think this information is valuable to you.
Sit and ask yourself.
What do I need to make decisions on right now?
And I guarantee you, become decisive. Do it today, do it tomorrow, the next day, and you will turn into a habit. And you’ll become known as a very decisive individual.
And THAT will give you results that stick.
This is Bob Proctor and thank you.”
6 Minutes to Success #288 – Decision
“Hello and welcome back to 6 minutes.
Some time ago I formed a habit. A discipline really, that I engage in quite often.
Right now, I’m reading the chapter on Decision from the book Think and Grow Rich. I read it every day during the entire month. Last month I read the chapter on the Subconscious Mind and the month prior to that I read the chapter on Persistence. You see, I made-up my mind some time ago that I was gonna read one chapter every day for 30 days. It’s a wonderful exercise, it is repetition that makes the difference. It’s something you might try.
So, I’ve been going through the chapter on Decision. It’s a phenomenal chapter to read even if you only read it once. There are so many great lessons in it.
Well, I got to thinking about my children. Someone asked me about them one day and I said well, the kids all turned out really well. And as I thought about it, I realised that I never made decisions for my kids. The kids had to make their own decisions. You see, I started to study this material before any of my children were born and I quickly realised there a whole lot of things that school doesn’t teach us.
There are two things that are very important.
One, school does not teach us how to earn money. You can go to the best schools in the world. They don’t teach you how to earn money. They teach you how to count it, how to store it, but they do not teach you how to earn it.
And another thing that they lack in this area of teaching. They don’t teach you how to make decisions. That’s why you find so many people running around saying, what do you think I should do?
Now that isn’t an easy task, but I’m going to tell you something. If you want kids to grow and you want them to follow their own path, you must let them make their own decisions. My kids came to me when they were small, same as yours, “Dad, what do you think I should do?” And I’d say, well, what do you think? I can remember my daughter, Colleen, saying now don’t do that. And I’d say do what? I always made them make their own decisions!
You see, I believe even as little kids our children are intelligent beings and they know what they should do. You know when you talk with them about a situation and then leave it with them, they make good decisions.
I have a good friend who calls me every now and then, just to thank me for sharing that with her because she’s used it with her son. Her son is a teenager. He’s not a little kid. But she discovered that he was capable of making his own decisions. And you know something? It took a great weight off her shoulders. Gave him the freedom that was his birth right.
You might want to join me in this discipline!
Read the chapter on Decision (in Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill) every day for 30 days. Think about it for 4-5 minutes. I’m gonna tell you it is an excellent exercise!
Decision.
Takes you right to the top.
People that don’t make decisions don’t seem to go anywhere.
This is Bob Proctor and thank you.”
Being Decisive – 6 Minutes to Success #89 – Advance Decision Making
See the reel I made for this topic here.
“Hey there, this is a big one. At least it was for me, and I think it might be for you.
I wanna talk to you today about advance decision making. This is when you make a decision now, and when the situation comes up later, you know you’ve already made the decision, so you don’t need to think about it again.
A number of years ago, I went into a bar. It was a smoky, seedy, sort of a bar. I ordered a drink, but as I started to pick it up, I looked around and thought “you know, there are a bunch of losers in here.” Then I thought “my goodness, I’m always here, I must be a loser to.”
I immediately set the glass back down without drinking any, and I made the decision that I would never drink alcohol again. Now that was a long time ago and I never have. Now, when people ask me if I want a drink, I’ll say “just water thanks”. See, I already made the decision years ago. I don’t have to decide again each time that I’m on for something. At first I thought, “well, just one wouldn’t hurt” then I’d think, “no, I made that decision, and a decision is a commitment to myself”.
I called this Advance Decision Making (ADM).
When you make an advance decision, and the time comes when you’re tested… You don’t have to wonder whether you’re going to eat it, drink it or do it. That decision has already been made!
ADM is the most phenomenal concept. Write those initials down, A-D-M. You might want to write them in ink on your hand and not wash for the rest of the day. You wanna put them on, good and thick so it stays there for a while. Nobody will see it but you and you’re the one who needs to remember it.
I want you to take the next 4-5 minutes and think of the things you do that you really don’t like doing. You do them, you don’t like doing them, gives you results you don’t want to get, but you do them anyway.
Make a decision about it once and for all. Then, when it comes up again, ADM. Just like that. ADM. Thanks, no.”
Being Decisive – Hope You Found This Helpful!
These lessons are designed to be short sharp snippets to encourage you to think more critically about you and your life. Bob said that being decisive was the best skill he ever developed. You can only make a decision based on where you are, and the information you have right now. Don’t wait for more information! You can always change the decision later, just never go back on a decision once you’ve made it. It is worth spending the time learning how to become decisive and practicing it.
The advance decision making concept is also mimicked in the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. Both discuss this as a way to shift habits you want to stop doing by making the decision in advance.
So, if you have made the decision to go on a diet, you make the decision at the start of the day what you are going to eat, and what you are not going to eat. Then when temptation arises later, and you are offered cake or something that would ruin your diet that day, you automatically say no instead of thinking about it and giving in.
I find that taking it one step further and having a set reward for the end of the day if I stick to my decision is one extra layer of motivation to not give in when temptation arises!
What Do You Think?
If any of this resonates with you then please share your thoughts below. If you want to discuss it further then get in touch today. Either here or through any of my social medias or schedule a call to discuss it with me directly. To see the details for the 6 Minutes To Success Program, click here.
I look forward to speaking with you soon.
To your success,
Jaiye
