Some years ago, while poking around in a charity shop I noticed an old paperback book. Something made me pick it up, and I saw one or two things inside that made me decide to buy it despite the fact that it was a book about succeeding in business and was not very clean - it had obviously been read many times.
The book was Born to Succeed: Releasing Your Business Potential by Colin Turner.
I am not interested in building a business, and I am very doubtful about the worth of much of the material available on the subject. However, my radar was quite right: the book did contain some useful information; it also confirmed some of my ideas about unseen influences. The advice given may sometimes be obvious and not always original; I found the book neither illuminating nor life-changing, but well worth reading.
One of the previous readers had highlighted some paragraphs and made comments – in Turkish! Most of the highlighted parts were of no particular interest to me as they were business-related, but I made notes of some of the material that resonated the most.
“Reading more than anything else stimulates the mind: use it or lose it.”
This is telling me exactly what I want to hear! Reading stimulates the imagination too, whereas watching television short circuits the imaginative process.
“Books/others are teachers not masters, agencies not sources.”
I agree with this. “Call No Man Master”, and do not treat any book as a bible.
“Your attitude towards life determines life’s attitude to you: you can determine the quality of your life. A person with a poor attitude is a magnet for unpleasant experiences.”
I have seen this for myself: it is sad to see how many people are their own worst enemies and bring trouble on themselves with their negative attitudes.
“Happy heart, light spirit, expectant attitude are signs of the right decision.”
Follow gut feelings: try decisions on for size. We will be able to tell from good sensations deep down inside which decisions are right for us.
“Blame looks backward, responsibility looks forward.”
This may be ‘fortune cookie wisdom’, but it is an important lesson to learn. It is essential not to get stuck in the past; others may be responsible for creating our problems but we are responsible for solving or coming to terms with them.
“People cannot get onto your path, they can only try to tempt you off it and distract you onto theirs.”
This is definitely worth thinking about. Presumably people can get onto our paths if we distract them onto them!
“Failure is often the precursor to success. Most people’s success seems to come after their greatest failure. Success is the continuous accomplishment of planned objectives that are worthwhile to the individual.”
This sounds like a good definition of success, as opposed to the usual limited definition in worldly terms. My greatest failure has happened; I am certainly achieving a string of small successes.
“Advertise in the universal newspaper – vibrations will be involved.”
I sometimes think that I must have advertised on the universal radio – or sent a postcard to the universe! If you want something, let the universe know then get on with something else. We must forget it to get it.
“The universe will pay you to be yourself and do what you really love.”
When? I have advertised in the universal media; I am currently doing what I like best but the money hasn’t come yet!
Finally:
“The environment will never condition us again. We will condition the environment by the force we exude: it will affect and change matters so we can create new conditions in the old environment. Negative influences will weaken and disappear with a rapidity directly in proportion to the realisation of how we control/affect the environment and create our own reality. We will never need to leave a particular environment.”
Born to Succeed is worth getting for these statements alone; they deserve an article to themselves. The idea that there is no need to move or leave, that things will fall into place around us to reflect changes on the inside takes some getting used to, but in my experience it is sometimes - but not always – perfectly correct. We really can change our lives for the better on the outside by changing ourselves for the better on the inside.
This book is still being sold – for £19.99 in some places. I paid £0.50p for my copy! I took it back to the charity shop where I bought it so that more people could benefit from Colin Turner’s wisdom.
The book was Born to Succeed: Releasing Your Business Potential by Colin Turner.
I am not interested in building a business, and I am very doubtful about the worth of much of the material available on the subject. However, my radar was quite right: the book did contain some useful information; it also confirmed some of my ideas about unseen influences. The advice given may sometimes be obvious and not always original; I found the book neither illuminating nor life-changing, but well worth reading.
One of the previous readers had highlighted some paragraphs and made comments – in Turkish! Most of the highlighted parts were of no particular interest to me as they were business-related, but I made notes of some of the material that resonated the most.
“Reading more than anything else stimulates the mind: use it or lose it.”
This is telling me exactly what I want to hear! Reading stimulates the imagination too, whereas watching television short circuits the imaginative process.
“Books/others are teachers not masters, agencies not sources.”
I agree with this. “Call No Man Master”, and do not treat any book as a bible.
“Your attitude towards life determines life’s attitude to you: you can determine the quality of your life. A person with a poor attitude is a magnet for unpleasant experiences.”
I have seen this for myself: it is sad to see how many people are their own worst enemies and bring trouble on themselves with their negative attitudes.
“Happy heart, light spirit, expectant attitude are signs of the right decision.”
Follow gut feelings: try decisions on for size. We will be able to tell from good sensations deep down inside which decisions are right for us.
“Blame looks backward, responsibility looks forward.”
This may be ‘fortune cookie wisdom’, but it is an important lesson to learn. It is essential not to get stuck in the past; others may be responsible for creating our problems but we are responsible for solving or coming to terms with them.
“People cannot get onto your path, they can only try to tempt you off it and distract you onto theirs.”
This is definitely worth thinking about. Presumably people can get onto our paths if we distract them onto them!
“Failure is often the precursor to success. Most people’s success seems to come after their greatest failure. Success is the continuous accomplishment of planned objectives that are worthwhile to the individual.”
This sounds like a good definition of success, as opposed to the usual limited definition in worldly terms. My greatest failure has happened; I am certainly achieving a string of small successes.
“Advertise in the universal newspaper – vibrations will be involved.”
I sometimes think that I must have advertised on the universal radio – or sent a postcard to the universe! If you want something, let the universe know then get on with something else. We must forget it to get it.
“The universe will pay you to be yourself and do what you really love.”
When? I have advertised in the universal media; I am currently doing what I like best but the money hasn’t come yet!
Finally:
“The environment will never condition us again. We will condition the environment by the force we exude: it will affect and change matters so we can create new conditions in the old environment. Negative influences will weaken and disappear with a rapidity directly in proportion to the realisation of how we control/affect the environment and create our own reality. We will never need to leave a particular environment.”
Born to Succeed is worth getting for these statements alone; they deserve an article to themselves. The idea that there is no need to move or leave, that things will fall into place around us to reflect changes on the inside takes some getting used to, but in my experience it is sometimes - but not always – perfectly correct. We really can change our lives for the better on the outside by changing ourselves for the better on the inside.
This book is still being sold – for £19.99 in some places. I paid £0.50p for my copy! I took it back to the charity shop where I bought it so that more people could benefit from Colin Turner’s wisdom.
