Live with seize mentality and be freed from siege mentality
Are you back into a corner and your mind tries to convince you that there is no way out
It is within the walls of your mind that the battles are fought. And it is within the battlefield of your brain that victory is snatched or the pain of defeat is created. This is the place where the vanquished are first unveiled. And it is in this place that the conquerors are empowered.
You may be able to judge a book by its cover, but you can also judge a winner or a loser by the state of their mind. And that state of mind will soon be revealed by the state of the mind-owner’s mouth.
Victorious people speak victorious words. Their words are filled with faith and hope. Defeated people have a completely different vocabulary. Their words are powerless and negative.
So rather than only feeding your face with food, make certain that you spend part of each day feeding your head with good wholesome mind food. In doing so you will live with seize mentality and be freed from siege mentality.
Seize or siege? It’s your choice and you hold the key to your state of being in both your mind and your mouth.
I must confess this one thing. I have been the victim of SIEGE mentality. I have known what it is to be surrounded by circumstances that back you into a corner and your mind tries to convince you that there is no way out.
And yet I have another thing to confess. I have experienced SEIZE mentality and it is the ONLY way to live and is freely available to all of us if we are simply willing enough to allow our minds some room for expansion.
The great violinist Paganini knew what it was to have SEIZE mentality when he was once performing before a most distinguished audience. Suddenly, one of the strings on his violin snapped.(1) The audience gasped, but the master musician continued unruffled to play on the three remaining strings(2).
Snap went a second string. Still Paganini played on without hesitation. Then with a sharp crack a third string broke. The audience now became awestruck. For a brief moment, the artist stopped, raised his famous Stradivarius violin high with one hand and announced, ‘One string – and Paganini.(3)’
With furious skill and the matchless discipline of a gifted craftsmen he finished the selection on a single string. The performance was done with such matchless perfection that the audience rose together and gave him a tumultuous ovation.
under siege? seize the moment moment with passion
So how can you avoid siege mentality? Preparation. Prepare yourself by immersing yourself in possibility thinking. Surround yourself in an environment where you are always encouraged to stretch the boundaries of your thinking.
We recently experienced a flood just 500 metres from where we live, and when the flood was in progress it was an incredibly beautiful thing to watch playing fields transformed into lakes and small creeks turned into raging rivers.
However, as the flood waters subsided, all that has been left behind are stinking stagnant pools of water.
The raging rivers represent SEIZE mentality. There is a freshness. There is a flowing. There is a turbulence. There is a vibrance. Whereas the stinking water holes represent SIEGE mentality. There is no flow and there is no go. All that’s left is ‘stinking thinking’ as Zig Ziglar put it so eloquently.
The reason you are under siege is because you have allowed your thoughts to stagnate. You have allowed mediocrity to overtake you and the only way out is to get that water flowing again.
And how do you do that?
Read. Listen. Associate with those with seize mentality. Ask questions. Brainstorm. Attend seminars. But whatever you do, don’t just simply shut the door and throw the key away.
Unlock the door and get out and expose your brain to new possibilities and take your notebook with you. For it only takes one idea to change your circumstances. So pursue that idea until you find it.
seize opportunity with both hands and both feet simultaneously
And I have good news: those who seek find. So open the eyes and the ears of your mind. Opportunity is already standing at your door and is knocking furiously.
As one investor recently told me, ‘Every week there’s always a once in a lifetime deal.’ So go and get your deal and make it a BIG deal.
Motivational Memo: Why be satisfied with just the moment? Seize your whole life with passion.
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