Hey what’s up guys. Last week we talked about the Magic 1%, which is the idea that it’s easier to commit to something 100% than 99%. That’s because until you’re at 100%, you force yourself to make a decision about whether you’re committed at all every time the topic crosses your mind. 

This wouldn’t be worth discussing if everyone consistently hit all their goals and was living the life of a top producer. Sadly we all know that too many people only sporadically hit their goals and only occasionally feel like a top producer. Especially those with a habit of almost fully committing but never quite going all in.

So what would cause someone to get all the way to 99% and then stop short? In a word, fear. The final chapter in Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is called The Six Ghosts of Fear. Today I want to talk about what stops full commitment by focusing on the first two ghosts;  fear of poverty and of criticism. 

When we lack initiative, imagination and enthusiasm we are showing symptoms of the fear of poverty. Napoleon Hill says that fear of poverty comes from our tendency to prey upon each other economically. For comparison, animals don’t think like we do so they prey on each other physically. But humans eat each other financially and then create every law imaginable to try to safeguard ourselves from one another.

It sounds backwards at first but when a person isn’t 100% committed to their own success, it’s often because they fear poverty. Let me say that another way: when a person isn’t 100% committed to their own success, it’s often because they fear being preyed upon by other people who would try to eat them financially.

It doesn’t help when we vilify the so called 1%. In our culture the 1% is used to represent a group of people who have preyed upon all of society financially. And while I’d agree we have a problem with wealth distribution in the world and laws that enable the inequity, pointing the blame at 1% of the population as a whole isn’t helpful and just keeps those doing the blaming stuck in fear. 

To be in the 1% in terms of net worth these days, you need 10M in assets. But you’re in the top 5% with just 2M. Further, to be in the top 1% of earned income your entire household only needs to earn $422k per year. And $166k per year gets your household in the top 5%.

So, one of the secrets to committing fully to your own success is to overcome the fear of poverty because I know pretty much everyone watching this would get along just fine in the top 5% and would love to reach the top 1% if you’re not already there.

Second, the fear of criticism. This comes from the ego and is the result of an overabundance of concern about what others think about you. Symptoms include lack of initiative, never expressing opinions, being afraid to show your own style or feeling like you always have to have the latest of everything.

Here’s the thing. People are going to think things about you whether you want them to or not. You can’t control the mind of another person and the great equalizer is that they can’t control yours. You are free to have thoughts about them too! Dr. Dyer taught me an affirmation: “what you think of me is none of my business”. As soon as you can internalize that, you’ll break free from the fear of criticism.

At the end of the chapter Napoleon Hill adds a final lesson. He says people who succeed in life do so because they have learned not to be susceptible to the negative influences of others. There is a lot of effort being expended right now to control a virus but the only thing we have absolute control over is our thoughts. 

Another secret to committing 100% to our own success is overcoming fear of criticism and to do that, we have to be work on controlling our own minds. When you consistently lock out the negative influences of others, even if the others are loved ones, reaching your full potential becomes automatic. 

Well there you go guys. Simple, but not always easy right? Here's the link to the original, unedited version of Think and Grow Rich so you don’t have to hunt for it. If you don’t have your own copy, I highly recommend you get one today. But before you go, drop down and let me know what thoughts this message has triggered for you.