Lesson 15 In the Science of Getting Rich: The Advancing Man
The man who is certain to advance is the one who is too big for his place, and who has a clear concept of what he wants to be… and is determined to BE what he wants to be - Wallace D. Wattles
My mentor Bob Proctor always used to say “write a very detailed description of your goal and the person you want to be when it is achieved.” Before I had a really good understanding on the power of our thoughts, this suggestion was quite vague. I’d write down my goals but not as detailed and for a good while my vision was “blurry” because my description wasn’t clear enough until I really took time to write down my goals, who I am becoming as I achieve them and how it feels to have achieved them. I coupled this with daily meditations conjuring the feelings of my goals achieved and that was when things started unfolding.
This chapter calls to mind the importance of clarity and focus, and exploring the opportunities we encounter that are leading us towards our desired goals as the advancing man is one who is constantly practicing what they learn to grow and improve their conditions. We are encouraged to actively apply the principles thought in previous chapters and to be open to opportunities as they arise, rather than waiting for our ideal situations.
There are many principles both in this chapter and previous chapters but three that I have adopted and always fall back on, after reading this chapter over and over again are - The Power of Clarity, The Power of Visualisation and The Power of Focus.
Wattles suggests that we can only advance when we know what we want and are determined to be what we want by putting into practice what we learn, and I have found that without having clarity, focusing my energy, and attention and constantly thinking about my desires, I cannot see them manifest. I have always known that I want to be a leader in my field of work but not long ago after having been in corporate for a good decade, did I realise that to get to the top of my game would need more than just my hard work. See, I have always been like the man Wattles talks about as being a “good” employee that does more than the role requires so my employer saw no need to promote me and even if the promotion came it was not with much compensation but more of added responsibilities.
I wasn’t outgrowing my place just effectively working more and harder, so when I decided to want and be more, I started seeing things differently and then moving on to the entrepreneurial path. I found that the freedom and mastery that I want can be best achieved on a path different from my corporate life. Working still in corporate, I started exploring other opportunities and that led me to coaching and setting up e-commerce businesses. I am still exploring other opportunities that will lead me to my biggest goal but I didn’t let what I could get at my corporate keep me stagnant waiting for the ideal opportunity, no, I sought after opportunities and it’s paid off. Within months I had a coaching certification and started coaching then applying the same strategy a couple of years later I found my e-comm business opportunity which I dabbled in for some years as well but finally launched it this year. Don’t get me wrong as one can also make it big in corporate, I just know I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur.
So, in my reflections I asked myself some tough questions and maybe you might want to ask yourself some if you are felling stuck -
What do I really want out of and who do I want to be in this life that I have been blessed with?
How long is it going to take? How am I going to feel if that same amount of time passes and I am still doing the same thing with no improvement?
How do I want to be remembered when I am no longer here?
I then got really clear on what it is that I want to achieve and who I want to become when I achieve that. I wrote a very descriptive representation of my dreams, set goals on how to achieve and started visualisation meditations to help me get into the energy of it. I am still working on my goals but the steps aren’t as confusing as they were when I didn’t have a clear vision of my desires and a plan to execute. Now, I can with ease sift through opportunities and explore those that move me towards my desired goal.
As we start the week, with this chapter reminding us that as advancing people, we need not only be mere dreamers that take in information but most importantly we must have a clear vision of the what and who we desire to have and with unwavering faith and determination to see it manifest for our good and the good of all others. I’d love to know how you the concept of the advancing man sits with you so kindly share your thoughts in the comments and feel free to share this with anyone who might benefit from it
Journal Prompt: Who do I want to become when I have achieved my goal?