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The Secret of Self Image - Bob Proctor

John Duong22:54

Transcription

[Music] This is an absolutely beautiful world that you and I are a part of, and our stay here should be a magnificent adventure. It should never be a bore. We were created to have and enjoy all the good that life has to offer. You're God's greatest creation, and you are meant to win.

Unfortunately, not everyone views the world or their life the same way. Some see it as a very harsh, cruel world, and they're forever struggling to make ends meet or keep a relationship together. It seems they're forever running on a treadmill, going nowhere, never taking the time to enjoy what they have or to see the beauty of the world that they're a part of.

Have you ever asked yourself what differentiates the winners from the masses? Well, I have. I've researched the subject now for over a quarter of a century, and I have found that the winners are aware of a certain place within. It's referred to as the higher self, and in this higher self, there's an image of perfection which is forever attempting to express itself in a greater way. When the winner wants to turn their dreams into physical realities, they call on this higher self, and they set about and change the world, not just for themselves, but for everyone in it.

Think of what Edison did. He illuminated the entire world. Alexander Graham Bell hooked us all together. Why, we just hit a couple of buttons and be talking to a loved one on the other side of the globe. And the Wright Brothers, they actually brought us closer together. They introduced us to a brand new kingdom and changed our perception of the world forever. Why, do you know, we're not long ways away from anywhere anymore. We're only hours away. I could be working with Francis McDonald, conducting a seminar in Halifax, Nova Scotia, one day, and be way over in Australia with David Walsh doing the same thing the next. And then, if I chose, I could just jump on a plane and fly off to Qualim Pur in Malaysia and be working with Jets Peter there the following day. We wouldn't be able to do any of those things without the Bells, the Edison, and the Wrights. And of course, there's been many other people just like them.

As a matter of fact, you and I are just like them. Now, you may be saying, "Oh, no, we're really not." But we really are. The only difference is our perception of ourself, how we see ourself, our awareness of this higher place, this higher self within, and perhaps in the results we're getting. Anyone that has ever done any research into human potential will be quick to tell you that you have infinite potential. You've been blessed with exactly the same mental faculties as the Bells or the Wrights, and the same power flows to and through you that flew through them.

Now, do you know that you can take and build the most magnificent dream in your mind? And by following the instructions in this program, we're going to show you how to turn them into results. So listen to the program the way you're instructed. Follow your exercises book. You're going to develop what we've referred to as a winner's image.

[Music] Science and psychology have isolated the one prime cause of success or failure in life, and it is the hidden self-image that every person has. Do you know it controls our life just as certain as our mind controls our heartbeat? Now, to remake that hidden self-image for success and fulfillment, to build a winner's image, is to remake our life.

If you're wondering what kind of a self-image you have, it's not difficult to figure out. All it's required is for you to take a look at the various aspects of your life. Take a look at the results you're getting, possibly your relationships, your income, the position you hold at work, the type of business that you're operating with. Take a look at your own personal appearance. These are all the results. They're the outer expression of the inner image.

Now, as we alter this inner image, everything outside begins to change. One of the great errors that almost everyone makes is they're attempting to change their income, they're attempting to change their position, they're attempting to change their business, they're attempting to change something outside of themselves without changing what's going on inside. It's like, I think, I think it was Emerson said, "Of what use to make heroic vows of amendment if the same old lawbreaker is going to keep them?" You know, for me to try and change the results in my life, in other words, what's going on outside of me, without changing what's going on inside, would be just about as foolish for me to try and change the reflection of this mirror without changing my physical appearance. It's never going to happen. Well, that's what people are doing. They're trying to change something outside without changing what's going on inside.

In 1903, James Allen wrote a marvelous little book, and in that book, he said something that's rich with truth. He said, "Mind is the master power that molds and makes, and man is mind and ever more. He takes the tool of thought and shaping what he wills, brings forth a thousand joys or a thousand ills. He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass, our environment is but our looking glass."

As you go through this program, we're going to show you how to alter that inner image and build a winner's image. Now, to remake this hidden self-image, we're going to have to understand a couple of things. First of all, we're working with our mind, and we operate with images in our mind. The problem is, no one's ever seen the mind, and so when a person begins to think of their mind, confusion sets in. We're going to have to build a picture of the mind. It's like the little kid in school. He was doodling away, drawing a picture, and the teacher said, "What are you doing?" And the kid says, "I'm drawing a picture of God." She says, "Nobody's ever seen God." He said, "Well, that's why life finds the picture." We're going to have to do it the little kid did. We're going to build a picture of the mind.

Now, what I want to suggest is that you let this large circle here represent the mind. Let the small circle represent the body. Now, the line going out here will represent our behavior, and of course, our behavior causes our results. Now, we're going to take that large circle and we're going to run a line right across the center of it, and that's going to divide the conscious mind from the subconscious mind. Now, what we want to realize is that the conscious mind is the mind that thinks. It's the mind that gathers information. But I can assure you one thing: it's not the part of your mind that is controlling your behavior. Your subconscious mind controls your behavior, and it's in your subconscious mind that your old self-image is lodged, and that old self-image is controlling every act you make. It's controlling all of your results.

Now, the self-image in your subconscious mind operates almost exactly, if not exactly, as an automatic pilot operates. I want you to imagine that this plane is leaving New York, and it's locked on course. After it leaves the vicinity of New York, the pilot sets the automatic pilot. That plane is locked on course for Hawaii. Should that plane get hit with some unexpected turbulence and maybe get knocked off course, the automatic pilot picks up the deviation from the set goal, which is Hawaii. It feeds it through a coordinating mechanism. The thrust of the engines are altered, the flaps are altered, and that plane is brought right back on course again. It will ultimately get to Hawaii.

Now, the self-image in a person's subconscious mind operates exactly the same way. Let's suppose a salesperson's self-image has them locked on for writing a million dollars a year in production. That person may have a big week. They get flying off course. They might write $300,000 worth of business in a week. Their self-image will pick up the deviation from the set objective, which is a million a year. They're way off course. It feeds that information, the deviation from the set goal, into the coordinating mechanism, which is the person's nervous system. Their behavioral patterns will change until they're back on course. Ultimately, at the end of the year, they've written a million dollars, even although they had a week at three or four hundred thousand.

It's the same with a student in school. Let's suppose a student's self-image dictates that they're getting a D average in school. Now, the parents, the teachers may turn the heat up, really pour the coals on, and the child may have a test, and he may come out with a B+ on that test. But that is not consistent with the child's self-image. The self-image picks up the B+ deviation from the set objective. It feeds it into a coordinating mechanism. The child's behavioral patterns will change until they're back on course, and ultimately, they're right back to a D average. If they want that child to get a B, if the salesperson wants to increase the business, they're going to have to alter the self-image.

Now, the first step in altering that image is to fantasize. Just take the lid off your marvelous mind and dream. A German engineer by the name of Carl Benz had a fantasy, and he literally turned his fantasy into a fact. And in January 1886, Carl Benz was issued a patent for the Benz motor carriage, and the age of the automobile had dawned. This is a replica of that magnificent machine.

And you know, before Benz ever turned his fantasy into a theory, even long certainly long before he turned it into a fact, he had asked himself a couple of questions that you and I and every other dreamer will have to go through. He had asked himself, "Am I able to do this?" Well, he seemed to have that innate awareness of this higher self, this image of perfection within him, and he saw himself as a person that was actually able to take and turn the fantasy into a fact. Now, he must have been a pretty courageous guy, because there were no horseless carriages in those days. But then he had asked himself, "Am I willing?" And you see, he had asked himself, "Am I willing to accept the ridicule that I'm bound to get? Am I willing to accept the failures?" Well, he said, "Yes, I am willing." He was willing to pay the ultimate price to turn his fantasy into a fact. And ridicule he got. His own partner thought he had gone mad, and he had to find himself a more congenial colleague to work with. He would take this thing out in the evening, he'd take it out at night so no one would see him. He escaped some of the ridicule. And time after time, he couldn't get it going. He had to push it back. But it never dawned on him that he would not ultimately realize his dream.

When this magnificent machine completed its first long journey with Benz at the wheel, every beat of the engine found an answering echo in the heart of the driver, as every turn of the wheels brought him closer to his goal, to the realization of what once was a fantasy.

Now, in order for you to turn your fantasies into a fact, you have to go through exactly the same process as Carl Benz. And if you do go through the same process, you'll meet with exactly the same success, regardless of the opposition you might come up against. You have to ask, "Am I able to turn this fantasy of mine into a fact? Can I actually realize it? Can I turn my dreams into reality?" Now, you're either going to say, "Yes, I'm able to," or "No, I'm not." If you realize you are able, if you have an understanding of this potential, this power within you, then you have to ask yourself, "Are you willing?" And there's a long series of tests there. You don't even know what you're going to come up against. One thing is for certain: you'll come up against ridicule. You may have to move. You may have to do all kinds of things that you don't even think about. You have to be willing to do whatever is required if you really want to turn your fantasy into a fact. The second you say, "Yes, I'm willing," at that instant, you've created your theory.

Now, if you happen to run into a stumbling block on the "able" part, I'm going to help you over that. Just one. Before you can turn your fantasy into a fact, you first have to turn it into a theory. And before you can do that, there's a couple of tests that you're going to have to pass. You have to first ask yourself, "Am I able to do this? Am I actually able to turn my fantasy into a fact?" Now, generally, when a person doesn't know how to do something, they say they can't do it. The truth is, they can. You and I are capable of doing anything. We are God's greatest creation. We're spiritual beings, and as spiritual beings, we're able to do anything at all. All things are possible. Our objective is to figure out how, not whether we're able to or not.

It would appear as if the only way I could get to the other side of this ladder is to climb over the ladder. But the truth isn't always in the appearance of things. You see, I could just walk through this ladder. Now, where I might have used an illusion to get this point across, you might want to think of this for a second: all obstacles are illusions. But the obstacles cause us to have doubts in our mind. Are we really capable of doing this? You know, if you would form the attitude that every obstacle is an illusion, just like this ladder, I didn't have to climb over it, I could just walk right through it. Well, you may not be able to walk through some of the obstacles, but I can guarantee you this: you're able to figure out how to get around them, how to get over them, or how to get to where you want to go. You're able to do anything. So get the idea about whether you're able or not right out of your mind. You're quite capable of doing anything that you want to do. You can turn your fantasies into facts just the same as Edison or Carl Benz did.

The question now you want to ask yourself: "Am I willing to? Am I willing to do whatever is required to realize my dream?" You can answer yes to that question. Like that, you've built the theory in your mind, and you're well on your way.

Now, let's review what we've done. We've built our fantasy. We've admitted we're able to do it. We said, "Yes, I'm willing." And what we've got is a theory. We've got a dream. We have a winner's image in our conscious mind. Now, our objective is to firmly plant it and let it take root in our subconscious mind so that it will change our behavior and change our results.

To properly deposit your winning image in the treasury of your subconscious mind, it's vitally important that you remember the first law of learning: it's repetition. Use this program every day, over and over and over again, for 90 days. Now, this might not make a whole lot of sense to you, but I want to suggest that you take a half an hour, possibly first thing in the morning, or maybe just before you go to bed at night, and put this videotape on and watch it every day for 90 days. You'll find that all the important points start to get burned right into your mind, and it'll also start to change your life. You're going to develop a heightened awareness of all the key points of this program.

Take the audio cassettes from this program. Clear your car of all other cassettes and just put these three tapes in, and all the time you're in the car, play these audio cassettes. Now, you're going to find that you'll be able to talk right along with me. You're going to know the next word that's coming, and you're going to find that these ideas are going to become a part of your way of living, a part of your way of life.

Begin to visualize yourself with some of the nice things you'd like to have. Possibly the home that you'd like to live in. It may be the business you want to build, or the position you'd like to hold. Possibly the income you'd love to earn. You may want to visualize the vacation that you'd like to take. What is important is that you do visualize. It's not only important that you watch the video cassettes every day and become very familiar with them, or that you listen to the audio cassettes on a regular basis, it's vitally important that you set aside 10, 15, maybe 20 minutes at least three times a day to completely clear your mind, block out any distractions, let yourself totally relax, and begin to see yourself actually living the life that you've imagined yourself living. See yourself the winner that you want to be, and let all these beautiful pictures sink deep into every cell of your being. In other words, add a lot of emotion to it.

When you watch the top movie stars like George C. Scott, or Katharine Hepburn, or possibly Peter O'Toole, the Oscar winners, they're not acting. They're literally living the part. And as you visualize yourself living the life that you want, let yourself feel yourself living it. In other words, burn these ideas deep in your mind, and then start making a written description of them. Now, after you've made the written description, just freeze it. Stand back and take a real good look at the written description of your vision, and then compare it to how you're actually living. Then you'll see the changes that have to be made, and begin making those changes one at a time.

There are hundreds of changes you could make, but a good place to start would be with your own personal appearance. Something as simple as how you dress and how you walk and how you project yourself sends a strong message to everyone in your external world, but it also sends a very powerful message to your subconscious mind. Do you know Cary Grant, which wasn't even his name, he even changed his name to Cary Grant. He projected himself different, he walked different, he dressed different, he talked different. He one time said, "I acted like Cary Grant for so long, I became him." That's what we're suggesting you do. Present yourself physically in a manner that's consistent with this new winning image that you're developing.

Then we want to go inside, take a real close look at ourselves with our inner eye of understanding. How do we perceive ourselves? Are we beginning to see ourselves from within as the winner that we really want to be? When you look at this picture, do you see a beautiful young lady or an ugly old lady? In fact, they're both there. It just takes a shift in focus to see one or the other. How do you see yourself? In the transition period, when you're in the process of implanting your winner's image in your subconscious, there will, in fact, be two people for you to perceive: the old you and the new you, the winner. So every time you see yourself as a failure or lacking in some way, remember this picture and shift your focus until you see the beautiful new you.

Now, take a look at this picture. If you concentrate on the black areas, you will see two heads facing each other. You could even see conflict in the way the faces are confronting each other. But if you concentrate on the white area, you will see a vase or vessel. You could even imagine that vessel overflowing with peace and harmony. How do you perceive your world? Do you see it as harsh and difficult, where you have to fight every step of the way? Or do you view it in the way a winner does: aware of abundance and plenty for all? A winner is never in conflict with his world. He sees harmony in all situations and lets it work in his favor. All it takes is a shift in focus.

Now, let's review the overall process. We built the fantasy. We admitted we're able. We said we're willing. We built the theory. We committed to use the program, both the video and the audio cassettes. We've completed the exercises in the workbook. We're working towards making the changes. We're beginning to visualize on a regular basis and emotionalize those visions three times a day.

Now, do you know, every time we do that, we're impressing that winner's image upon the subconscious mind. And every time we impress that winning image upon the subconscious mind, the old image fades. The one becomes stronger, and the old one becomes weaker. Ultimately, that winner's image becomes our new self-image, and the reflection of it is obvious for the whole world to see, and for you and I to enjoy. That's when you'll look at yourself, and you'll see you're actually living, living your fantasy, and you'll know and realize that you've created a better world for yourself and everyone else to enjoy. And you'll also realize that what you're looking at is a reflection of your own winning image.

This video has given you an excellent overview of what can and must be done for you to develop the winner's image. I want to recommend that you follow the instructions in your exercise book. Listen to your cassettes every day. Do exactly what we've suggested, and you're going to turn your world into one of absolute beauty. Remember what Emerson said: "What lies before you and what lies behind you are actually tiny matters compared to what lies within you." An image of perfection. Keep developing that winner's image.