It's Not What You Do, It's Who You Are That Counts

For many people any chances of improving their circumstances are doomed before they even begin. It is not that their challenge is necessarily any more difficult than some one else's. It is not that the world is against them or that they don't have the resources. It is often the simple matter of their mindset.

As Henry Ford once famously remarked "Whether you believe you can or whether you believe you can't, you're right". Mr Ford had already discovered the importance of mindset in getting the results you want from life and there are things we can all learn from his story.

Henry Ford had a vision, a dream of building automobiles on a production line in the same way that cattle were processed in a meat packing plant. The work would come to the operative who would perform the same task over and over again, on each automobile that came to him. By so doing he would become an expert at the task and as a result be extremely efficient at it.

There was a problem with Henry Ford's dream though. When he approached the banks for finance to start his business he was told. "Henry, it's just a fad these horseless carriages and it won't last. I can't risk the banks money on such frivolity"

Henry Ford had done his homework though and foresaw the age of the motor car. He believed he could and he persisted until he succeeded. Today the Ford Motor Company has produced millions of these frivolous ideas and made billions of dollars in the process. It has opened factories and sales dealerships across the world as well as creating the circumstances for hundreds of other businesses to grow. Paint shops, panel shops and auto repairs are just a few of the industries that Mr Ford's visions brought to the world, creating jobs, business and revenues as well as giving mobility to millions of people everywhere.

Let's now imagine if Henry ford had not followed his beliefs, what the result would have been. Yes it is almost certain that somebody else would have come up with the idea of the production line and that they would have been successful in implementing it. I would invite you to also consider the cost of the delays. Not just to the automotive industry but also to every other factory owner who adopted production line technology and thinking.

I am quite sure that Henry Ford never envisioned all of the benefits and spin off products that were a result of his can do attitude. I am also absolutely sure that you have no idea what the consequences are of not starting whatever it is you want to start. The question is this. Is the price that the world will pay as a result of you not following your dreams, enough to give you the courage and determination to follow your own "frivolity" to completion? I would strongly suggest that you have the strength to find out because "Whether you believe you can or whether you believe you can't, you are always right"

Michael Noone is a communication skills authority and NLP trainer living in Thailand with his partner Evelyne Draper.