SUCCESS RECIPE: Choose Your Words Carefully

“If we want to change our lives and shape our
destiny, we need to consciously select the words
we’re going to use and we need to constantly
strive to expand our level of choice”- ANTHONY
ROBBINS. “I am the greatest” became the label of the boxing
legend, philanthropist and social activist,
Muhammad Ali. He sounded those words in the
locker room, in the ring, in front of radio
microphones and TV and movie cameras, in
newspapers and magazines. Before facing his opponents Ali would give himself some success
treatment. He would tell reporters, “I’m going to knock him
down in five/He’s going to take a dive/I’m going
to sting him like a bee/so he won’t see”. He built a
reputation by correctly predicting the round in
which he would “finish” his opponents and by
boasting before his triumph. Muhammad Ali defeated every top heavy weight in his era with
majority of them by knock out; his era has been
called the golden age of heavy weight boxing. In
fact, Ali is the first and only, three time lineal World
Heavy weight Champion. A remarkable thing happened in Ali’s boxing
career. When he faced his opponent; Leone
Spinks for the first time he forgot to give himself
some success treatment; he forgot to affirm that he
was the greatest. Guess what? Muhammad Ali was
defeated. The second time he faced Spinks, he gave himself
the success treatment and he undoubtedly
regained his title as the heavy weight Champion of
the world4. When Muhammad Ali “thought”
greatness; “saw” greatness and “talked” greatness,
he became and sustained his position as the greatest in his field. When he lost sight of greatness and never talked
greatness, he went down in defeat. The key to
changing your world is changing your words.
Words are conduit of power-constructive or
destructive; they are not mere expression but
rather self-fulfilling prophecy. Life would not always give us what we want but
what we believe and expect. Our words give
expression to what we believe and expect. Words
are verbalized or expressed thoughts and feelings.
Words reveal the content of the mind. The mental
picture you hold of yourself, your abilities and your world determines your words.