John C. Maxwell - How successful people think: change your thinking, change your life

G ood thinkers are always in demand. A person who knows how may always have a job, but the person who knows why will always be his boss. Good thinkers solve problems, they never lack ideas that can build an organization, and they always have hope for a better future. Good thinkers rarely find themselves at the mercy of ruthless people who would take advantage of them or try to deceive them, people like Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, who once boasted, What luck for rulers that men do not think. Those who develop the process of good thinking can rule themselveseven while under an oppressive ruler or in other difficult circumstances. In short, good thinkers are successful.

Ive studied successful people for forty years, and though the diversity you find among them is astounding, Ive found that they are all alike in one way: how they think! That is the one thing that separates successful people from unsuccessful ones. And heres the good news. How successful people think can be learned. If you change your thinking, you can change your life!

Its hard to overstate the value of changing your thinking. Good thinking can do many things for you: generate revenue, solve problems, and create opportunities. It can take you to a whole new levelpersonally and professionally. It really can change your life.

Consider some things you need to know about changing your thinking:

Sadly, a change in thinking doesnt happen on its own. Good ideas rarely go out and find someone. If you want to find a good idea, you must search for it. If you want to become a better thinker, you need to work at itand once you begin to become a better thinker, the good ideas keep coming. In fact, the amount of good thinking you can do at any time depends primarily on the amount of good thinking you are already doing.

When you hear someone say, Now this is just off the top of my head, expect dandruff. The only people who believe thinking is easy are those who dont habitually engage in it. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein, one of the best thinkers who ever lived, asserted, Thinking is hard work; thats why so few do it. Because thinking is so difficult, you want to use anything you can to help you improve the process.

Author Napoleon Hill observed, More gold has been mined from the thoughts of man than has ever been taken from the earth. When you take the time to learn how to change your thinking and become a better thinker, you are investing in yourself. Gold mines tap out. Stock markets crash. Real estate investments can go sour. But a human mind with the ability to think well is like a diamond mine that never runs out. Its priceless.

Do you want to master the process of good thinking? Do you want to be a better thinker tomorrow than you are today? Then you need to engage in an ongoing process that improves your thinking. I recommend you do the following:

Good thinkers always prime the pump of ideas. They always look for things to get the thinking process started, because what you put in always impacts what comes out.

Read books, review trade magazines, listen to tapes, and spend time with good thinkers. And when something intrigues youwhether its someone elses idea or the seed of an idea that youve come up with yourselfkeep it in front of you. Put it in writing and keep it somewhere in your favorite thinking place to stimulate your thinking.

Spend time with the right people. As I worked on this section and bounced my ideas off of some key people (so that my thoughts would be stretched), I realized something about myself. All of the people in my life whom I consider to be close friends or colleagues are thinkers. Now, I love all people. I try to be kind to everyone I meet, and I desire to add value to as many people as I can through conferences, books, audio lessons, etc. But the people I seek out and choose to spend time with all challenge me with their thinking and their actions. They are constantly trying to grow and learn. Thats true of my wife, Margaret, my close friends, and the executives who run my companies. Every one of them is a good thinker!

The writer of Proverbs observed that sharp people sharpen one another, just as iron sharpens iron. If you want to be a sharp thinker, be around sharp people.

To become a good thinker, you must become intentional about the thinking process. Regularly put yourself in the right place to think, shape, stretch, and land your thoughts. Make it a priority. Remember, thinking is a discipline.