A Matter Of Perspective by Leslie Fieger

If the only tool you have, and know how to use, is a hammer, then you tend to see every situation as being a nail or some other thing that requires hitting.

The problem that faces most people, when they go about deciding to build their prosperity, is that they only have a few tools at their disposal. These tools may not be the correct (or best) ones and so they keep hammering away and wondering why it is not working.

It often confuses me that people will continue to use tools that do not work or, at best, are inefficient. Not only that, they accept advice on what tools to use from people who, themselves, are not prospering.

For example, many people (and maybe you) accept advice from their bank managers or accountants about how to create wealth. Before you do that, why not ask them for their financial statements. If they really know how it works, then they should be the proof.

It seems to me that the easiest way to figure out the best way to succeed at anything is to look at what those who are already succeeding are doing or using.

Forget the common knowledge and common sense. What is common is that most people do not achieve the levels of abundance they desire. If you desire to have uncommon success and prosperity, you will have to be and do the uncommon. To end up with an exceptional life, you must be exceptional. Opt out of the norm.

Examine the lives of those who are succeeding. Then figure out what they do, what tools they use. And, this does not just apply to financial success. If you want to be a successful mountain climber, pay attention to what the best mountain climbers are doing. There is no point in taking advice from the average hiker, is there?

I just returned from St. Kitt’s where I sailed over to Nevis for lunch on a 65-foot yacht. The owner and I had time for a little 3-hour chat about building prosperity. His current project is a $500 million hotel and golf course development.

Guess what? He considers his most valuable tools for creating wealth, not to be doing specific things (except maybe going sailing so he can have quiet time), but rather in building and holding a certain mindset about possibilities and in creating specific goals.

In other words, being is more important than doing. The most important tools — he repeats what so many successful people have told me before — are the quality and consistency of your thoughts and beliefs.

You have heard me say it before and you will likely hear it again.

"Prosperity comes from belief and thought." So does paucity. Believe what you will. Think what you will. Create what you will. Allow your beliefs and thoughts to be governed by the common and you will end up with what is common.

What thoughts and beliefs are you holding? These are the primary tools you use to build your future. If they are not serving you, why hold onto them? Quit hammering away with inappropriate tools. Change.

"It is not worth an intelligent man's time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that."

—G. H. Hardy

"Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform."

—Mark Twain

"Common sense is just another name for the prejudices we've been taught all our lives."

—Stephen Hawking

"Common sense is another name for the prejudices we’ve managed to acquire by the age of eighteen."

—Albert Einstein