Investing in Yourself without Money: The Power of Thought

Written by: Pete Donahue of GreenPete LLC

Before we start, let me first advise you that I am not a blog writer, nor am I an English teacher or grammatical wizard.  If proper punctuation throws you off and causes your mind to drift, I would ask that you read the following blog post for its content, not its grammar.  You may find misplaced semicolons or commas, but I prefer to type as I speak the words, so I apologize in advance for any errors.  Thank you.

Oftentimes, when speaking of investing, we immediately think of a financial transaction involving the physical or electronic movement of money.  When you hear the term “investing in yourself” what is the first thing that pops into your mind?  Is it spending money on trade-pertinent training material?  Is it spending money on travel in order to attend seminars or expos?  Or perhaps it is spending money on trips that allow you to relax, clear your head, or spend quality time with family.  While all these things are great ways to invest in yourself and your future, they all require a certain amount of capital.  The type of investing I want to speak with you about requires the need for no physical money; It only requires a little bit of time each day, coupled with an honest and patient effort on your part.  

Before we dive into all that we can accomplish for ourselves with the simple allocation of an hour a day of our time, let me remind you that some of the most prolific contributions to society were made by folks who possessed little to no money; Think Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, or Mother Theresa.  The possession of money merely magnifies who you are as a person, whereby how you spend it is telling of your Thoughts, Emotions, and Character…  Let us now explore the many ways we can invest in ourselves without having tangible assets at our disposal.

The Infinite Power of the Human Mind is one of the last frontiers that we have yet to tame and subjugate; And once we do, it will lead to the evolution of our species, and a time of Peace and Prosperity on planet Earth.  What does this statement have to do with investing in yourself for free?  Well, whether you believe this yet or not, everything you need in life in order to succeed and grow is already around you.  How do I know this?  You are reading this blog on a computer, tablet, or phone; Which means you have immediate access to wealth contained in generations of compiled knowledge and research, forever accessible on the Internet.  You also have access to the Infinite Intelligence that exists in the seemingly void and empty space all around us.  Physicists have already proved that we live in an ocean of motion, and that everything around us that appears to us as solid matter, is actually billions of charged particles harmoniously vibrating at a specific frequency.  This is how energy, including information, is able to flow to and through us while we inhabit our physical bodies on planet Earth.  So how do we harness this energy and use it for Free?  The simple answer is this: The Power of Positive Thought.

Everything you “believe” to be true in life had to enter into your mind through the repetitive thought process of learning, repetitive experiences in life, or immediately through the experience of a traumatic event.  The human mind, still the worlds most powerful supercomputer, is most susceptible to programming during the first 7 years of human life, but retains the ability to learn new things throughout your entire Earthly existence.  So, while you are still wondering what this has to do with investing, ponder this:  “Your mere Thoughts are an investment in your future”, and here is how you do it:

Affirmations.  These are phrases that you speak to yourself aloud, or via the thought-process, repetitively throughout the day.  By positively affirming something, such as: “I learn new skills quickly and easily”, you are asserting to yourself (your subconscious mind) that this is true.  The same works for negative affirmations, such as “I am no good at doing ____________.”  The repetitive thoughts that you are no-good at something are an affirmation; Just as the positive thoughts that you are-good at something are an affirmation.  Your subconscious mind has no ability to differentiate between what is true and what is false, it only accepts as a Fact that which is repeatedly suggested to it.  So, think positive thoughts in order to make positive changes; This sounds easy enough, right?  Well, there is a caveat to the use of Affirmations in changing your Beliefs.  You MUST create the correlating emotional energy that accompanies the affirmation; Meaning, you must “feel” as you would ”feel” if the Affirmation were true.  Here is how I can explain the feeling:  Think about something you are NOT good at doing, or the last time you had difficulty performing a task.  You may have thought to yourself “I am no good at this.”  “I always suck at this part.”  “It never comes out the way I want it to.”  Along with these negative Thought-affirmations, you also felt emotional; Perhaps it was anger, anxiety, or frustration you were feeling.  These negative emotions combined with your negative thoughts, sent a negative message to your subconscious mind, thus affirming the Belief that you were no-good at whatever it was.  So how do we re-program this?  Let me start by providing you with a positive example.  Let’s say that you struggle with Empathy, Generosity, or Charity.  You have come to a point in Life where you recognize that a lack of certain personality traits may be holding you back.  You want to change so you begin Affirming to yourself: “I am a kind person who helps others whenever I have the Opportunity.”  Words alone, despite how repetitive they are, will not be enough to break into the subconscious and alter your Beliefs; So, we must create emotion.  This person would benefit greatly if they combined Action with Affirmation; Action creates Emotion.  A healthy way to combine Action with this Affirmation would be to feed needy people.  One helpful way to do this is to stop at your local grocery store and purchase a gift card(s).  You can then drive to an impoverished or down-trodden area of your community and randomly hand out the card(s); However, this isn’t the most effective way to generate the emotion needed to create Belief, and it requires the repetitive purchase of gift cards in order to be effective.  If you don’t have money to spare for grocery store gift cards, you’re in luck!!    The MOST effective way to generate the emotion needed, would be the old-fashioned way: Labor.  You can head over to a local restaurant, pizza parlor, sandwich shop, etc. that is in an area where people in need reside.  Enter the establishment with a smile on your face, expecting cooperation, and ask for the Manager.  Tell the Manager that you intend to feed someone who is hungry today, but you don’t have the money to buy them a meal.  Offer to sweep the parking lot, clean the bathroom, or wash some dishes in exchange for a free meal for a hungry community member.  If the first Manager tells you “no”, do not be discouraged, merely walk to the next establishment and try again.  This method works!  If you provide a service for customers, you can also use this method.  If you can’t find someone in need of your Free professional services immediately, mentally decide to donate 100% of the proceeds of your next job toward grocery gift-cards.  When you step onto the next jobsite your heart will be filled with Purpose, and you will easily complete the task and collect your payment; Which you can then transmute into food for the hungry.  Once you have “labored” so that another may benefit, you will immediately feel a rush of emotional energy that is like no-other experienced.  This Energy, or tingling vibration you may feel in your body, is an Emotion that is most readily identified as Love.  It is different than Love of your children, parents, or spouse; Rather, it is a vibration that is consistent with a Love of mankind.  Creating this vibration through Action, combined with positively Affirming to yourself that you are a “..kind person who helps others..” will cause your Beliefs to radically change in a short period of time.  In as little as 1 month of daily practice, a person Affirming this would begin experiencing the Opportunities and Circumstances that are created by, and attracted to, those who are kind-hearted and generous Beings.

I am sure that the Affirmations paragraph lost some of you, but if you are still with me, I hope you are understanding how changing your Beliefs can be a major investment in yourself.  If you are stuck or feel trapped by your current conditions, it is most likely a result of a negative Belief that you have about yourself or something else.  How much time does it take to change a Belief?  (In enters the Free investment in yourself) I believe that you can do this in as little as 1 hour per day, if practiced for 30 days straight.  I also believe that it is possible for you to change up to 2 Beliefs at a time.  First, wake up 1 hour earlier than you are used to; This will be a sacrifice for many of you, but “He who would attain Highly, must sacrifice Greatly.”  As soon as you wake, find yourself a quiet place where you can Think.  Some of you have it in your home and some of you may have to find a peaceful place outside of the home.  Begin by mentally picturing what you currently have in your life that you are grateful for; Perhaps its your Health, a child’s health, your job, car, whatever makes you tick..  Focus on that thing or those things for at least 5 minutes, and feel gratitude for what you are blessed with.  Next, focus your Thoughts on the future that excites you most.  Fantasize about it, even if the fantasy seems completely unrealistic.  If you find your mind wandering, or you find yourself “doubting” your fantasies, reset your thoughts and continue.  Do this for at least half an hour.  You can write down these thoughts as well if it helps.  Finally, for your remaining personal time, focus on what you want to change about yourself and begin your Affirmation.  Attempt to stir up the emotions you would feel when you accomplish that which you desire and see the changes in your life.  Carry these Affirmations and Emotions with you throughout the day, and repetitively do this for 30 days straight.  If continued throughout life, this investment of your “Time” and “Thoughts” will pay dividends that far exceed even your loftiest expectations.

This paragraph brings to a close a Blog that was supposed to be between 500 and 1000 words, but we hit 1931.  I could probably elaborate on the Affirmation method of investing in yourself for another couple thousand words, and would be happy to help you out personally if you need.  You may reach out to me anytime on Social Media, and I would be more than happy to help you learn a method of changing Beliefs that worked well for me.  May God bless you and keep you safe in your business and travels.  Your friend, Pete “GreenPete” Donahue.