In the book, Think and Grow Rich, Napolean Hill starts off with, in my opinion, the most important thought of the whole book.
He states “Truly, ‘thoughts are things’, and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their translation into riches, or other material objects”.
I think the key word here is MIXED. Thoughts without definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire are like a cocktail without all its parts that make it the drink it is! It’s the definiteness of purpose, persistence, and burning desire, that give thoughts ‘KICK’! Without them, thoughts are weak and ineffective, and leave you wondering if you really want the things you say you want!.
How do you know your thoughts are things, and actually attracting the things you want?
Look at it like this. There is a flame called burning Desire. Then there is wood, which is persistence. And The Fire is the definite purpose, what the flame and wood truly want. If the flame wants to become a Fire, and it has the burning desire, it would have the thoughts to attract it! Or it would have “THE HOTS’ to become a Fire!
But the flame needs the Wood. Lets call the wood, W-O-U-L-D, as in “I would”. The word actually means strong desire. When someone hasn’t realized a desire and they want to, they say “I would love too…”.
They both need each other in order to create a FIRE. The flame without the would will go out, and the would without the flame will not burn. When the desire and persistence is strong enough, the ‘MATCH IS STRUCK’! A FIRE is started, fulfilling the DEFINITE PURPOSE of the FLAME, which was to create a burning fire!
The same happens with what you want! The Things you want NEED YOU TO DESIRE THEM definitely, and persistently, in order to come to you! Just like the fire needed ‘The HOTS’ of the flame, and the ‘would’ to see it through, to consider becoming a fire! This is where the attraction happens!
As Napolean Hill states within the first 5 pages of the book, when referring to Edwin Barnes and his partnership with Thomas Edison “He had nothing to start with, except the capacity to know what he wanted, and the determination to stand by that desire until he realized it!” THAT is when you will truly know that “Thoughts Are Things!”
Nick Navatta