I received quite a number of feedback to last week’s column on what I believe is an effective “formula” to achieve our goals. I can testify that it has worked for me—in at least eight out of 10 goals.
Many accomplished people, especially athletes, use visualization techniques and the other elements of the formula I shared last week to accomplish record-breaking feats.
One example is the country’s pride, Manny Pacquiao. He may not realize it, but he has been using the “formula” since he was a rookie dreaming of becoming a great boxer.
As he lay at night on carton mats in the gym, Pacquiao, the skinny teenager that he was, dreamed of winning big fights. He visualized himself winning fights against the legends of the sports. Which he did.
Pacquiao would go to bed with a grumbling stomach most nights because his family had no money to buy food. At the start, for P100, he would fight so the family could have money for rice and a viand.
But he knew that he was meant for much bigger things, because he had the heart and mind to dream big.
“I want to let them (my countrymen) know where I came from,” he said in one interview. “I want to inspire them not to surrender to whatever circumstances they’re facing in life. There is hope when you dream like I did.”
Sharing and glorifying
Pacquiao dreamed, focused on it, mentally imprinted it in his mind, fueled it with a burning desire and intense emotions, visualized it like it was already a reality.
For me, the most heartening elements of the formula he applied were the last two—sharing generously, and thanking and glorifying God for his feats.
People who know Pacquiao say that he’s generous to a fault. He donates millions anonymously to causes he believes in. He sends truckloads of rice and commodities to places devastated by typhoons.
Many times, it’s the Achilles’ heel of many rich people that leads to their downfall. Some tend to accumulate wealth without making any effort to share it with others in need.
If we don’t share our blessings, we’re like a dam which just accumulates water—not allowing it to flow freely. And because the water becomes stagnant, it becomes filthy without any living organism like fish thriving in it.
We should be more like a flowing stream or river, where the water flows freely from a higher to a lower level. Those who have more in life—and occupy a higher level in society—should share with those who have less and are in the lower level of society.
And when water flows freely, it remains relatively clean and abounds with living forms. If we’re like a flowing river with our material blessings, more blessings come from above because we have shown ourselves to be worthy stewards of these blessings.
We don’t own anything. We’re just stewards of everything we possess. Of course, we use part of it for ourselves and our family so we can enjoy life. But we should learn to share generously with those who need them much more than we do.
We can never outdo God in giving. I’m sure that Pacquiao realizes this, so he sets no limits to his generosity.
Another great thing going for Pacquiao is that he always thanks and acknowledges God as the source of everything he has—fame, fortune, a great career (including politics). When we delight in God, He delights in us and just like any doting Father, He gives us our heart’s desires.
We were all given the faculty to help us achieve everything we need and desire. We were all created by God with this gift. It’s really up to us to claim it or not. The Giver gives, but the receiver must willingly receive.
It is unfortunate that many of us use less than five percent of our mental faculties in our lifetime. It’s a life-changing gift from God that we can all use to make our lives, and those of others better, and help transform the world into a better place to live in.