According to Wikipedia, “The mind is a set of cognitive faculties including consciousness, perception, thinking, judgment, language, and memory. It is usually defined as the faculty of an entity’s thoughts and consciousness. It holds the power of imagination, recognition, and appreciation and is responsible for processing feelings and emotions, resulting in attitudes and actions.” The mind is very complex, and there is debate about what constitutes a mind and whether it includes the human spirit and soul. However, I will not delve deeply into that aspect. Whatever its nature, it is generally agreed that the mind is what enables a being to have subjective awareness and intentionality toward their environment, to perceive and respond to stimuli with some kind of agency, and to have consciousness, including thinking and feeling, and to act upon those thoughts and feelings.
This proves one thing: we become who we are because of our mindset. What we think, believe, and imagine influences who we are and what we become. To further prove this, I will mention a real-life example of someone who became who he wanted to be because of his mind and the thoughts, imagination, and beliefs he cultivated.
It holds the power of imagination, recognition, and appreciation, and is responsible for processing feelings and emotions, resulting in attitudes and actions
“the ediphone/dictating machine” to his partner
Edwin C. Barnes(left). A fruitful partnership that
lasted more than 30 years under the popular slogan
“Built by Edison, installed by Barnes”
Most of us have read or been taught in school about Thomas A. Edison, the inventor and scientist who invented the electric light bulb and held more patents than many scientists could have ever imagined. But what we don’t often hear is the story of Edwin C. Barnes, who was his partner for more than 30 years.
The story of Edwin C. Barnes is one of inspiration and proof that the right mindset can take you wherever you want to go in life. Before he became Mr. Edison’s partner, Barnes had nothing in terms of material wealth. He wasn’t a scientist or inventor, and he couldn’t even afford a train ticket to Mr. Edison’s office in Orange, New Jersey. But he had one thing: the desire and vision to be Thomas A. Edison’s business partner, and he was ready to bet his life on achieving that. He hid inside a train and, moments later, found himself in front of Mr. Edison’s secretary at her office. His words were, “I am here to see Mr. Thomas A. Edison. Tell him he would be very glad to have met me.” Such confidence can only come from someone with a strong mindset and a deep desire for what they want.
When Barnes met Mr. Edison, after a few exchanges, Edison was so impressed that he said, “When a man desires something so deeply that he is ready to sacrifice his entire future on a single turn of the wheel just to get it, you should never bet against him.” The rest is history. Barnes eventually became Edison’s partner under the popular slogan, “Built by Edison, installed by Barnes,” thereby realizing his dream. This partnership made him very wealthy and helped make it easier to sell Edison’s inventions. Edwin C. Barnes proved that there is power in desire, belief, vision, and never giving up—all products of the right mental attitude or mindset. The thoughts, imagination, and beliefs—whether positive or negative—that you allow into your mind shape who you are and guide your actions. This, along with the stories of many successful people, proves that the mind is indeed capable of building the life you want. All the successful companies and businesses you see today were first created in the mind(s) of someone or some people.
President John F. Kennedy once said,
This world demands the qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease.
So wake up! You have something in you that the world needs. You have a purpose. Start developing your mindset.
Society, bad parenting, schools, and universities have given us reasons not to believe in ourselves, have the right mental attitude, and build something for ourselves instead of constantly seeking and complaining. But the good news is, you have your life in your hands now. Destroy that fixed mindset that has been imposed on you by yourself and everything around you, and embrace a growth mindset that will systematically take you to the greater heights you have dreamed of. It’s not too late. The government, your parents, school, or university will not save you. You can only save yourself. Your life is in your hands. You only get to live it once!
Think, imagine, and put it in motion!