Want a way out? Marry Dr Ben Carson's mother.

From the diamond desk of                        
I. C. Clinton                                                                   

A cure for poverty of the mind and the pocket

Subject: What successful people             
do that you too should start doing



Unedited facebook conversation between two readers of SIXTH-SENSING (Kim’s statements are in red while Sophy’s responses are in blue):

“Have read them sophy.. but these r ideologies by dis clinton.. but he has a point... making u think how to move from that state...

Books by Robrt Kyosaki r better.. explaining how to do it!!

You have a point, Kim. But i think its good material for those who dont have time to sit down and read a whole book.

yeah!!... giving the state of pple without getting them ways of going out of that state is not helpful.

But at least Clinton is helping us identify the problem first, and since his articles are an ongoing series, mayb and hopefully he had hopefully he has a solution somewherr along the way.”

I admire Kim’s boldness to express his reservations. His openness is something I cherish as much as I cherish criticism. For without criticism no inventor may gain the impetus to improve his invention! I thank Kim for expressing his disappointment and (probably) his frustration; and I would have appreciated it more had he taken the pain to express his thoughts on the comment section of the blog. That way, others would have been obliged to debate and consequently benefit from the ensuing open discussion.  However, Kim’s disappointment and frustration is, in my opinion, too premature. Now that’s because, as Sophy rightly pointed out, the article under review is an ongoing series. Kim’s thinking is a mirror of the mind of many with a “fast food” mentality and “instant noodle” philosophy. The instant noodle types do not have the patience to wait for the cooking of a home-made meal that is healthy for their health, so they settle for the less-than appropriate measures that we call “fast food.” Kim wants to know how to solve the problem but is not interested in knowing where the problem lies and what caused it. You cannot proffer a lasting solution to a situation that way. The wise tell us that “knowing the problem is half the cure.” Back in the days when the preachers of perfection and professors of accurate precision were still around, our schools used to teach something known as “Analytical Skills.” I don’t know, are such skills still relevant in our world today? Do the schools still teach them? Any good doctor will diagnose (figure out) what a condition is and analyse the cause before attempting to cure it. That is the right way to treat an ailment. That is the best way to solve a problem. If you do not know where you stand, how you came to stand there, and why you are standing there, you will not know why you need to move away from there, how you can move and where you should move to. As the old saying goes, if you do not know where you are coming from, you will not know where you are going and how to get there! You might be healed of leprosy by a spoken word of prophecy, but to be made whole, you must be soaked or immersed in water; and that immersion must be done by you and not by anyone else. For you to be made whole the healing process has to be holistic. Sophy’s reasoning is different. It mirrors the mindset of realistic treasure seekers who understand that the job of a compass is only to direct you in the direction of the treasure, it doesn’t have to dig out the treasure for you; it’s your job to do the digging. Even the shovel and digger are only tools to help you dig; they shouldn’t and of course don’t dig for you. What the teacher does is to guide the student; he doesn’t study or think for the student. Why we call smart people smart is because they don’t wait for you to show them everything before they start thinking and acting and expanding the little idea they have been given. And what I am trying to do here is to breed smart people with creative minds and emboldened spirits!

Highly intelligent people do a lot with little information; action-oriented men do much more with minor motivation.

Describing his third-grade educated mother in his famous autobiography (“Gifted Hands”), Dr Ben Carson wrote: “...Sonya Carson has the classic type A personality – hardworking, goal-oriented, driven to demanding the best of herself in any situation, refusing to settle for less. She is highly intelligent, a woman who quickly grasps the overall significance rather than searching for details. She has a natural ability – an intuitive sense – that enables her to perceive what should be done. That is probably her most outstanding characteristics.” 

A smart mind and active spirit, while he may need the details sometimes, does not wait for it before knowing what to do or trying out something. He is perspicacious and knows how to use little information as compass for self-education and personal initiative.  Dr Carson tells us the story of the other fellow when in the same book he describes his father thus: “...Intellectually, Dad didn’t easily grasp complex problems because he tended to get bogged down in details, unable to see the overall picture. That was probably the biggest difference between my parents.” 

Here is my advice to you: Marry Carson’s mother, forget his father!

What is more?

Of course my original intent’s to show you how to put your mind to good use and exercise your brain for better bargains with life so that you can get more out of living. But before I begin to do that showing, it’s only proper I show you first where your problems lie and why and how you got those problems in the first place. I have been where you are now, and I know how I moved away from there. So you can trust that I know how best to guide you out of it. We are certainly progressing to the next stage where I shall be showing you exactly what successful people do and how you can do what they do so that you too can begin to experience success. But before we get to that stage, you must not take for granted the wisdom in the preambles so far presented. They are necessary for progress to the next stage and beyond. As they say, there is no shortcut to success. 

And for the records, no man can make you successful but you. I. C. Clinton or any other writer or motivator can only inform, encourage, and direct you; we cannot perform the act of doing or becoming for you, that’s your part to play. So no matter how many times I show you what to do as we progress in the ongoing series, you will make no progress if you do not take action based on the secrets I reveal to you as we progress in the ongoing revelation. Am I the first motivator to say this? Not at all! 

 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

After the death of Moses, God spoke to his replacement, urging and motivating him to keep faith with all the revelations he had received. He told him to follow the instructions previously received by his predecessor, Moses. The admonition was that he should never veer off track, either left or right, so as to make sure he gets to where he’s going. And that he shouldn’t for a minute let the Book of The Revelation go out of his mind. He must ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure he practiced everything written in it. Then he would get to where he’s going; then he would succeed. “Haven’t I commanded you?” He said, “Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.”

 

Please underline the statement, “every step you take”. That implies that protection and profit are guaranteed only in action and not in idleness of hand or mind. So long as General Joshua acted out/on the written script, he profited from the promise, otherwise, he became a loser.

Observation is the beginning of education. Meditation is the fuel that fires up desire. Action is the clincher for accomplishment and success. 

In the Big Book the next General was told, “Observe to do all…,” not part. He was also informed that only he could make himself prosperous – by doing all that he’s instructed to do. You don’t become successful by reading the biographies of successful people or how-to manuals and memorising the dogmas in them. You only become successful by doing what successful people do after you have learned what those things are and how to do them. Knowing how to do something without actually doing it is as unprofitable as ignorance about how to do a thing. No person or book can make you a success or a genius, only you can. Knowing the law and not obeying it doesn’t make you a law-abiding citizen. 

Robert Kiyosaki’s book or Clinton’s blog cannot make you a thinker or a winner; you only become a thinker by practicing positive thinking. You only become a winner by learning how to fight and practically fighting with a zeal for victory. Experience doesn’t come from reading, it comes from doing. What you get out of reading is knowledge, you gain experience through practice. 

While the beginning of your education is observation, the beginning of your experience is action or practice hence the admonition: “OBSERVE to DO all that is written therein; so shall YOU make your way prosperous, and you shall have good success.” The writer or the writing will not make you successful, you achieve success by using the knowledge the writer communicates in the writing as a guide to take informed action. That’s why the things the Apostles did were recorded in the Big Book as the “Acts” of the Apostles while the things John received or saw were recorded as “Revelation”. 

You don’t get out of the rat race by reading Robert Kiyosaki’s insightful and motivational book; rather, having had your rat heart transformed into a lion heart through the inspiring words of a master-motivator, you get out of the rat race by boldly walking or running out of the rat hole or cage. Only action can do that, nothing else will! You don’t become rich by reading “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” you become rich by thinking big, dreaming big, and acting big in line with the insights Kiyosaki shared in his bestselling book.

Truth is, if you cannot make effort to leave the cage after you are given a little glimpse into the freedom outside, you will likely not take advantage of the freedom outside to live freely if you ‘re taken out of the cage by means of magic.  

My advice is simple: To get out of the rat race, you need to acquire a lion heart and act boldly and promptly like a lion would. 

To move fast you need to think fast. That’s what smart people do. They think deeper than they are instructed; they look farther than they are shown; they begin before others begin; they move first and faster than others and so get there before the rest and become the leaders. Give them a mango seed and they will give you a mango tree with more than enough mango fruits to nourish your body. Give them a flimsy idea and they will run with it and turn up later to give the world a Facebook. Such people are always the pioneers of a Digital Order. That’s why we call them whiz kids!

So to the Kims of this world I say, don’t wait till you are shown everything. Do something with the little you have received and make sense of the bigger picture through perception and imagination. Yes, it will take preparation, patience and perseverance, all necessary for your journey to victory. 

To everyone I say, listen to Carson’s mother when she says, “The doors of the world are open to people who can read.” The more reason why you should marry the wise woman! Keep reading this blog, people. 

Guess what I am doing? Well, if you stick around long enough, you will find out...

Until next time.

Your man,

- I. C. Clinton

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