Transformational Income: Final Analysis

I had a minor crisis in my household last night. I went into the laundry room to feed the cats and found the floor in the southeast corner of the laundry room flooded with water. The southeast wall of the laundry room is the southwest wall of the kitchen, along which the sink, dishwasher, and refrigerator are lined up like soldiers on duty.

But apparently one of those soldiers was falling down on their duty. Where was the water coming from? I mopped up the water in the laundry room and took my trusty little flashlight into the kitchen. Under the sink? No sign of escaped water. Under the dishwasher? Only dust. Under the refrigerator? Well, I’m not strong enough to pull the refrigerator out myself but I shone the light as far back as I could and was rewarded with a view of healthy, dry dust bunnies.

Back to the laundry room. I hadn’t done a load of laundry in the last few days, so it couldn’t be the washer leaking. There was no sign of leakage from the roof.

One of my default positions when faced with a knotty problem is to sleep on it. This morning, after breakfast, I went into the laundry room to feed the cats and – found the southeast corner flooded with water.

I checked all the usual suspects again and even opened our unused back door to see if there was a mound of snow contributing snow-melt that was finding its way under the door. That didn’t seem to be the problem.

My son was home from work, so I had him move the refrigerator out and we found the problem. The tube to the ice-maker was leaking. The water to the ice-maker has been shut off and the refrigerator sits in the middle of the kitchen floor awaiting the arrival of the repairman.

This tale of domestic woe is not just whining. There is a purpose to it. When you are faced with a problem the first step is figuring out what is causing it.

When your problem is lack of success due to negative influences, you need to analyze just where and why you fall victim to those negativities. Napoleon Hill closed his book, Think and Grow Rich, with a list of questions to help you with the diagnosis. Here are some selected questions:

* Do you complain often of “feeling bad,” and if so, what is the cause?

* Are you sarcastic and/or offensive in your conversation? Do you find fault with other people at the slightest provocation?

* Do you avoid people and prefer to be alone?

* Does life seem futile and the future hopeless to you? If so, why?

* Do you like your occupation? If not, why?

* Are you envious of others?

* Do you devote more of your time thinking of success or of failure?

* Are you gaining or losing self-confidence as you grow older?

* Do you try to learn something of value from your mistakes?

* Are you in a relationship that you know to be toxic? If so, why do you remain?

* Who inspires you? Why? How?

* Do you tolerate negative or discouraging influences which you could avoid? Why?

* Are you careless of your personal appearance? When and why?

* Have you learned to ignore your problems by keeping yourself too busy to deal with them?

* Do you allow others to do your thinking for you?

* Do preventable disturbances claim your attention and scatter your focus? Why do you tolerate them?

* Do you use liquor, drugs, tobacco or sex to anesthetize yourself?

* Do you have a sense of purpose? Is it worthy of you? What plan do you have for achieving it?

* Do you suffer from any of the Six Basic Fears? (Poverty or Lack, Criticism, Ill Health, Loss of Love, Old Age, Death)

* Do you have a method by which you can shield yourself against the negative influence of others?

* Do you use Autosuggestion to help you keep a positive attitude?

* Has today added anything to your stock of knowledge or state of mind?

* Do you squarely face the circumstance that make you unhappy or do you sidestep the responsibility?

* Can you name three of your most damaging weaknesses? Are you doing anything to correct them?

* Do you provide a shoulder-to-cry-on for one and all?

* Are you conscious of possessing spiritual forces of sufficient power to enable you to keep your mind free of fear?

* What connection, if any, do you see between the people with whom you associate most closely and any unhappiness you may experience?

* Is it possible that some people who you consider to be friends could really be your worst enemy because of their negative influence?

* Or are you your own worst enemy – always criticizing, second-guessing, or nay-saying yourself?

* Who among your family or friends (a) encourages you the most, (b) cautions you the most, (c) discourages you the most, (d) helps you the most in other ways? How?

* What, above all else, do you most desire? Do you intend to acquire it? How?

* Do you change your mind often? Do you start projects and not finish them?

* Are you easily impressed, or cowed, by other people’s business of professional titled, college degrees, or wealth?

* Are you constantly worried about what other people think or say of you? Do you cater to people to win their approval?

* How much time have you devoted to studying and answering these question?

* Did I catch you up with that last one?

If you have answered all these questions thoughtfully and truthfully, you know more about yourself than most people do. You might want to pull them out from time to time to review and note any changes in attitude, action, or knowledge since the last time you asked yourself these questions.

Best wishes for a transformed future!