– By Brian Mayne
“If you think you can, you can”! Hearing seemingly simple quote by Henry Ford turned out to be the greatest turning-point of my life.
I was 30 years old when I first really heard those words. I had heard the saying before, of course, as I expect you have, but I had not understood the great depth of wisdom that it represents.
At the time I was unemployed, my family business had gone bankrupt, I was £1,000,000 in debt, my home had been repossessed and my wife had left me.
On top of all that I had grown up in a travelling fun-fair family and never attended a regular school. I struggled with learning problems and dropped out of education at 13 with no qualifications and barely able to read or write. Despite this, I did enjoy success through my teens and into my twenties with the family entertainments business and disco I operated with my brother. But when this all came to an end in the early 1990s, my life came crashing down.
It was at this seemingly dark hour in my life, when I thought I had lost everything, that a light shone and I discovered the greatest treasure: I was introduced to the science of positive-thinking and the art of effective goal-setting.
We hear a lot about the benefits of positive thinking and the importance of setting goals, but few of us understand the science behind positive thinking or receive proper training in effective goal-setting.
When you choose to focus your mind on the positive, whether about yourself, your life, or any aspect of it, you help trigger the release of a feel-good chemical in your brain called serotonin. As well producing positive emotions, serotonin is also the chemical that helps to form more connections between your brain-cells, which in turn helps you to use more of your brain.
In recent years, science has made amazing new discoveries about how the brain works. However, the fundamental principles of positive-thinking and success have been known for thousands of years.
In the 3rd Century BC, the Indian sage Patanjali said: ‘When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover you are a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.’
The above statement was true more than 2000 years ago when Patanjali wrote it. It continues to be true now. And it will still be true in another 2000 years. It is an example of a ‘fundamental truth’ and fundament truth is eternal.
The latest area of neuro-science is called ‘neuro-placidity’ and is all about how flexible the brain is. It shows that when you set a ‘compelling goal’ your brain-cells respond and are stimulated to make new connections that support you in the achievement of your goal.
Scientists continue to debate and discover which parts of the brain do what. However, it has long been understood that we have two halves to our brain and generally the left-brain is predominantly logical and the right-brain is more creative. We all think in both ‘words’ and ‘pictures’. We are each able to hold a vision of our desired destination with our right-brain, and make a logical plan of how to get there with our left-brain. We can each choose to be our own leader as well as our own manager. And to be truly effective in our life, we need to use both.
Positive thinking and goal-setting are a virtuous circle because they stimulate you to use more of your brain, and by using more of your brain you find answers to your problems. Meanwhile, through the release of the feel-good chemical serotonin, you also find the courage to face your fear and the motivation to take your new idea and take a brave step forward towards putting it into practice.
It was through this realisation, coupled with setting myself a goal, that I gradually stimulated the brain-cell connections that helped me overcome my dyslexia and learn to read well. Learning to read at 30 years old was such an amazing experience that I dedicated myself to learning as much personal development and practical brain science as I could. I re-educated myself in the school of life and applied the principle of success I discovered to pay off my debts and build a new life for myself teaching others what I had learnt.
Now, 20 years later, my books have been translated into many languages and I travel the world sharing my whole-brain activation systems for success. In particular Goal Mapping has reached millions of people, helping them to turn their dreams into realities.
The system works because of its unique combination of words and pictures that stimulate whole-brain activity and command the subconscious autopilot to move you towards the achievement of your goal.
More than 900 teachers, trainers, coaches and therapists of all type have chosen to become Certified in teaching the Goal Mapping system around the world.
Goal Mapping has reached more than 3,000,000 people helping business to hit targets, boost grades in schools, sports people to win medals, and support people in their goals to improve their wellbeing.
But the greatest prize gained in any form of goal-setting is the self-growth that people experience through the pursuit of their compelling goal.
My life changed 20 years ago when someone taught me how to set goals. To this day I am grateful and have dedicated my life to teaching it to others.
My mission is to help seven million people with the Goal Mapping system, and share the fundamental truth that: ‘If you think you can; you can’.
Brian Mayne has travelled a path that has led from gypsy origins to the amusements industry and through to corporate training, education and the world of personal development. As chairman of Lift International Brian is now actively involved in the process of developing and delivering the very finest empowerment material available. You can create your own Goal Map and learn about teaching it to others www.goalmapping.com
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