I Can Predict Your Future

October 28, 2010 in No More Mondays, Personal Development with 15 Comments

No, I’m not a psychic, fortune teller or prophet.  I can’t see into your mind and I don’t need to know your history, your degrees or your family.

All I need to do is spend a day with you and:

  • Listen to what you say (and)
  • Watch what you do

Your words and your actions will tell me exactly where you are going to be five years from now.

One of our 48 Days Coaches just had a conversation with an old friend of his who predicted what his day would hold —  as they parted he said:  “I’d better to see who won’t hire me today.” What do you think he will experience in the workplace?  His expectations that we are in a recession, everyone is laying off and no companies are hiring will be confirmed by the words he is speaking in advance.

I ran into a guy in Best Buy who said he had downloaded my 48 Low-Cost Business Ideas.  Then he added, “But I’m a technology guy so none of those would work for me.”  That list links to another 1000 ideas, but he’s absolutely right.  None of those will work for him.

The Bible is clear about the power of our words.  Check this out from The Message: “It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.” James 3:4-6

Your life five years from now will not be determined by the economy, the political climate, luck, your education, the lottery or your astrological sign.

What kind of future are your words and actions creating?

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  • Pei Kang

    Wow! Words carry the power when you speak. Rabbi Daniel Lapin (author of Thou Shall Prosper) in a seminar said: find a good book and start to read aloud to yourself 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week… you will see your life changing in 3 months! Your ears need to hear the confirmation from your own mouth!

  • http://www.joshbulloc.com Josh Bulloc

    Where does this mindset come from? Many people I encounter feel defeated and helpless in their lives. I am not sure if it is nature or nurture. It just dumbfounds me ho someone can have such a negative attitude when just thinking differently can change their whole world. To keep my mind in a more productive setting I am very careful who I spend my time with.

    Josh Bulloc
    Kansas City, MO
    How can I help?

  • Archie Winningham

    WOW, now that’s powerful and straight to the point Dan! The best thing about this blog post is the hope that lies within it. You’re the man Dan!

  • http://www.jonathanpool.net Jonathan Pool

    Great post Dan! I love your comment about speaking it out Pei.

    Josh, so many people feel defeated and helpless because that is what they have been told over and over. When it comes from voices with authority it carries a lot of weight. The patterns run deep and become ingrained.

    For a lot of individuals “get over it” just doesn’t work. They have to “get into it” to get to the heart of the issue in order make changes that will have significant impact.

    It takes introspection to gain clarity on the patterns, and a lot of work to change thinking and belief. It can be done – I’m living proof!

    Jonathan Pool
    I help others see what they can be

  • Wendy

    Dan, as an editor and writer I see this spirit a lot. I forewarn those who hire me that I am tough but fair. “If you want a compliment let your mom read your manuscript. If you want a complement let me read it.”

    The way we handle criticism and rejection determines how great our success will be. If we let one or two negative events taint the rest of our lives we rob our dreams and our futures will not show improvement or advancement. We become perpetual Eeyores hungry for attention and approval but certain that our dreams won’t work. We settle for good enough and think good enough is as good as it gets – for us. Our lives become “not much of a home but fine for a donkey like me.”

    Those who see constructive criticism for what it is – a complement that makes perfect – will succeed.

    Being successful at anything requires us to develop in varying combination: a tough skin, a soft heart, an open mind and an adventurous spirit.

  • Annie Smith

    Yes Dan, we need to understand the power that words have in our lives. Although we may be guilty of speaking negative words, it is not too late to repent. If we want God’s blessings to come in our lives, we had better “watch our mouths.” Our words are the bridle that guides our entire bodies and like the rudder of a ship, they will take us where we want to go, and if we are not careful…..where we don’t want to go.
    The tongue, although small, when compared to the other parts of the body,is the most powerful force within us. With this small tongue we can speak “words” that can either bring blessings or disaster into our lives. Just imagine, this power can be compared to ” a small spark setting an entire forest on fire.”
    The tongue is truly a fire and can be a world of evil to the body if not used properly. It can corrupt spirit, soul and body and bring disaster on one’s entire life. On the enemy’s agenda, it is the single most important thing about us that he wants to control.
    As christians, we must never allow this to happen. By the power of the Spirit of God, let us speak our way into the paths of blessing and prosperity that God desires for us to walk in. Only words of honour, integrity and truth…words that are admirable, and words that are positive and of good report should proceed from our mouths. Be blessed.

    Annie Smith,
    Kingston, Jamaica.

  • Ruth

    A excellent blog and very insightful comments.
    Thank you to all.
    God bless you.

  • http://moneyfunnel.wordpress.com Jake Funnell

    Absolutely. When God speaks, things are created + we are made in his image = when we speak, things are created. Great comment by Pei, I’m reading Thou Shall Prosper currently and I’ll have to try reading aloud to myself! Brilliant stuff.

    Jake in Brisbane

  • sharon

    Hi Dan!
    My comment is about the 40% Trust building in selling. How easy is this first step? VERY! It has to do with your image, appearance, presentation; simply put, how you dress! Non-verbal communication is so powerful and you know what they say about first impressions; altho, I challenge that believing you DO have a second chance to make a good first impression. Anyway, back to the subject at hand; a simple understanding of how to present or “package” yourself can be an immediate trust builder. Use your head and some common sense about how to dress and you can be “read” as trustworthy and meet the first criteria of selling.

  • JuliAnn Barcal

    I love the last line in the post especially. I hear so many negative words, but I have to believe God is greater than my circumstances and that He can still accomplish what He wishes. I really do think the economy is bad and will probably get worse before it gets better, but He will still work out His purposes and it is no encumbrance to Him. I guess I’m thinking of the spies who spied out the land, and came back with differing reports. We have to be careful not to focus on the giants in the land.

  • Eric

    @Mr. Pool: I’m so sick of hearing the psycho-babel of people telling me to “get over it.” That’s like telling a rape victim that he/she deserved it or was asking for it. “Get over it” and “just turn the other cheek” has resulted in a society of submissive conformists being puppeteer’d by the unethical and immoral populous that idolize money, power and position above charity, compassion and respect for their peers in humanity.

    @Wendy: Dreams in our society today take more than desire and motivation. Most take time, money (capital), a job, and someone other than ourselves (ie banker or partner) that has a belief that we can attain the dream. Otherwise, those dreams are empty wishes with little substance.

    @the notion of “words:” I agree that ‘words’ DO have power. The fact that we have suicide bombers willing to kill for their beliefs (typically learned from religious texts and teachings) is proof enough. However, I also believe that you must GIVE the power to those words for them to have an effect. Therefore, I do not think that by merely ‘speaking’ words do they create a situation. They must be allowed to have ruling of that aspect to affect it. Repetition is one such exercise that creates that influence – so I’ve read.

    @Sharon: I have a pretty good resume ‘package’ that has yet to yield any jobs, or interviews, over the past year. Yes, I have had the resume pkg looked at by others and professionals without any major changes and it still yields nothing. I have also read Dan’s book, which has not helped as of yet. Nearly all of the jobs in my fields (GIS, paralegal, and theater) are out of my state of current residence, which I’m under-qualified for some, and I’m over qualified for about 90% of the local jobs. I’m all for moving to a job, but no companies want to pay (or even consider) relocation expense; because I certainly don’t have the $$ to pay for it myself. So, in my specific situation, the “first criteria of selling” doesn’t fit.

    Gen: Everyone reading this post may think me a “Negative Nancy,” BUT I’m much more of a realist. My life situation has been heading downhill for the past 3 years. While some of the results are directly related to my own actions, that vast majority of the events were beyond my control and unanticipated. I’m facing a total disruption of my finances, goals and “dreams” because someone else didn’t do their job properly during a medical event 6 years ago! AND, my military superiors are telling me to “get over it!” Yeah, right; there’s 22 years down the drain!!

    Off topic: I just read a post on another page of this site that stated “ideas are worthless, implementation is everything.” You can’t have implementation without the idea, so, how can the idea be worthless? I would also submit that it’s NOT implementation in general, but how things are implemented. Personally, I was offended by the statement being on an inspirational site. The context in which the statement was made condones unethical business practices. And, of course in our society, the provider of an idea seldom has any recourse against a company to which his/her idea is proposed and blatantly stolen. At least, not without the “deep pockets” to pay for the IP attorney.

  • Diana deTar

    Dan – From which Bible edition did the quote from James 3:4-6 come? It seems a lively and modern interpretation. Thanks for letting me know. Diana deTar

  • http://www.48Days.net Dan Miller

    Diana – that particular wording comes from The Message.

  • Annie Smith

    We determine our own destinies by the way we use our tongue. Proverbs 18:20-21(NIV) reads “From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
    JuliAnn mentioned the spies who were sent by Moses to spy out the land…I have read this story in (Numbers Chapters 13 & 14) so often and I have taught on the subject many times using this example to reinforce the fact that we determine our destinies by the way we use our tongues. After spending 40 days “spying” out the land, they brought back their report…Their report can be found in Numbers 13-26-28.
    Please note that they confirmed that the land “flowed with milk and honey” and they even brought back the fruit of the land to prove it. A single cluster of grapes was so heavy that two of them had to carry it on a pole. Yet still they had to put in a “but”(but the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw the descendants of Anak there).Such negative words. Thank God for Caleb and Joshua…not one negative word from them. Caleb and Joshua said “We are able” while the other ten said “We are not able. The outcome was that each set of spies received exactly what they said. Each spy destiny was decided by their words “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” I don’t think it could be any clearer…the spies that spoke negative words “we are not able” were definitely not able and as a result they embraced death…while those that spoke positive words “we are able” were well able and embraced life. Other scriptures to examine Proverbs 10:19; Ecclesiastes 5:2-3.
    We can spend a “lifetime” using our tongues to create our own death with the fatal word “but”…..I would do this “but” I have this “but” I planned this “but” I would be in a better position “but” I have this great idea “but”…..Like the impotent man at the pool (one of Dan’s recent excellent writing) he had all the “buts” He told Jesus…but “I have no man to help me”….but “when the water is troubled another step down before me” But Jesus would not have none of that…He told the man “take up thy bed and walk.”

    Annie Smith
    Kingston, Jamaica

  • http://www.leadtoimpact.com Bernard

    Dan,

    This was a great blog post. I would be the first to say that I have talked myself out doing things by the negative words I spoke. I have learned to start speaking life over every situation. No matter what it looks like I am going to encourage myself.

    Thanks,

    Bernard