We depict these Four Dynamics as I call them in a series of overlapping circles, because all of the Four Dynamics affect the others. You can’t use just one without affecting and using another, even if you don’t know it.

For example, say you make a decision to become a bank robber. Is this just a choice you made to make a change in your monetary lifestyle? (Please note here that I highly recommend against becoming a bank robber - it’s actually not something someone with good values would choose as a career. This is merely an example.)

Before you decided to become a bank robber other things probably crept into your mind.

What type of risk-tolerance and what attitude did you need to carry out the job? What is the mental model of the world around you and what is your self-image and self-talk like? What about character, values and goals?

Do you think all of these concepts play a role in your becoming a bank robber?

Self-Image / Mental Model

Let us begin with what a mental model of the world is like for a bank robber. Now this is not the only model; there are several models that would fit, but for illustration let’s just look at this one.

Perhaps you feel that the world owes you a living, and you can’t get the job that you want, or you don’t want a job, you want to hang out and be with the “boys.” Life as you see it is not treating you fairly. The world is against you. You see others being criminals and they look like they’re doing well, have money and don’t have to do the bidding of others. Especially a boss that constantly tells you what you have to do. You don’t see the need for an education and work within society and its laws. You are special and banks that you are going to rob just take money from people and make the bankers rich. Maybe you will even spend some of that money on other people and that makes you feel a little like Robin Hood. And what is wrong with a little Robin Hood attitude today? Why not take from the rich; they just take from others anyway. The world is wrong and bad, society just holds down some of us and we need freedom to live our lives.

From this mental model of the world what is your self-image? What is the self-talk that goes through your head? "You cannot achieve in a normal way. You see yourself as a mastermind who can pull off bank jobs, who will never be caught, and never go to jail because you’re smarter than everyone else. Lex Luthor created an empire being evil and so can I. Those people that work in 9-5 jobs are just stupid; I can do more and not waste my time. I can plan the jobs and not get caught."

Eliminating Failure / Increasing Success (through Character, Values, and Goals)

What kind of values and character would this person have? We already know of the goals: rob the bank, take the money, and live on easy street. Eliminate failure in my life by robbing the bank making me an instant success in life. My values are that I deserve more and robbing the bank doesn’t make me less. It makes me more. Would you say that the character of a bank robber is poor, or is it just different from everyone else in society? Actually the bank robber has some of the same success characteristics that we speak about, and if he is successful in robbing the bank he will gain more of the success characteristics and ingrain these (warped) values into his own moral code, that could escalate to include killing and certainly mayhem.

Attitude / Risk

How is the bank robber’s attitude and risk? To him, it is a positive that he can do the job and get away with it. In his mind there will be little risk because, “I have weapons and can easily do the job and not get hurt myself.”

Choice / Change

He has made a conscious choice to put his life into one direction. He has taken control of the direction of his life, albeit in a skewed direction. He is trying to control the changes that can be forced on him by a society that values certain types of behavior to which he does not subscribe. (Hopefully since he doesn’t have his values, character, and goals straight the police will be able to enforce some change on him and put him away for a long time.) We could do an entire column just on the choices someone like this has made to end up with this kind of lifestyle.

Controling the Four Dynamics - Success Philosophy

So we have aligned the Four Dynamics in our life to justify becoming a bank robber, and it is not until we align these Four Dynamics in our life do we act out what we believe.

This is why taking control of all Four Dynamics is so important.

Just having an attitude that we can succeed, doesn’t make us successful. Just making a choice, doesn’t make it happen. Just because we have certain values and goals doesn’t make us better, fulfilled, or reach our goals. Telling ourselves that we are great and increasing our self-esteem, and changing the mental model of the world around us doesn’t make the things that we want come true. All of the Four Dynamics have to be in line for us to create the life we want.

Success philosophy is more complicated than just thinking positively, or saying to yourself that you want to make a change, or talking to yourself in positive way. Being successful is more than just being self-motivated. I know because at one time or another in my life I was self-motivated, I did think positive, I did tell myself good things, and it wasn’t until I figured out that there were many things needed for success, that I actually became successful and was able to maintain it.

And you know what? Even with this knowledge I have had failures. How could that be? How could I have failures and know the “secrets of success?” Because we all have failure in our lives, and we all have successes. Failure and success is just the natural process of life. But if we want to direct our life in a way that we choose, we need to have everything working for us.

We need to have the power of believing and the tools necessary to make our beliefs come true. This is what we have found at Life Motivations: The power that you can use consciously to achieve your goals.

The only thing you have to do (at some point) is die.

Everything else is a choice. And how you put your choices into action is up to you. Yes, I know: You have to pay the rent. You have to go to work. You have to feed your family. You have to put clothes on your back. You have obligations, and things that must be done.

Actually, you don’t if you don’t want to. There are going to be consequences, but you choose to take responsibility or not and create those consequences.

You can change your life, and the way you feel about yourself. From this day forward you can change anything you want to. Be anything that you want to be. Are there things in your life that will get in your way? Most definitely. Can you manage these things so that you can get what you want? I would say yes, but only if you have a complete plan of action in your mind.

It would be easy to say to you that all you need is a positive attitude. That it only takes a bright outlook on life to be successful. That all you have to do is make a choice. But it isn’t that easy.

It wouldn’t be human for it to be so simple, with all of the complexity of the human spirit, mind, and the events that occur whether we want them to or not.

Are you in sales? Ever had a sales manager tell you to “just be positive, see the sale in your mind?” Do you think that was enough to be successful at closing the sale?

Ever had something happen to you because of a natural disaster? Marina and I lost a house in the earthquake in Los Angeles in 1994.

Things happen, and people tell you what to think. But they can’t truly know what you should think and how you are going to react to the world around you. They have had different experiences throughout their life than you, so their frame of reference is different.

For Success Philosophy to work for you, all you need is belief in yourself, and use the formula of Success Philosophy to help you make the decisions that are right for you.

Want to be a bank robber or instead be like most of us: A person who is happy and understands the things necessary to guide this complicated machinery we call human?

We are here. We have a powerful machine in our body, minds and hearts. We know the tools necessary to make us successful and fulfilled.

Do we decide to use these tools, and create our future, or are we going to let life take us on a ride, and just see what comes up? Are we going to succumb to natural disasters and failed relationships, or are we going to build a mental model of the world that is open, and freeing?

You need to explore yourself, and use the Four Dynamics as a guide that can give you a map for your life. No matter what has happened you can start today to make a new past, present and future for yourself.

By understanding the principles of Success Philosophy you can create the world that you want. Is takes some work, but since every change we make affects the other areas of our lives, it gets easier all the time.