Enthusiasm: Three Feet From Gold

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Three Feet from Gold

Module 8

Enthusiasm
Reading Assignments
• Review pages 128-134 of Three Feet From Gold
• Read any additional selections your coach recommends:

Primer S e s s i o n O b j e c t i v e s M a s t e r S e s s i o n O b j e ctives
In this session you will learn to: In this session you will learn to:

• Know the difference between being interested & • Spark your enthusiasm through looking outside of
being committed. yourself.
• Decide when to make your best decisions—when • Focus on the “can” do.
you’re at your peaks of enthusiasm, not your valleys. • Accept only what you desire.
• Get to the bottom of what makes you • Channel infinite enthusiasm from the universe.
(personally) quit. • Conceive, Believe, & Achieve.
Three Feet from Gold

Concept Summaries
Introduction
You’ll remember that Greg met with frustration throughout Three Feet from
Gold, but most of it was in the beginning. That wasn’t because his greatest
setbacks came at the beginning, but rather because he hadn’t yet discovered
the passion and enthusiasm he needed to break through barriers and overcome
setbacks.

Once he had discovered his own Success Equation and Definite Major Pur-
pose—that he wanted to capture what he was learning from the great mentors
he was meeting and share it—the setbacks and roadblocks didn’t seem so big.
When the light shone through the clouds on his flight with Julie Krone and Rich-
ard Cohn, he had finally tapped into his true source of enthusiasm. He heard the
universe tell him what, deep down, he had always known.

Enthusiasm Defined
Enthusiasm is the vital force with which you recharge your body and develop
a dynamic personality. Some people are blessed with natural enthusiasm, while
others must acquire it.

There’s an old Japanese proverb that—when translated—best reads, “Fall seven


times. Get up eight.” This is very much like the advice John Bryant gave to
Greg in Three Feet from Gold, “Success simply comes from going from failure to
failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

Enthusiasm exists in your core. You always have the potential to draw it out, but
sometimes it gets buried beneath hundreds of feet of stone. You can “drill” for
Enthusiasm by doing the work or rendering the service that you truly love and
enjoy.

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Three Feet from Gold

Once you tap into your true source of Enthusiasm, it can last forever—if you
let it. The key is to keep your “pipeline” open by always staying close to your
Definite Major Purpose.

Enthusiasm can also be defined as an inspired feeling—but don’t confuse this


with “animated feeling.” You can quickly acquire animated feeling at a pep
rally, political fundraiser, or church revival. You can create animated feeling by
singing, running around the house, jumping up and down, shouting, or through
self-control. But just as easy as it is to create animated feeling, you can lose it.

When we talk about the word Enthusiasm in this program, we are referring to
an ongoing pulse of energy and motivation in your life. The kind of enthusiasm
we’re talking about is hard to stop. You can’t turn it on or off at will, but you can
control it.

You can feel Enthusiasm for a principle, for a cause, for an event, or for a pur-
pose. As Napoleon Hill said, “No one is born with enthusiasm. It is developed by
the correct combination of interest, knowledge, and belief.”

While we can talk about many theories dealing with the concept, it’s best for you
to discover your own personal wellspring of Enthusiasm. Only you can practice
and exercise your ability to channel Enthusiasm. No one can create it for you.
The only magical way to tap into your Enthusiasm is through your own Definite
Major Purpose.

Thoughts, Actions, & Words


Napoleon Hill said, “Your thoughts constitute the most important of the three
ways in which you apply the principle of suggestion, for the reason that they
control the tone of your words and, to some extent at least, your actions.

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Three Feet from Gold

If your thoughts and your actions and your words harmonize, you are bound to
influence those with whom you come in contact, more or less toward your way
of thinking.”

When you have congruency, clarity, and certainty, you have the ability to spark
Enthusiasm in other people. That’s because Enthusiasm is contagious. When
you are connected with your Definite Major Purpose, have a certainty of one day
achieving it, and have the clarity with which to make your decisions, you will
attract people who share your vision. As you attract those people, you will feel
their Enthusiasm feed into your own. As you project more Enthusiasm, they will
feel the same.

Enthusiasm And The Master Mind Alliance


The best benefits and most positive experiences that come from Enthusiasm
are those that happen when you form a Mastermind Alliance. In a true Mas-
termind, the Enthusiasm of each alliance member projects itself into the minds
of all other members. As this feeds back and forth amongst members, the total
Enthusiasm ends up greater than the sum of the parts.

Under these conditions you can create ideas beyond your education or experi-
ence—ideas and solutions that you would not have been capable of creating if
you had been acting alone.

Benefits Of Channeled Enthusiasm


Enthusiasm instills hope and courage and belief in one’s self, and it prepares
your mind for developing and expressing faith (as we defined in Module 3). It’s
impossible to hold back a truly enthusiastic person.

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Three Feet from Gold

Controlled Enthusiasm boosts your thoughts and alerts your imagination. It


gives a pleasing, convincing tone to your voice. It has the magical ability to
make a tough task much easier and fulfilling. If you make the right conscious
choices, you can harness Enthusiasm to transform negative emotion into positive
emotion.

Not only that but it also adds to the attractiveness of your personality. It inspires
self-confidence. Employees who think, speak and act enthusiastically are the
ones who are happy in their work. They radiate a wholesome influence that
spreads to those around them, and their co-workers take on a part of the enthu-
siastic person’s mental attitude.

This is why an employee with a Positive Mental Attitude is worth more than one
with a negative mental attitude. Because of that, Enthusiasm is probably the
surest way to a better job or promotion.

Factors Which Can Destroy Enthusiasm


There will be times in your life when you feel drained of Enthusiasm. That’s
natural. In fact, there are several influences that often discourage—or even
destroy—Enthusiasm for many people such as:

• Poverty
• Physical illness
• Business failure
• Loss of love
• Family disputes
• Lack of education
• Unfriendly criticism
• Old age

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Three Feet from Gold

• Worry
• Doubt
• Fear
• Association with negative people

If you experience any of these influences in your life, take the time to re-connect
with your Definite Major Purpose. All of these influences can be serious setbacks,
but they aren’t impossible to overcome. As long as you stay connected to your
Definite Major Purpose, your wellspring of Enthusiasm doesn’t have to run dry.

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Three Feet from Gold

Primer Session Assignments:


Discuss with your mentor which of the following assignments would best suit
your needs, progress, and development:

____ Stickability
____ Identify when You’re Up, When You’re Down
____ What Makes You Quit?
____ Counsel, Not Opinions

Master Session Assignments:


Discuss with your mentor which of the following assignments would best suit
your needs, progress, and development:

____ Spark Enthusiasm Through Other People


____ Focus on the Can Do
____ Accept Only What You Desire
____ Conceive, Believe, Achieve
____ Infinite Intelligence, Infinite Enthusiasm
____ The Knowing

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Primer Session

Exercises

S TICK ABILITY

Don Green told Greg: “Stickability is the difference between being interested and being committed.”
Think back on the times in your life when you thought you were committed, but were really only
interested. While there’s nothing wrong with only being interested in certain goals at certain times (it’s
how we hone in what we really want and our best path to get there) how is your Definite Major
Purpose different? Describe the times in your life when you can honestly say you had stickability on
the 10 level. Describe what made you committed versus merely interested:

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Primer Session

Exercises

I D E N T I F Y WHEN YOU’RE UP,


W H E N YOU’RE DOWN
You recall the advice Greg received from Ron Glosser in Three Feet from Gold: Never make a major
decision in a valley. When have you found yourself in a valley and opted to make a major decision?

Could you have made the decision at another time—in advance? What major decisions are you faced
with today? Which ones should be made when you are at your enthusiastic best?

When are you at your highest levels of enthusiasm?

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Primer Session

Exercises

W H AT MAKES YOU QUIT?

Start each day with an expression of gratitude for all the adversities, defeats, and failures you have
experienced in the past. Then, using the space below, analyze five of your adversities, failures and/or
defeats and determine the causes for them. Rate your level of stickability with each one (from 1 to 10
with 10 being the most stickable):

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Primer Session

Exercises

C O U N S EL, NOT OPINIONS

Look to people who have done what you want to do—who are experts in their industry. List at least
seven of them below and write down how you could approach them to counsel you about your
Definite Major Purpose:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

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Master Session

Exercises

S TICK ABILITY

Don Green told Greg: “Stickability is the difference between being interested and being committed.”
Think back on the times in your life when you thought you were committed, but were really only
interested. While there’s nothing wrong with only being interested in certain goals at certain times (it’s
how we hone in what we really want and our best path to get there) how is your Definite Major
Purpose different? Describe the times in your life when you can honestly say you had stickability on
the 10 level. Describe what made you committed versus merely interested:

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Master Session

Exercises

S PA R K ENTHUSIASM
T H R O U G H OTHER PEOPLE
List five people with whom you live or work. Go out of your way daily to comment enthusiastically on
their good qualities. Do not mention their negative qualities. Then observe the results in each relation-
ship, in the rapport you have, and the enthusiasm it sparks within you:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Master Session

Exercises

F O C U S ON THE CAN DO

List the portions of your Definite Major Purpose (any of the three parts—Lifetime, 10-Year, or 1-Year)
that are the easiest—the ones you can easily see yourself doing, the “can do” portions:

Now list the portions of your Definite Major Purpose (any of the three parts—Lifetime, 10-Year, or
1-Year) that are the most difficult—the ones you would consider the “cannot do” portions:

How can you leverage the “can do” portions to help you take on the “cannot do” tasks?

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Master Session

Exercises

ACCEPT ONLY
W H AT YOU DESIRE
Mahatma Gandhi proved to be more powerful than the great British military forces by the simple
method of passive resistance—accepting only what he desired. For your Lifetime
Definite Major Purpose, list five things that make you desire that purpose above all else:

Now for your 10-Year Definite Major Purpose, list five things that make you desire that purpose above
all else:

Now for your 1-Year Definite Major Purpose, list five things that make you desire that purpose above
all else:

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Master Session

Exercises

C O N C EIVE, BELIEVE,
ACHIEVE
Write out the following sentence and paste it in a prominent place where you work and on your mirror
at home. WHATEVER THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE, THE MIND CAN ACHIEVE.
Now list one major accomplishment you can conceive of doing, believe you can do, and know you shall
achieve below.
I conceive that I can:

I believe that I can:

I shall achieve:

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Master Session

Exercises

C O N C EIVE, BELIEVE,
ACHIEVE
Now list another major accomplishment you can conceive of doing, believe you can do, and know you
shall achieve below:
I conceive that I can:

I believe that I can:

I shall achieve:

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Master Session

Exercises

C O N C EIVE, BELIEVE,
ACHIEVE
Now list another major accomplishment you can conceive of doing, believe you can do, and know you
shall achieve below:
I conceive that I can:

I believe that I can:

I shall achieve:

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Master Session

Exercises

I N F I N I T E INTELLIGENCE,
I N F I N I TE ENTHUSIASM
In this exercise, express gratitude daily for being given the right to completely control your mind. Ask
the higher power you believe in/the universe for guidance so that you may use this profound gift wisely
in all your thoughts and acts. Whether you are religious or not, create your own “prayer” that
recognizes the abundance in the universe, that there is Infinite Intelligence and Infinite Enthusiasm.
Use your “prayer” to focus your mind on your Definite Major Purpose:

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Master Session

Exercises

T HE KNOWING

Richard Cohn told Greg, “There is a difference between believing in something and knowing it.” Con-
sider this bit of wisdom in your own life. Have you ever simply known something deep down? Use the
space below to write three things you’ve always known about your destiny, your future, your ultimate
hopes and desires:
#1

#2

#3

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