Believe in Yourself – Joseph Murphy

I have read a sizable number of books in the genre of self-empowerment and positive thinking over the last couple of years and I have come to realize that each author has a perspective on how to achieve the same based on what has worked for him or her. Joseph Murphy specialized in Religious Science and has an interesting take on how conscious thoughts and strong belief influence achievement of one’s life goals. The author’s message is crisp and the biggest plus point of this book is that it is short and concise. His premise is that conscious and continuous thoughts of a goal will trigger the subconscious to come up with ways and means to achieving the goal and humans are wired this way for survival.  The stories, he quotes, of achievers and why and how they were able to achieve their dreams and reach lofty heights help in driving home the author’s point. One story among them was however counter to this premise – a lady consciously and continuously imagines that she will own and drive a car and the dream turns into reality when she inherits a car after a relative’s death. What is the author trying to say through this story? That one can achieve a goal without any effort - Surely not? If we ignore this faux pas, the author has a valid point – belief in oneself is the single most important ingredient for achieving one’s life goals.