Do you ever sit in a room alone and think?

Great people think deeply. And they do it often. In a routine…

In “Pascal’s Pensees” by Blaise Pascal, the famous mathematician says, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

Ponder that for a few minutes.

What if Pascal is right and that is truly the solution to the problems of civilization and the problems of your life?

How simple would that make life?

Sometimes the answer is right under your nose.

Have you sat down for hours without distractions and planned out your future?

Life is only about 2 things:

1. Planning

2. Executing

Some people are good at executing but on the wrong plan.

That is the worst.

There is nothing worse than realizing you are good at the wrong thing. That is most of the modern world. They have a skill in some job they hate. Most people live out a life of quiet desperation while building a skill in some job they loathe. You don’t ever want to be that person. You are better off selling everything, being homeless, and riding a motorcycle across South America like Che Guevara in Motorcycle Diaries (amazing movie to watch by the way)

Some people are good at planning, but not at executing. That is rarer, but still happens. Planning is harder than executing. Controlling your mind is no easy feat. How many hours do you sit alone in a room quietly with no distractions, no iPhone, no Facebook and think deeply? Think things through thoroughly. Plan for the best case. Plan for the worst case. What happens if you can’t pay your bills? What happens if the economy tanks? What happens if your close friend betrays you? What happens if you make a profit? Take into account all possible scenarios, good and bad, and if there too many in your head, write them down. Step by step.

Like Lao Tzu says, “Prepare for what is difficult when it is easy.” You don’t want be making a plan after something happens. Jim Rohn used to say, “Prepare for tomorrow, today.” Sitting alone and thinking is not necessarily the search for the truth within. You should be sitting alone thinking, pondering, recombining the thoughts, knowledge and experience you are gaining from reading and mentorship under the world’s greatest minds. It’s a balance. You must both take in new ideas and then use deep thought to process it all into your daily activity. Like Dale Carnegie says in How to Win Friends and Influence People, “Only knowledge that is used, sticks in your mind.”

Think. Think. Think.

Figure out how to apply.

Thinkers move the world forward. Not consumers. Not morons. Not selfish entitled brats.

Thinkers.

Action:

Start practically.

• Devote 10 minutes a day to sitting in a chair and just think.
• Make sure you don’t have any electronics in the room.
• Start with 10 minutes and work up to 60 minutes.

Let me know how it works for you?

-Adapted from Tai Lopez Book of the Day

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