Million Dollar Habits summary

Humans have a problem. We’ve all developed our own unique self-concept that acts as the main program of our subconscious. We’ve recorded everything that’s ever happened to us, every feeling we’ve ever had, and every emotion we’ve ever felt. All of these influence how we behave. This self-concept we’ve created determines our effectiveness and performance.

In each area of your life, you have a mini self-concept. Unfortunately, once you’ve developed that, you always behave in accordance with it. So although you have the potential to be, for instance, a great linguist, if your self-concept is telling you you’re terrible at languages, you’re likely never going to become the multilinguist you crave to be.

Your mini self-concept holds you back. If you truly want to achieve more in a particular area, the key is to increase your mini self-concept in that area. But how exactly can you do that?

Well, you need to reprogram yourself by examining three parts of your self-concept – your self-ideal, your self-image, and your self-esteem.

Your self-ideal is the ideal image you have of your best self. It’s a combination of your hopes and dreams together with the qualities and virtues you wish you had. High performers have a clear picture of who they want to be. When you’ve developed your own positive self-ideal you move faster toward becoming that person.

How you see yourself on the inside – your self-image – affects how you perform outside. Positive and productive inside equals positive and productive outside. If you see yourself as unpopular or insecure, your outside persona will reflect the same. To overcome any negative self-image aspects, fill your mind with positive images of yourself performing at your very best, and hold them there. Then relax. When you have to perform later, your subconscious will remember!

Finally, your self-esteem is the emotional component of your self-concept and perhaps the most important part – it’s how much you like yourself. Your whole life revolves around it. Every positive experience raises it, and every negative experience lowers it. The gap between your self-ideal and your self-image also affects it. When your current performance is consistent with your ideal, your self-esteem goes up. When it’s inconsistent, it drops. Having a very clear self-ideal improves your performance, makes your performance closer to your ideal, and, as a result, boosts your self-esteem. Even something simple like repeating “I like myself!” boosts your self-esteem immeasurably. Never underestimate the power of words. Try it! You’ll soon feel more confident and happier with yourself.

Why do you need to do this at all? Having higher self-esteem helps you develop the million-dollar habits that you’ll need to release your full potential. Change your self-concept, and you’ll change your reality.

In the next sections, we’ll look at the four fundamental goals we discussed in the intro – starting with the habits you need to become fit and healthy.