T

I think, therefore I am! It all begins with thinking! To diet, exercise, write a book, save money, build a relationship, start a career, change careers, or solve a problem—it all begins with thinking. Of course you eventually have to make a choice, and inevitably, you have to take action, but it all starts with thinking.

The beginning of everything, except creation, begins with a thought. Look around you and everything you see; the iPhone and iPad, cars, airplanes, super fast trains, microwave ovens, blenders, toasters, TVs, radios, air conditioners, skyscrapers, every invention, Broadway plays, Hollywood movies, and everything else you can think of, as the list goes on and on to include all we see around us. Everything—they all began as a thought in someone's mind. Every situation that you're in now or have ever been in was due to your own thoughts. You are where you are and you are what you are because of your thoughts. The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 KJV, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he," and James Allen added, "as he continues to think, so he remains." If physically we are what we eat, then mentally (our personality, our character, and our attitude) we are what we think! So the mind is a thought factory, and a man is what he thinks and continues to think. Paraphrasing Joyce Meyer "as the mind goes so goes the man", the T in this formula is for thinking or thoughts. Everything we do in life starts first as a thought. Thoughts are things, or should we say thoughts become things, but things are always thoughts first. So whatever you want to do or become in life will always first exist as a thought.

So at the start of each day (preferably after prayer or during prayer), ask yourself this question: `What can I do today that will bring me closer to my dreams and goals and help me to have the best day of my life?' This question will provoke your thinking and help to focus your thoughts on your dreams and goals and toward having the best day of your life as well. If a football team plans to go undefeated and win all sixteen games in a season, then it must win the very first game; they have to start out winning. Use this question to get you focused and thinking on the winning "game plan" for today. It starts with your thoughts! It's the same with your diet, financial goals, or personal relationships; you have to start out winning from the beginning, so be `in it to win it' the first thing in the morning of everyday and Think BIG!

C

Life is a choice. God gives us the freedom of choice, and he expects us to not just choose but to make the best choices. The Bible says, "Choose you this day whom you will serve," so we are also expected to make the right choices. You should make choices that will give you the greatest and best use of your time and energy and that will bring you closer to your dreams and goals.

We have a choice in every situation of our lives. Every day our minds are bombarded with a flood of thoughts like water flowing over Niagara Falls. It's like a smorgasbord of thoughts of all varieties, passing before our mind's eye like multiple-colored jellybeans on a conveyor belt. Thousands, if not millions, of thoughts race through our minds competing for our attention, and all day every day, you possess the power at any moment to choose to address any thought you desire. All thoughts are not good, and some are more important than others. It's important to choose thoughts that are God-like and empowering. Choose thoughts that advance and support your plans and that bring you closer to your dreams, your loved ones, others, and closer to God. Since life is a choice, then choose thoughts that motivate you, choose thoughts that are loving and show kindness, choose happiness every day, choose thoughts that are challenging and bring out the best in you, choose to be proactive and productive, and choose thoughts that not only benefit you but also benefit others! So the C in our formula is for choice.

Choosing a thought, unfortunately, does not automatically guarantee you the results of that choice. No more than just because you choose to diet, you don't automatically lose weight. While it is absolutely a matter of choice, you must follow up that choice with the appropriate action to assure yourself of the results you want!

A and R

A is for action, and R is for results, A equals R. In our formula, A and R are equal to each other; they are like "a stamp to a letter, like birds of a feather, they stick together." Sorry I couldn't resist that; I'm from Motown. But A and R are equal; they are cause and effect. Action is cause, and results is effect. Every action is a cause, and every result is an effect of that action! But, and this is the big but, the "key" to making anything work, any program any plan, goal, dream, diet, or any desire you choose, is to take action. Nothing starts by itself, and if you expect to finish, then you have to start, and this includes even your faith!

The Bible says, "Faith without works/ACTION is dead." You have to be a doer, and doers get things done! It takes action to make faith work. And as the body is dead without breath, your dreams and goals are dead without action. God said, "I've come so that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly." Life is action and action is life! Have you noticed that anything not moving is either dead or being left behind? And unless you move from where you are, then where you are is where you'll always be!

It has been said that "Once we decide, our destination is determined." Well, I like to say it a little differently and that is, "Once you decide (on your goal dream, etc.), take action, stay focused and committed, then your destination is assured." So as you can see, deciding or choosing is good, but it's not enough by itself; you must take action. You can have the best plan (to lose weight or whatever), the biggest and noblest dream (become a multimillionaire and philanthropist), but if you don't take any action, if you don't act, then you get no results! That's it, plain and simple: no action, no results. That's why I say action and results are equal. If you take little action it equals little results, if you take big action = big results, and of course, no action = no results! That's why so many diets and dreams fail, because of little action or no action at all. That's why A equals R in the T-CAR formula.

So it's all about what you do! The action you take, based on the thoughts you choose, determines the results you get. "Eureka!" That's it, it doesn't get any easier than that; the action you take based on the thoughts you choose daily determines the results you get. If you're not getting the results you want, then always look at what actions you're taking. From time to time, you do have to monitor and evaluate your progress along the way and make changes as needed.

Don't be reluctant to change. Change is a natural part of life, and life is always changing, and hence, you should always be willing to change for the better. Even the Bible tells us to "be you transformed or changed by the renewing of your minds." You have to start thinking and acting different. So don't be afraid to revise your plans and do things differently.

Even in football during the game, the QB (quarterback) will sense a need to call an "audible" (a quick change in plans) without going into a huddle. Well, life is also like that, where you have to call an audible and make a quick change in your plans. If your plans are to go north and you get in the car and proceed south, you'll never arrive at your intended destination unless you make a quick change in directions.

Be willing to change if you're not getting the results you desire. If you aren't losing weight, then change your actions. If your personal relationships aren't getting any better, then change your actions. If your financial goals aren't getting any better, then change your actions; if you aren't growing spiritually, then change your actions.

No more blame game. The T-CAR formula prevents you from blaming anyone else because it's all about what actions you take—only you, not anyone else. Only what you do determines what you get! You can only point the proverbial blame finger at yourself. Like Michael Jackson said, "If you want a make a change then start with the man in the mirror!" That's you, okay! It's not about anybody else. Shame on my parents for what I am today, but shame on me if I stay this way! Shame on you if you don't change, and it's never too late to change. Make no mistake about it; thoughts and choices are important and inevitable, but the ultimate key to making your dreams or goals come true is the action you take, not anyone else!

Think, Choose, Act, and Receive—weight loss THE T-CAR
Think, Choose, Act, and Receive—financial gain THE T-CAR
Think, Choose, Act, and Receive—better relationships THE T-CAR
Think, Choose, Act, and Receive—spiritual growth THE T-CAR
Think, Choose, Act, and Receive—your dreams THE T-CAR

It's all good! It starts with good thoughts, then good choices, and taking good action, which ultimately brings good results.

This formula works for whatever thoughts you choose to apply to it as long as you take action. Besides, we go through this process to achieve whatever we do in life whether we are aware of it or not. We think, we choose, but far too often, we fail to follow-up with the appropriate action!

But now that you are aware, you just have to choose the best thoughts that go along with your dreams and goals and take the right action or, that is, the highest degree of action to get the best results you ultimately want. Remember! The action you take is an essential ingredient. Make no mistake about it—your thoughts and choices are important, but that's all they are, thoughts and choices, until you take action. The moment you take action and stay focused and committed to your destiny, your dreams and goals are assured. But again, remember, the size of that result (i.e., amount of weight you lose) is always equal to the effort, the size of the action that you put into it!

THINK, CHOOSE, ACT = RESULTS

Think, choose, act, and get the results you want! I can't emphasize this enough. I know it sounds redundant, but just keep repeating this simple little formula to yourself over and over: think, choose, act, and get the results I want!

Think, choose, act, and get the results you want! As you continue to repeat this powerful little formula over and over and begin to apply it to your plans and dreams knowing that it's the size of your action that will determine the size of the results you get and then something miraculous will happen, your goals will start to materialize and your dreams will start to come true! This formula is so simple yet so powerful. It's an outward expression of how the brain works, and I strongly believe that the T-CAR was a godsend, an answer to my prayers and hopefully yours. What could be any simpler, any more divine than choosing your thoughts, taking the right action, and getting the results you want? It's as simple as one, two three; the T-CAR!

CAUTION!

Hazards Ahead

a. Procrastination

The first thing to overcome is procrastination.

It has been said that the best-laid plans often go astray or never get off the ground. Why? Well, the biggest and most common reason to all of us is procrastination. Procrastination will turn a pregnant opportunity into a hollow possibility. It is a thief; it robs you of the most important asset you possess and cannot replace; it steals your time. Procrastination also steals your dreams and it steals from all those who stand to benefit from your achievements! Your dreams and goals should be too important to put off or wait for anything else. If you wait, you will never get started, and winning starts with beginning, and to get to the end, you must first begin.

So don't get so busy revising your plans, trying to make them perfect before you ever start, trying to distill and analyze every aspect of it. It has been said, `too much analysis leads to paralysis' and you never get going—just more precious time wasted and people deprived even longer. So don't wait until it's perfect to start; just get started and refine things as you go along. The important thing is to start. Let it be like a snowball rolling down a hill; it starts out small and gets bigger as it goes along. An imperfect plan acted upon is better than a perfect one that never gets activated. The space shuttle uses 75-80 percent of its fuel just to get off the ground and into orbit. True, it's not easy getting started, but once you get going, it does get easier.

Remember, winning starts with beginning! And the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Take that step now! There will always be a reason not to get started, but you have to start in order to finish, and like Nike said, "Just do it," and do it now! Did you know that when you spell the word now backward it spells won? So as soon as you start, you've won; you become a winner! If you find yourself using words like wait, tomorrow, later, next week, sometime, someday, or one day, then you know you're procrastinating. Those are failure words! When it comes to overcoming procrastination the only success word is now, right now! So again, unless you move from where you are now, then where you are now is where you'll always be! Move now!

Procrastination

Procrastination is my curse;
It brings me so much sorrow.
'Course I can quit most any time
In fact, I will! Tomorrow!

b. Habits

Habits—habits make or break us. While we may have many of them, there are only two kinds of habits, good and bad. It has been said that we are creatures of habit, but we are not stuck with any habit. Habits are created by repeated behavior, doing something over and over until that behavior becomes automatic or habitual. So we can drop or change any bad habit or reinforce any good habit.

In attempting to do anything, your habits will automatically come into play. The good habits will propel you forward, and the bad habits will hold you back. Procrastination is nothing but a bad habit. The way you get dressed in the morning, brush your teeth, or get along with others—these are all developed habits, good or bad. Thus you have to become aware of what your present habits are, especially the bad ones—which ones you'll need to extinguish and which new ones you'll need to develop. The way you do things now, where you are now in life—your weight, your relationships, your financial situation—is all a result of your choices and actions you've repeated over and over that have now become habits!

Start using the T-CAR repeatedly for everything you do until it becomes a good habit! Just ask yourself at the beginning of every day (I do this after I have my morning prayer), "What can I do today to help bring me closer to my dreams and goals and to make this the best day I've ever had?" Then, think about the question, choose the best thought (or thoughts), start to take big action and get the big results you want!

Continue to use the T-CAR repeatedly. Begin to teach this success formula to your children, especially if they're teenagers. Who, more than our children, need to have successful habits? Teach it to them until it becomes a habit, an automatic way of successfully getting things done. Just think, if you can be instrumental in changing just one person's life, especially if it's one of your children, then you've succeeded big-time! The habitual use of this success formula will teach you and them to be more productive and responsible. Not blaming others but realizing that you are responsible for your thoughts, your choices, your actions, and consequently, your results.

Just think, if habits can automatically work for us and make us successful and we're not, then we must have the wrong habits. You need to develop and employ more successful habits. So get into good habits, and let them work for you, not against you!