**The Blueprint of Reality: My Awakening to the Power of Thought**

*By Ray Yenkana*

Welcome to my blog. Today, I want to share a profound paradigm shift I’ve recently experienced—a realization that has completely rewired how I approach my daily life, my relationships, and my business.

For a long time, I operated under the assumption that my actions and behaviors were merely reactions to the world around me. I thought the market, my circumstances, or even simple luck dictated the trajectory of my life.

But I have recently discovered a truth that has completely flipped that narrative: thinking is the engine behind absolutely *all* of my actions and behaviors.

Reading James Allen’s classic book, *As a Man Thinketh*, opened my eyes to the reality that a man is literally what he thinks, with his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.

I realized that every single act I take springs from the hidden seeds of my thought and could never have appeared without them. Whether an action feels deeply premeditated or entirely spontaneous, it is born in the mind.

Our actions are the blossoms of our thoughts, and the joy or suffering we experience are just the fruits we harvest from them. By mastering my thoughts, I am no longer a victim of my environment; rather, I am the maker of my character and the shaper of my own destiny.

Here are six of the main points I took away from this life-changing book, and how I plan to apply them moving forward.

**What I learned: The Mind is a Garden**

**What I learned** is that my mind is exactly like a garden, which can either be intelligently cultivated or carelessly allowed to run wild.

If I do not actively plant useful, productive seeds into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will inevitably fall in and continue to reproduce their kind. Just as a dedicated gardener meticulously cultivates his plot by keeping it free from weeds and growing only the flowers and fruits he desires, I must actively tend to the garden of my mind.

I have learned that I must relentlessly weed out all wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and instead cultivate the pure, useful thoughts that will bear good fruit in my life.

**What I will change: Blaming My Circumstances**

**What I will change** immediately is how I view and react to the challenges and circumstances in my life. It is far too easy to play the victim when things go wrong, but I now understand that circumstance does not make the man; rather, it reveals him to himself.

We do not attract what we merely wish for; we attract what we actually are. I will no longer revolt against the external effects in my life while secretly nourishing the root causes of those problems in my own heart.

Men are so often anxious to improve their circumstances but remain completely bound because they are unwilling to improve themselves. From this day forward, I will change my inner world first, knowing that my outer world of circumstance will naturally shape itself to match.

**What I will incorporate into my life and business: Purposeful Thinking**

**What I will incorporate into my life and business** is the absolute necessity of linking my thoughts with a definitive purpose. The book clearly states that until thought is linked with purpose, there is no intelligent accomplishment.

Aimlessness is a vice, and drifting through the day without a central focus leads to failure and unhappiness. In my business, I will conceive a legitimate purpose, set out to accomplish it, and make it the centralizing point of all my thoughts.

Crucially, I will incorporate a strict mental filter to vigorously exclude doubts and fears, because these negative thoughts break up the straight line of effort and always lead to failure. I will lead my business with the knowledge that he who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure.

**What I will teach others: The Necessity of Sacrifice for Success**

**What I will teach others**—my team, my peers, and anyone I mentor—is the hard but liberating truth about achievement and sacrifice. I want everyone to know that all a man achieves, and all that he fails to achieve, is the direct result of his own thoughts.

I will teach them that a person can only rise, conquer, and achieve by lifting up their thoughts above selfish indulgence. There is absolutely no progress or achievement without sacrifice.

Worldly success is measured precisely by a person’s willingness to sacrifice confused, unhelpful thoughts and fix their mind solely on the development of their plans and resolutions.

I will share Allen’s profound rule: “He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much”.

**What I will never forget: Dreams are the Seedlings of Realities**

**What I will never forget** is the importance of holding onto my highest ideals. In the hustle of daily life, it is easy to become cynical, but I will never forget that dreamers are the saviors of the world.

I must always cherish my visions and ideals, because out of them will grow all delightful conditions and my ultimate reality. The greatest achievements in human history were at first, and for a time, just a dream.

The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and dreams are the seedlings of our realities. Even if my current circumstances feel uncongenial or restrictive, I know they will not remain so if I perceive an ideal and fiercely strive to reach it.

**What I learned: The Ultimate Power of Calmness**

Finally, **what I learned** is that true power does not look like frantic energy; it looks like total serenity. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom, and it is the result of long and patient effort in self-control.

I learned that the more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, and his power for good. Even an ordinary business person will see their prosperity increase as they develop equanimity, because people always prefer to deal with a leader whose demeanor is strongly balanced and steady.

Through my journey with this book, I have fundamentally rewired my understanding of life. I leave you with the mantra I now repeat to myself daily to anchor my behavior and actions: *Self-control is strength; Right Thought is mastery; Calmness is power*.

Change your thoughts, and you will undoubtedly change your world.

— *Ray Yenkana*