What does it take for you to make a decision?  Decisions can be risky business.  Decisions require that you take responsibility for the outcome before it plays out … not everyone’s cup of tea.

In “Outwitting the Devil”, Napoleon Hill quotes Dale Carnegie in saying that we think fast, and make quick decisions, in emergency situations.  In the classic example of a tiger chasing you, you don’t stop to evaluate what you could make for dinner, how much space is left on your credit card, or even calculate the speed at which the tiger is travelling; you just run! The rest of the time the programming of playing it safe, with no immediate pressure, runs the show.

Let’s go back a few years to when you were in primary school.  If you were like most, you were trained to avoid mistakes, to fear looking “stupid,” to hesitate before raising a hand, to follow the rules—even when they don’t fit your unique learning style. School teaches us to measure up to the system, to memorize facts, to comply to get credits. What we’re not taught – or discouraged -  is how to think for ourselves, question what’s being presented, experience the lessons above learning from a text book, how to make decisions rooted in self-knowledge, or how to value our authenticity.

The danger?  Well, not making a decision is still a decision.  If you drift, unconsciously guided by fear and old programming, you may deflect, prolong or outsource important decisions and fall well short of living the life you deserve.

How? Well, all those fears—fear of judgment, fear of failure, fear of standing out—follow us into adulthood. They shape our choices, often without us even realizing it. Most of our decisions, 99% in fact, are not conscious—they are programmed responses, fear-driven habits from years of conditioning.

How can we distinguish between what’s fear-based and what’s empowering?

Aha! ~               Every hesitation is a habit. Every choice is freedom.

Hill’s interview with the “devil” – or “Your Majesty”, as the Devil insists on being referred to, reveals that the devil has no claim on 2% of the population that think for themselves.  He describes them as decisive, purposeful, confident people and have a connection to Source. The “Devil” says they are untouchable because that 2% steps into life with clarity and self-trust, he can’t sway them with fear, greed, envy, mistrust or vanity. The rest are still negotiating the rules learned in school: rules about how to behave, what to risk, what to attempt, what is “safe” and “acceptable.”

But life isn’t school. Your first duty is to yourself, to expand your unique strengths and make decisions that reflect your vision, not your fears. The box you learned to operate in may have kept you safe in a classroom, but it won’t help you thrive in the real world.

Decisions aren’t just about choosing a path—they’re about claiming your power. Every choice you make is a declaration of who you are. The only limits are the ones you impose. The only rules are the ones you accept.  The only fear you have is the one you let define you.

P.S.  Is this not the perfect description of A Human Approach?  Serving Humanity by Serving Your Self first. I wonder what the world would be like if that percentage was more like 15?

Outwitting the Devil was written in the early 1930’s but not published until recently. Why not? Because the “devil” instilled enough fear into Hill of being ridiculed, ostracized, and impoverished that he, and his wife, would not allow the book to be published in their lifetime.  The manuscript was discovered in the Napoleon Hill Foundation’s safe, edited and made available.  Whether or not you believe Hill had a conversation with “His Majesty” is irrelevant.  What you will witness is how, in the past 100 years, that the system that did not prepare us for real life, continues to run strong and society is paying a price as a result.  Human U membership is only $11.11 per month. Join us here and join our rich, live conversations weekly at 4:30 eastern every Wednesday.