Not making a choice IS making a choice!

This is an excerpt from an article written by Judy Williamson, Director of the Napoleon Hill World Learning Center

Napoleon Hill is most known for writing "Think and Grow Rich" and "The Laws of Success"

"As an English Major in college, I was assigned to read the short story entitled “Bartleby the Scrivener” by Herman Melville. Melville wrote this work after authoring the classic novel Moby Dick. Bartleby was the main character in the story, and he was an unusual one. One day after being employed as a copywriter in a legal office he was given an assignment and his simple response was, “I would prefer not to.” Over time, this became his usual rejoinder, much like a mantra. This bewildered everyone, and answers were sought that would explain his behavior. Sadly, the situation worsened, and predictably Bartleby “preferred” himself right out of life. As the story concludes, the reader is forced to wonder why Bartleby decided not to decide. Did he believe his non-decisiveness was creating a safety net around him, or did he feel that by not deciding he was asserting his independence? Whatever his rationale, in the end he was the loser. His lack of deciding self-selected him for extinction.....

....Decide not to be rigid, but flexible. Do the unexpected. Take a risk. Accept a challenge. See what the Universe brings to your doorstep. And, who knows? You may just catch a falling star, capture a leprechaun, rub the magic lamp, and really find your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow just as we read about as children. But, you won’t do this unless you are flexible enough to reply as winners reply, “Yes, I can!”"


My thoughts...as Bartleby demonstrated he didn't really choose to do anything. Well, the less decisions you make means the less actions you take. If you stand still while others are moving, your lack of making a choice is choosing to fall behind!

I can say this from personal experience that my only regrets in life are when I failed to make a decision and just left things to chance. Because this also meant I wasn't taking much action, which also means I wasn't in control! We have A LOT of power over our own lives. Yes, we can't get caught up in what we can't control either...BUT, if we choose to not take control of our lives at all, no one else will either!