Karl Marx believed that consciousness was determined by being, i.e. by the external circumstances of a person’s life. Although there may be something to this, the reverse is also true – and far more important – for all of us: we are what we think. By thinking of success, health and wealth, you will attract success, health and wealth. Watch out, though, because here too the reverse is equally true: by thinking of failure, illness and poverty, you will attract failure, illness and poverty.

The positive and negative events we experience in our lives are first and foremost a result of our thoughts. So if we want to improve our lives, we need to think new and different thoughts. Anyone who wants to change their life but is not willing to change the way they think is doomed to fail. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor and philosopher, expressed this truism as follows: “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”