Definite Chief Aim

Last week, I attended a series of lectures by award-winning author and speaker Mitch Horowitz, who refers to himself as a “chronicler of metaphysical experience.” The lectures were sponsored by New Thought Channel as a series of featured videos on their website ¹. These lectures could not have come at a better time for me. That comes as no surprise as I have learned that’s how the universe works. As I have often heard, “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” ² Mitch was certainly my teacher last week. He not only inspired me, but also annoyed and challenged me. I will elaborate.

Mitch is an avid proponent of New Thought and mind science teachings. He is especially knowledgeable about the methods taught by writers, philosophers and self-help authorities of the early to mid-twentieth century. People such as, Neville Goddard, Napoleon Hill, Ernest Holmes, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, Florence Scovel Shinn, and others. In his lectures, he quoted extensively from Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich and other books.

I am a bit reluctant to disclose it, but until I knew I was going to attend these lectures, I had not read Think and Grow Rich. Even though it is one of the most widely read and popular books about the power of the mind, I resisted reading it. Mitch said during one of his lectures that many people in the New Thought movement have an aversion to the book because they think the title is too materialistic. I admit it. That was my thought and the reason I avoided the book. I have since downloaded Mitch’s abridged audio recording of the book and am now on my third time listening to it.

If you have not yet read Think and Grow Rich, first published in 1937, I highly recommend it. I was amazed to find that many of the principles and practices delineated in Hill’s book form the foundation for much of what is still being taught and promoted by today’s self-help writers and mind power coaches.

One of the primary principles in Hill’s book and one that Mitch stressed again and again in his lectures is the importance of a definite chief aim. A definite chief aim is a clearly articulated statement of purpose, one that forms the guiding force of one’s life. In Think and Grow Rich, Hill says,

“Any definite chief aim that is deliberately fixed in the mind and held there, with the determination to realize it, finally saturates the entire subconscious mind until it automatically influences the physical action of the body toward the attainment of that purpose. Until a man selects a definite purpose in life, he dissipates his energies and spreads his thoughts over so many subjects and in so many different directions that they lead not to power, but to indecision and weakness.”

In particular, this is the aspect of Hill’s book and Mitch’s lectures that annoyed and simultaneously challenged me. Mitch shared that his definite chief aim is to be a chronicler of metaphysical experience, and for more than a decade has devoted his life to that aim. He shared stories of others who, through the power of a definite chief aim, have pursued it with passion and tenacity.

While I applaud that and feel excited for those who have identified and articulated the driving force of their lives, I also felt annoyed because I was telling myself that I have not. Now, before you interpret that to mean that I have determined that ministry is not my definite chief aim, let me expound. I also said that it challenged me. This concept challenged me to explore deeper.

Even though I took a circuitous route to becoming an ordained minister, I have known deep in my heart, since I was fourteen that I am here to be in ministry. What I have discovered, however, is that ministry is more about the “how” than it is about the “what.” With the help of Think and Grow Rich and Mitch’s lectures, I have become aware that, much like researching, interviewing others and writing is how Mitch lives his definite chief aim, ministry is a path that allows me the opportunity to live mine.

I am still seeking inner guidance about how to clearly understand and articulate my definite chief aim, but I know that it is connected to a heartfelt longing to understand and share deep spiritual truth, learn how to live the truth I know and assist others in doing the same. In my estimation, that qualifies as ministry. It is my sincere hope that I am living it already and will continue to discover ways to embrace it and live it more fully.

I encourage each of us to ask ourselves and our inner Knower to reveal to us our definite chief aim. It is also referred to by other names. Mythologist, writer and lecturer, Joseph Campbell, termed it your “bliss.” Others have called it the “soul purpose” or “soul mission.” It does not have to be epic or world changing. Once identified and stated clearly and emphatically, it can serve as a compass for the trajectory our lives. Identifying it can also give us clarity for what is ours to do and what is not. It can be the basis for our choice of whether to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a project, invitation or other commitment of our time and energy.

Watch a video of Napoleon Hill talking about the principles of the power of the mind.

Join us on Sunday, May 6, at 10:00 for our service at Unity Spiritual Center Denver. I will continue my series on “Conscious Co-creating” with a lesson “Is God Laughing?” in which I will explore the concept of formulating and working a plan.

¹ My Sunday talks are featured on their website

² The origin of the quote is questioned