The observation is very true!

THIS IS A VITAL LESSON IN ACCURATE THINKING AND CONTROLLED ATTENTION FROM NAPOLEON HILL

Until you cut out the bullshit in the stories you often tell yourself, nothing changes.

Interestingly, I recall vividly the elegant quote by Leonardo DiCaprio who portrayed the foirmer stock broker and convicted felon Jordan Belfort in the entertaining movie drama, The Wolf of Wall Street, which drives home the point:

"The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it."

By the way, Napoleon Hill described Accurate Thinking: “Accurate thought involves two fundamentals. First, you must separate facts from mere information. Second, you must separate facts into two classes-the important and the unimportant. Only by doing so can you think clearly and accurately. 

Here are some of Dr Hill’s points to ponder about the principle of Accurate Thinking:

1. Thoughts have power, are under your control, and can be used wisely or unwisely.
2. Accurate thinking is a moral duty.
3. Nothing great can happen without accurate thinking.
4. Accurate thinkers accept no political, religious, or other type of thought, regardless of it’s source, until it is carefully analyzed. (Do your homework).
5. Accurate thinkers are the masters of their own emotions. (This is very important. You never want to make decisions based off of emotions).
6. Accurate thinking calls for the highest order of self-discipline.
7. Accurate thinking involves two fundamentals. First, you must separate facts from information. Second, you must separate facts into two classes, the important and the unimportant.
8. It takes concentration to control your attention and focus it on a problem until you have solved it.
9. Turn on the full power of your mind, and control your life.
10. Your power of thought is the only thing which you have complete control. To use this power effectively, you must think accurately.
11. Accurate thinkers allow no one to do their thinking for them.
12. Accurate thinkers know that emotions are not always reliable.

Using these 12 points will allow you to be an accurate thinker and be in full control of your life.

Napoleon Hill defined controlled attention  as the act of coordinating all the faculties of the mind and directing their combined power to a definite end; an act that can only be achieved by the strictest form of self-discipline. 

Controlled attention, or effective concentration, requires that the attention be focused, fully controlled and directed toward a definite end. 

Achievement of controlled attention requires the application of six factors through the application of self-discipline. 

The six factors are: definiteness of purpose, imagination, desire, faith, will power, and the subconscious mind. 

Napoleon Hill teaches us that “When you have applied the principles of success you will find that the subconscious mind always react positively to you. Then and only then will your door to success be open to you.”

 The decision to adopt a motivational definite major purpose and a plan for its attainment by the student is the key step that selects the object upon which the student must focus the controlled attention.