Life is either a daring adventure - or nothing! - Helene Hadsell
No, this is not a scene from Leave it to Beaver, or The Brady Bunch. This is the family of Helene Hadsell, enjoying their new home in 1969. The 4300 sq ft home was built in Irving, Texas at an estimated cost of $50,000, which back then was a lot of house. What makes this family and their new home so interesting, is they won it.
In the New York World's Fair of 1964, the Formica Corporation sponsored a nationwide contest, with the grand prize being a copy of the World's Fair Home, plus the lot, built anywhere in the US the winner chooses. Of course, out of 1.5 Million entries, Helene and Pat Hadsell won.
What makes this story - rather unusual - besides the fact they won, is that she KNEW she was going to win. Without a doubt. In fact, she had her husband take the day off work, because 'she knew' the Formica People were coming over that day to tell them they had won. She told her husband, "For God sake's, act surprised!" The phone did ring later that day, the Vice President for the company was waiting for Mr. Hadsell to get home from work, because he had some 'interesting news' for them. Imagine his surprise when Helene told him that her husband was already home. "Oh yes, he's here, he took the day off. " Soon after the representatives arrived, and informed the lucky couple they had indeed won the home, they were even more surprised when the Hadsells presented them with the plans for their new home. "Uh...you have plans?" the VP asked. "Oh yes" said Helene, "We been planning a new home". She just left out the part where they were expecting Formica to pay for it.
You might say that Helene was very lucky to win that home. But - you would be mistaken - in that 'luck' had nothing to do with it. Like I said, Helene KNEW she was going to win. She always wins. Every contest she has entered - she has won. She has won cars, furniture, stereos, musical instruments, clothing, groceries, trips to Europe.....
Whenever Helene sees something that she wants, she finds a contest that is giving that particular something away, and she wins it. She told her husband that she wanted to be sitting in a sidewalk cafe, in Paris, sipping a glass of wine on her 40th birthday. Several months before her birthday she entered a contest sponsored by a cola company, "Where in the World do you Want to Go, and Why?" Helene won...... 3rd prize, a Hammond Organ. Nice, but not what she wanted. Not giving up, she entered another contest sponsored by a Men's Sportsware Company giving away trips to Europe. This time she entered twice, her entry was for Paris, and her husband's entry was for Venice. While she waited, her and her husband went out and got their shots and passports. Talk about belief! One month before her birthday, she won the trip to Venice, with a stopover in Paris.
Helene's lucky streak began in 1958 while she was reading "The Power of Positive Thinking", by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. She became excited when she read, "You can have anything you want, provided you know what you want". Her husband was reading a popular fishing magazine and she excitedly told him, "We can have whatever we want!" He replied while pointing to the magazine, "Fine, I'd like this outboard motor..." She entered a contest and won it.
Today, Helene is 84yrs old and is still as feisty as ever. Her list of personal friends include the late Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, the late Dr. Joseph Murphy (The Power of Your Subconscious Mind), the late Jose Silva (Silva Mind Control), and even Joe Vitale from the blockbuster movie, The Secret.
According to Helene, the key is a well know, although mysterious concept in Positive Thinking:
Picture the thing you desire as having already happened or taken place.
"They practically hit you over the head with it in all the motivational and inspirational books", Helene says, "and still not that many people actually do it. See clearly in your mind how the Rose Bowl Parade is going to look on that new color TV. Savor the sizzle of that Roast as you take it out of that shiny new microwave oven."
Her formula is simple, and catchy.
Select It (know what you want)
Project It (see it as already happened)
Expect It (believe it is already yours)
and then Collect It.
It seems to have worked for Helene, who is now the author of several books, "Contesting: The Name it and Claim It Game", and "Confessions of an 83yr Old Sage". Her website can be found here at Delta Sciences.
If the mind doesn’t tell the body what to do, it won’t do anything - Hulda Crooks
Age Is Simply A State of Mind
Is is said that age is simply a state of mind. I remember hearing my mother complain so many times about how she was ‘getting old’ She was in her 60’s at the time. Her body just didn’t want to work anymore, she said, and on forgetting things she would say that she was ‘losing her mind’. Yet, I have neighbors across the street in their 80’s that still drive all over the country visiting family and friends. My mother? She’s in a nursing home with advanced Dementia.
Is aging simply a belief process? Do we age simply because we think we are supposed to? What if we began a new series of thoughts, ones that say “You’re only as old as you feel?” Can we prolong, or even reverse aging?
A Tale of Two Women
Two women turn seventy years old, but each takes a different meaning from the event. One “knows” that her life is coming to an end. To her, seven decades of living mean that her body must be breaking down and she’d better start winding up her affairs. I have read where many people live only a short while after retirement. Their thought process, or belief, is that I’m ‘finally done’. Sad really, to just ‘give up’ life. The other woman, Hulda Crooks didn’t give up. She decided that what a person is capable of - at any age - depends upon her belief. So at 70 yrs old she took up a new hobby - mountain climbing.
Hulda passed away in 1997 at the ripe young age of 101, but during those 30 years, Hulda climbed 14,495 foot Mount Whitney a record 23 times. She is on record as the oldest person to climb Mt. Whitney. Her last climb on the 11 mile trail to the summit was in 1987, at age 91.
At age 72, Hulda climbed the mountain twice in 2 weeks; the first time with a group of teens, and the second with two of her brothers, then aged 75 and 77. At age 75 Hulda began back-packing, carrying a 23 pound pack. She hiked the full 212 miles of the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, over 5 summers.
Since age 81, she climbed the 86 highest Southern California mountains in addition to her annual Mt. Whitney climb. And, Hulda also finished the Kiabab Trail down to the Grand Canyon floor twice, as well as being invited, at age 91, to climb 12,389 foot Mt. Fujiyama, Japan’s highest mountain.
It’s Never The Events of our Lives but the Meaning we Attach to Them
Anthony Robbins said in his book Awaken the Giant Within:
You see, it’s never the environment; it’s never the events of our lives, but the meaning we attach to the events—how we interpret them—that shapes who we are today and who we’ll become tomorrow. Beliefs are what make the difference between a lifetime of joyous contribution and one of misery and devastation. Beliefs are what separate a Mozart from a Manson. Beliefs are what cause some individuals to become heroes, while others “lead lives of quiet desperation.
Hulda Crooks had been featured on many television programs over the years. Camera crews have even climbed Mt. Whitney with her, and she was once interviewed by Johnny Carson. But she rarely watched the television shows she appeared in.
Hulda believed there was much more important things to do than to sit around watching television. That’s what old folks do.
“If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance” - Orville Wright
We use to believe, at one point in time, that our world was flat. I guess we can say we were pretty much wrong on that one.
And then we use to believe (or at least the Church sure did) that the Earth was the center of the Universe, and everything revolved around it. But thanks to people like Copernicus and Galileo - we now know that isn't true either. Galileo actually did some time over this one. "Heresy", the Church yelled. "But yet it moves", replied Galileo. You know the Catholic Church finally forgave old Galileo and admitted their mistake - in 1992?
In the early 1900's, a couple of brothers from Indiana had a wild thought. They said "We're going to fly". The town folks sure had a good laugh over that one. Good thing Orville and Wilbur were "Wright" (ouch - pardon the pun ) or it would still take us forever to travel abroad.
Anyone old enough to remember a certain President who in the 1960's said we would one day go to the moon? Did the people laugh? They sure did. Did we go to the moon? Got the moon rocks and the Tshirt to prove it.
We usually are....wrong you know. Just look back at history.
We believe we're smart - we believe we're right, but usually we're not. Our beliefs limit us. Problem is - they're usually not our beliefs, they're someone elses and we just go along with them. Don't want to stand out and be wierd or anything. Gotta go with the flow, fit in, be a part of the crowd.
Remember Noah? Yeah, he was wierd. Building a ARK of all things, right out in the middle of the desert. Not a cloud in the sky. What a moron. What's he smoking? Quick, take a picture, we HAVE to get this guy on YouTube. {drip} {drip}
Damn - we were wrong again.
The lesson here is simple. Don't simply believe something is true, just because everyone tells you it is. And by everyone I mean your parents, your teachers, even your Church. Learn to think for yourself. Question everything. And the amazing thing is, once you prove them wrong, then everyone will see how easy it is.
Remember Roger Bannister? They said, "No one can run a mile in under 4 minutes" "It's physically impossible". Once he did it, just six weeks laer John Landy followed suit with 3 minutes 57.9 seconds breaking Bannisters record. Roger just had to show it was possible.
So now the question now is, what beliefs do YOU have?
"I'll never lose weight", "I'll never get married", "I'll never get out of debt", "I don't believe in Rincarnation", "I don't believe in ghosts","The only way to get to Heaven is through the Christian Church"........
Author Gregg Braden, from the documentary “You Can Heal Your Life” says,
We tend to live our lives based on what we believe - about ourselves, our world, our capabilities and our limits. Where do those beliefs come from? More often than not they come from what other people have told us, history, science, religion, culture, family……WHAT IF THEY’RE WRONG?
Beliefs are important. As I have said over and over - by example of the Placebo Effect - if I am depressed and go to my doctor for some Antidepressants - I will feel better - even if I am taking nothing more than a sugar pill. It is my BELIEF - both in the capability of modern medicine and in my Doctor - that cures me - not the sugar pill. Conversely, if our Doctor tells us we have Cancer and we only have 3 months to live - chances are we will die within those 3 months. We BELIEVE our doctors - even if afterwards it is found we never had cancer to begin with. We live our lives based on our beliefs.
Historically, most things we believed to be true - were wrong.
At one point in time, it was believed that the Earth was motionless and that the Sun and planets revolved around it. Galileo, with the use of his newly created telescope, discovered this was not the case. The Catholic Church, which was very powerful and influential in Galileo’s day, strongly supported the theory of a Earth-centered, universe. After Galileo began publishing papers about his astronomy discoveries and his belief in a Sun-centered, Universe, he was called to Rome to answer charges brought against him by the Inquisition. Early in 1616, Galileo was accused of being a heretic, a person who opposed Church teachings. Heresy was a crime for which people were sometimes sentenced to death. Galileo was cleared of charges of heresy, but was told that he should no longer publicly state his belief that Earth moved around the Sun. Galileo continued his study of astronomy and became more and more convinced that all planets revolved around the Sun. In 1632, he published a book that stated, among other things, that the heliocentric theory of Copernicus was correct. Galileo was once again called before the Inquisition and this time was found guilty of heresy. Galileo was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1633. Because of his age and poor health, he was allowed to serve his imprisonment under house arrest. Galileo died on January 8, 1642.
Of course now we realize that Galileo was indeed right. But back in the 17th Century, you either believed what the Church told you, whether they were right or wrong, or you were put to death.
Here’s another example of an incorrect belief.
The Miracle Mile
For many years it was widely believed to be impossible for a human to run a mile in under four minutes. In fact, it was believed that the four minute mile was a physical barrier that no man could break without causing significant damage to his health. The achievement of a four minute mile seemed beyond human possibility. Yet on May 6, 1954 Roger Bannister proved them wrong. During an athletic meeting between the British AAA and Oxford University, Roger crossed the finish line with a time of 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds. He broke through the “four minute mile” psychological barrier. This is significant, because once Roger proved it COULD be done, that it was no longer an impossibility, within three years, 16 other runners also cracked the four minute mile.
So what happened to the physical barrier that prevented humans from running the four minute mile? Was there a sudden leap in human evolution? No. It was the change in thinking that made the difference, Bannister had shown that breaking four minute mile was possible. Often the barriers we perceived are only barriers in our own minds. Previous runners had been held back by their beliefs and mindsets. When the barrier was broken other runners saw that is was possible and then 16 runners went on to do the same.
Which Beliefs Do You Have?
Money is so hard to come by…….
There just aren’t any jobs out there…..
I just can’t lose weight no matter what I do
I’ll never find my soul mate……..
No one will date me - I’m not that attractive……
I’ll never be rich……
That’s just a dream - dreams don’t really come true…..
Louise Hay sums it up perfectly in her movie, “You Can Heal Your Life”, when she says:
I think Enlightenment is letting go of all the things we believe that are not benefiting us in life, or are barriers to life - or to the good things in life, and to release them one by one, and to think - I don’t have to believe that anymore. Or do I want to believe that anymore? And then making a conscious choice.
What you think, and what you believe, is what will come true for you. Your thoughts create yor life. It’s that simple. And when we can get that, we can make enormous changes.
Beliefs
If the mind doesn’t tell the body what to do, it won’t do anything - Hulda Crooks
) or it would still take us forever to travel abroad. 
Author Gregg Braden, from the documentary “You Can Heal Your Life” says,