Today, we look at Napoleon Hill's third principle: autosuggestion. It’s not a new concept, but it is one of the 13 principles addressed in Hill's book, Think and Grow Rich.Hill is not the only one to examine the idea of autosuggestion. In 2006, people went crazy over the book, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne because it championed the idea of autosuggestion or the Law of Attraction. The law says thoughts manifest themselves in people’s lives and urges them to think positive thoughts so positive things enter their lives.While Hill and Byrne may have brought the concept of autosuggestion into our time, neither of them introduced the idea. It’s actually hundreds of years old, and it originated with the French pharmacist, Émile Coué.

This week we examine faith: the second principle in Napoleon Hill's book, Think and Grow Rich. Despite having a deep belief in Christianity and the Bible, I appreciate that Hill doesn't attach the concept of religion to how faith plays a role in the life of successful people. For many, religion helps codify their faith and belief in a higher power, but it's not exclusive or necessary to maintain a sense of faith.Hill contends his second principle of faith, coupled with his first principle of desire, is the gasoline that fuels the engine of the change you need to see in your life. As Hill says,

Each week, over the next 13 weeks, I will share one principle and provide some practical advice for implementing each one into your daily life. Some of the other principles you can look forward to reading about include faith, imagination, decision, persistence, transmutation, and the brain. I think you’ll find it to be an illuminating series.If you’re looking for specific ways to integrate the principles you’ll be reading about, I'm more than happy to discuss a situation where I can serve as your coach. Sometimes, you just need that individual attention to build a plan and get it in motion. I’d be honored if you’d consider me as your guide in that journey.

Finding your true self can happen if you learn how to narrow your identity gap. In this week's blog, I explore how to do it, but first, let's review.Throughout this series, I talked about how many people, especially when they're young, follow the plans their parents set out for them and get stuck in the gap. They pay little attention to what they want because they're too busy pleasing others. I also discussed how this behavior can carry on throughout a person's life and negatively affect how they deal with friends and other outside interests.Unfortunately, to cope with the identity gap—that space in between who we are and who we want to be—people can get depressed. They can also develop anxiety and even become addicted to drugs, pornography, or food.

Peer pressure is a problem that, with the stunning rise of social media, only seems to be getting worse. When you think of the term “peer pressure,” it probably evokes pictures of teenagers goaded into bad behavior by their friends. In reality, however, poor conduct sticks with many people throughout their lives and changes into more of an internal sensation that becomes a destructive habit. The identity gap, then, is where the bad habits get stuck and the reason we put pressure on ourselves to remain in lockstep with our peers.Why do we do this?

Addictions and midlife crises happen for many reasons, and one of them includes the identity gap. As I discussed last week, the identity gap is the space between who you want to be and who you actually are. This week, I'd like you to go a step further and think of the gap as representing the person everybody sees versus the authentic version of yourself—the one you visualize in your mind and feel in your heart.

Your identity gap. What do you know about it? Let's examine.Do you remember the first time you disappointed your parents ... I mean REALLY disappointed them?Regardless of what you did—whether you shoplifted an item, dated someone not right for you, decided to skip college, or fell into a million other things—the odds are that your parents' disappointment came from you not following an invisible script; one they had long ago written in their minds for how your life should go.

Three types of mental illness permeate the military. As somebody who is proudly serving my country, I am very concerned about service members who are struggling with mental health issues. Just like any informed American, I have heard tales of mental illness from both the service members and the family side of things—so, I think it’s important to mention how fragile mental health can be for someone in the military or for anyone married to a service member struggling with a mental illness.I also consider myself lucky that neither my wife nor I have had to deal with these issues—and I hope we never do—but I think it’s important for all of us to have the information in case anything ever develops.After all—we can’t fix a problem if we don’t realize it’s a problem in the first place.

As we continue our discussion on mental health and mental illness, I want to address two things: the importance of seeking help if you need it, and how to help someone when you're asked. First, though, I think it’s important to understand a little more about mental illness in general.

This weekend is Mother’s Day, so I thought it would be the perfect time to reflect on what it means to be a good mother in today’s day and age. Mothers are some of the hardest working people we will ever encounter. Not only do they carry their children for nine months and endure all the complications that come with it, but they also give us their love for many years.In my previous series on fatherhood, I mentioned that fathers are considered their daughters' first love. I also believe that mothers are considered their sons’ first love.