How Our Thoughts Create Success
Sep 23, 2025
Today's episode is called How Thoughts Create success.
We are talking about the law of success.
Years and years and years ago, my husband and I were really struggling financially.
We had three small children, we lived in a teeny tiny little apartment, and we drove a grey van.
I went grocery shopping late at night because I did not want to take my kids because I was already overwhelmed and I just wanted a few moments of peace.
And so one night in the middle of winter, I had come home from grocery shopping and I had just pulled up to and and pulled all of the groceries out of out of the car.
And if you're like me, you just load them all up at once because you don't want to make 2 trips.
So my arms were filled with groceries and I slammed the door shut the side door on the van and the window shattered.
I was devastated.
I immediately thought to myself, how on the earth are we going to pay for this?
I, I had no idea.
And we couldn't go without a window for our van because our children were small and it was cold.
And I remember very distinctly marching up the wooden steps of our apartment and standing on the porch before I went in and just stomping my foot and saying out loud to the night sky, God will take care of us, this is going to be OK.
And I turned around and I went into the apartment and I told my husband and I cried a little bit.
But that was a pivotal moment for us.
It was a pivotal, pivotal moment for me because in that moment, I decided, in spite of the circumstances, in spite of the evidence all around me, that I was going to believe that God would take care of us.
And he did.
The window was taken care of, we got some help, and everything worked out just fine.
That's what the law of success is all about.
The law of success is says the growth and achievement are not random or reserved for only a few people.
It's God's design.
God planned for us to be successful and it's an inevitable when we align our thoughts and our beliefs with truth.
In fact, Raymond Hollywell in his book Working the Law, said every man contains within himself the capacity for endless development.
Nature knows no failures.
Infinite resources are at man's disposable disposal.
So I have a question for you.
If you believed that infinite resources were at your disposal, how would that change what you're worried about right now?
Something to think about in Proverbs 23, seven, it explains the law of success really well.
It says, for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Our thoughts are everything.
We create success or failure with our thoughts, and a belief is a thought that we think over and over again.
Beliefs come from our thoughts, and we take action based on our beliefs.
Your life is shaped by your thoughts.
What you think repeatedly becomes what you believe, and what you believe directs what you do and what you create.
So let's go to the scriptures and read about a few people who had some beliefs, some thoughts, and how they impacted their lives.
We're going to start with the story of Zeezrom.
We've talked about this before in the podcast, but I want to remind you because it's such a good story.
This is an Alma 15.
Zeezrom was a bad guy turned into a good guy and we're going to catch up with him when he is literally dying in bed.
In verse 3, it says and Zeezrom lays sick at side him with a burning fever, which was caused by the great tribulations of his mind.
What made this man sick?
What he was thinking literally what you are thinking can make you physically I'll did you know that for he supposed that Alma and Amulek were no more.
So what caused the problem with his thinking?
He was making assumptions.
How often do we make assumptions that cause us pain in the way we think, in the way we believe, and then we take action based on those assumptions that were wrong in the first place?
Well, that's what's happening to Zeezrom when he finds out that Alma and Amy like are actually not dead.
They're just in jail.
They've been in jail.
He takes courage.
It says his heart takes courage and he calls for them to come.
And Alma and Amulet come and they find him in bed.
And because of the the things that he's been thinking, because of the tribulations of his mind, he's very sick.
And Alma asks him, he says, do you believe in God?
Do you believe that you can be healed?
And Zeezrom says, of course I believe that I can be healed because I believe everything you tell me, right?
So are you guys picking up thoughts and beliefs and how that matters and what that's going to do?
He believes that he can be healed.
And so Ahmed heals him.
He in the name of Jesus Christ, he kills him and Zeezrom leaps up and jumps off of his bed and walks away.
Zeezrom in the Book of Mormon was literally sick with guilt because of the thoughts tormenting his mind.
When he turned his belief towards Jesus Christ, his whole life shifted.
He was healed in body and spirits.
That is the power of thoughts focused on Jesus Christ and belief rooted in who he is as a person and his power to heal.
Next story, Peter walking on the water.
Now remember the Savior has been off praying by himself.
It's the fourth watch, so we know it's about 3:00 in the morning.
The winds are contrary.
There's probably a storm.
That's why the winds are blowing so badly.
And Jesus comes across on the water to the boat and the disciples are afraid and he says be of good cheer.
It is I be not afraid.
And I think that can be a theme for our lives.
So many times we get so worried and so upset and so frustrated and so overcome by the thoughts that we're thinking and the assumptions that we're making that forget that because of Jesus Christ, we have nothing to be afraid of and we have good reason to be of good cheer.
So when Peter sees him walking on the water, he's like, well, I want to walk on the water.
And the Savior says, OK, come on out.
And so as long as Peter kept his focus on Jesus Christ, as long as he focused on what was possible, then he was able to walk on the water.
But as soon as he started to look around him, as soon as he started to focus on how deep the water was and how cold it was, how much the wind was blowing, how dark it was, and the and the storm that they were in, and the impossibility of what he was doing, he immediately sank.
And then he called immediately for Jesus and Jesus pulled him out and saved him.
And so I want to share with you a commentary by a man named Adrian Ochoa.
He had a talk that was called Is the plan working?
And he had some really interesting insights about Peter walking on the water and Jesus and what we can learn from this story.
And there are so many, so many things we can learn from this story.
First of all, I want to point out that the the first thing that Peter did was when he was in trouble is he didn't try to swim to the boat.
He called out for help and there is so many lessons just in that for us alone.
So let's jump back to Elder Ochoa.
And this is what he said.
He said, I'm in awe of Peter's faith.
Peter trusted the Savior more than he trusted his boat.
And that faith gave him power to act with courage during a stressful and fighting frightening situation.
It's our belief and our faith that creates the courage to act.
That's the first thing.
Next, in times of trouble, turn to Jesus Christ right away and Elder Ochoa points out that as soon as he began to sink, then Peter called out to Jesus Christ.
And as soon as Peter called out for help immediately the scripture says immediately Jesus jumped in to help him and save him.
And that's what he does for us also.
And then number He does say this.
He said all of his face boisterous winds that can shake our faith and cause us to sink.
When this happens, Please remember that Heavenly His Father's plan of happiness has another name, the plan of redemption.
The plan was not for us to glide easily through life, never stumbling, never sinking, with a smile always on our face.
Heavenly Father knew that we would need to be redeemed.
This is why He prepared the plan of redemption.
This is why He sent a Redeemer.
When we struggle for any reason, that does not mean that the plan isn't working.
That is when we need the plan the most.
In those moments, follow the example of Peter.
Turn to the Savior Jesus Christ right away.
Coming to Christ means more than just thinking about Him or talking about Him or even loving Him.
It means following Him.
It means living in a way that teaches.
He teaches us to live.
And for all of us, that means repenting without delay.
End Quote.
And then of course #3 that He tells us is that we need to humble ourselves because He will lift us to greater things.
When Peter sunk, the Savior said to him, Oh thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
I think the challenge for all of us is when we look around at all the evidence and all of the circumstances, then we get afraid.
What God is calling us to do is something higher.
He is calling us to look beyond the evidence and to choose faith and to hold on to the promises.
And that all begins with our thoughts and what we focus on.
We need to focus on the possibilities, just like I did in that moment.
I had no idea when the shattered window of the van happened.
I had no idea how we were going to solve the problem or even if we could solve the problem, but I decided to choose to believe that Jesus Christ, that Heavenly Father, were actively working in my life, and they would help me come up with a solution, and they did.
So Living the law of success from the Lord's perspective in the way that's going to be the most efficient and the most effective in our lives is choosing faith in spite of the evidence and then taking action based on that faith.
Raymond Hollywell said when one understands that the universe is filled with the presence of God, there is nothing to fear.
And then I love what M Katherine Thomas said.
She said reality and life are fluid and powerfully influenced by our choices ever reconfiguring themselves.
As we change inwardly, our circumstances change.
Outwardly, When we begin to give ourselves to full discipleship, our circumstances change.
Change always begins in our thinking process and we can actually read about this in Mosiah chapter 4 verse 30, where it says first comes our thoughts, then comes our words, then comes our actions.
Raymond Hollywell said begin now to see your worth.
Catch the spirit of I can.
The person who thinks he can will speedily develop the power that he can.
The mind will Direct Energy and make it happen when you believe it can.
That is universal law, and the way we know that we can is not necessarily holding onto our own abilities and skills, but trusting that through Jesus Christ we can do all things.
With Christ, I can do all things.
We read about that in the New Testament, and we read about it in the Book of Mormon.
So let me ask you, what thoughts are keeping you stuck?
What thoughts are keeping you small?
And most importantly, what new thought will you choose?
Today?
I'm inviting you into an action step.
Here's your action step.
Write down 1 limiting thought that you have been believing.
That's creating a belief which is also causing you to take action.
And then replace it with the thought of I can do all things through Jesus Christ.
And recognizing that you can do that, that one shift can change the course of your day and eventually the course of your life.
Don't let a toddler drive the thoughts in your mind.
Just like you wouldn't let a toddler drive a truck.
Don't let the toddler be in charge of what you're thinking.
Focus on Jesus Christ, remember the past miracles.
Take inspired action.
And when your thoughts align with truth, success is impossible.
It's promised.
Thank you so much for being here today.
If you have left this podcast, will you share it with somebody that you love?
Again, thank you.
Have a wonderful day.
