Thought First Or Action First?
I've been jumping back and forth between various books on Intention and I've taken notice of another common idea stressed within each: when we want to accomplish something, we should create the outcome in thought, belief and imagination first before we take any action at all. By doing so, any outcome which we seek to create physically will already "exist" and the action to realize this outcome will be obvious to us and easily undertaken.
However, in our culture, great emphasis is placed upon action, doing, and hard work. We are conditioned to act immediately to obtain the object of our desires, and work hard to get it, yet those actions not born of clear, focused thought beforehand will most often be misdirected and fruitless. I should always "act mentally" first to concretely establish the outcomes I seek within my mind using thought, belief and imagination before I ever make the first move in physical reality.
Once again, while playing Civilization IV, I came across a quote by Sun Tzu that I thought reflected this common theme from my reading - "Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." Sun Tzu also said I play too much Civ IV, but I wasn't going to hear that.