‘Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them’
Henry David Thoreau
My intention for this chapter is to inspire you not only to create a successful business, but a successful enterprise. I believe they are quite different in many ways, but I think the most significant difference can be explained in one word: VISION! This is what I believe is the single most important element that distinguishes the successful businessman from the successful entrepreneur. In the following pages I’m going to attempt to share with you exactly why one’s vision is SO important when setting out to create (or improve) any enterprise that is committed to service.
‘Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations’
Peter Drucker
Now I’m going to warn you up front that I may at times start speaking in ways you might describe as airy fairy, woo woo, new age stuff. For this reason you may only get to the bottom of this page and skip the rest of this chapter all together, and if this is the case for you, that’s totally fine, I won’t be offended. This book has been created to act like a tool for your ‘business tool box’. Maybe you’ve already got a tool box that you have used to create an existing business and maybe you’re reading this to see what other tools are out there that resonate with you.
If certain chapters in this book do resonate with you, you might decide to add them to the individual compartments within that business tool box of yours. These individual compartments may have labels such as ‘Marketing’, ‘Social Media’, ‘Accounting’, ‘H.R’, ‘Networking’, ‘Systems’ etc. The compartment that I am appealing to in this chapter is ‘Mindset and Self Leadership’. Like I’m sure you’ve heard before, take what resonates with you and leave behind what doesn’t. Just like different tradespeople use different tools for different jobs. Your job is to seek out the many tools out there that fit with where you’re at and where you wish to go either in the business that you already have, or the one you wish to create.
I wish to present an array of tools before you that will help you to create what I believe is THE single most important thing that you can invest in when growing or starting a business, your mindset.
I’m sure you’d agree that one’s mindset and way of thinking is a pretty fundamental aspect when it comes to success, not only in business but in any area of your life, is it not? Even though most of us would agree with this, I’m still surprised to notice how many business people I meet who spend very little time and energy in developing their mind and thinking in a more broad way. The number of books one reads per year is one good indicator. Once you have the right mindset, you have what I believe to be the right foundation that will allow you to build multiple structures upon it. One structure you could call a successful business, another could be health, wellbeing and physical vitality, another could be close intimate relationships, or perhaps social influence, financial abundance or maybe spirituality and connection with your greater power (whatever that may be for you). All of these could be considered to be the individual structures of your life which if you chose to build, will need some pretty deep foundations. That is of course if you don’t want the structure to fall over.
‘Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it’
Buddha
So I guess you’re getting some real bang for your buck in this chapter because the stuff that I’m going to be sharing with you, if applied, will not only help you with the mindset to create or grow a successful business, but also a successful life! This is why I am truly honoured to be part of this publication and so deeply grateful to be writing about this one component of success in business. The beautiful thing about creating a successful mindset is that even though it’s a journey and not a destination, the more you work to create it, the more you can transfer its treasures to other areas of your life.
After all, we all know that a successful business won’t necessarily lead to a successful and fulfilling life. Since you’re reading this, I’m sure a business is a big part of it for you, but I’m sure you’d agree that it is still only part of a fulfilling life. We all know that there are so many other aspects of the human experience, as mentioned above. I have no doubt at all that what I’ll be sharing with you here will help you create satisfaction, fulfilment and contentment in ANY area of life you chose to focus on and THAT my friend, gives me a big buzz indeed!
As mentioned already, I know that some readers simply will not resonate with the content that I’m about to share. Every person on the planet has a totally unique composition of values, beliefs, attitudes, expectations, perceptions and general life experiences. All of these aspects have come together to create the essence that is you and your world view. Hence, there will never be any content on any topic that will appeal to everyone. I’m not writing this for everyone, I’m writing this for those who are willing to accept an invitation to what’s possible by opening their minds and hearts. I’m writing this chapter for those who are willing to read this chapter in the same way that you go to the movies to watch a film. What do I mean by that? Well, when you go to the cinema, what do you do? Just for a short time you leave your judgements, criticisms and scepticisms at the door knowing full well that you can just pick them right back up again on your way out. Why do you do this?
You do this for the sake of the EXPERIENCE that the movie has been created to give you. You don’t hear people in the theatre saying; ‘Ha, yeah right, a long-haired surfer looking dude wearing a cape and armed with a big hammer from outer space that can control the lightening? What a load of S%*T!, BOO!’ You wouldn’t react like this because you know it’s just part of the experience. This is the exact same approach I would like you to take with this chapter. This is your challenge if you chose to accept it. And it is a challenge because your world view is something that has developed over many years and some people do find it hard to ease their grip on it. But if you do, you just might gain an insight, a small difference that could make all the difference in more than one area of your life.
At this point I’m reminded of two sayings I think are very relevant here; ‘If nothing changes, nothing changes’ and; ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got’. both messages are highlighting a powerful truth, which is unless you are willing and able to consider a new perspective, nothing much is going to change. We all know that even just a small change in perspective can lead to quite big changes in your experience. This also reminds me of another saying by Gandhi: ‘We must be the change we wish to see in the world’. Now this might sound like a simple concept, but it’s so profound. BEING a change I believe is the natural consequence of ACTING on a new perspective. My humble wish for you is that something you read in the following pages resonates with you and inspires you to become more of what you already are. The road map for success in any area of your life can become a little clearer when you regularly take the time to consider the kind of person you would need to BE to achieve that. From there your work will become clear.
‘Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere’
Albert Einstein
Okay, so if you’re still reading this you’ve at least got a curious mind and perhaps you’re wondering; ‘what the hell is this guy going to be writing about?’ In a nut shell this chapter is divided into two parts, the first is based on a success principle called ‘modelling’. As I just said in the above paragraph, one of the fastest ways to accelerate your success is to look to those who have achieved it and simply ask yourself some quality questions about them.
When thinking about the content of this chapter I asked myself: if I had to pick just one topic to write about that I believe would be the most helpful and inspiring for success not only in business but in all areas of one’s life, what would I write about? And then the answer came to me; ‘Self Leadership’. Why did I decide to focus on this? I truly believe that this is the single most important aspect of personal excellence any human being can develop.
Once you’ve got it, nobody can take it away from you, it’s yours for life and it can only get better and better. I also believe that once you have the power of self-leadership, you will then automatically have another amazing ability, and that is the ability to inspire others. This is also a priceless gift if you decide to build a successful enterprise. The capacity to inspire others is the key difference between a successful businesses person and an entrepreneur. Think about it, the entrepreneur has the skill not only to connect with people looking for a job, but they have the gift of being able to articulate, enrol and inspire others with a dream, a vision, a mission and a purpose. This is so important because I’m sure that at some point you’re probably going to want to grow and expand your business which will probably include the hiring of employees. The more you are able to touch their hearts with your vision, the more likely it is that they will work not only for the pay check, but for the fulfilment of being part of a dream that they believe in which one day may inspire them to create a dream, vision, mission and purpose of their own!
‘A leader is best when people barley know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say we did it ourselves’
Lao Tzu
So part 1 of this book will use modelling to closely examine the traits and characteristics of those who are considered to have been some of the most inspiring, influential leaders of our past and present. Part 2 of this chapter will be more practical and experiential after all, it’s one thing to write about inspiring ideas, but it’s another to filter that down into practical things that you can do NOW to make it more real. Although there are SO many processes and techniques I could share with you, in this chapter I have chosen just two. Both have been designed to help you gain more clarity and confidence to help you do what you need to do when you need to do it.
Part 1
Let’s take a little look and see if we can identify some of the characteristics and traits of some of the most influential people of our past and present. As mentioned, this is a very powerful modelling technique to help identify just a few of the qualities these individuals had or have so we can then adopt some of these qualities for ourselves. These qualities can then serve as a roadmap to self-leadership, creating a successful business and living a life of meaning and purpose. In sharing these qualities my hope for you is that it might just spark something within you. A spark that could lead you to reach for an improved state of being. Just writing about these qualities almost makes me feel like some part of me is absorbing a little of these traits and my hope is that the same might happen for you as you read them.
Changing the way you think to achieve your goals is so important. Albert Einstein has been quoted many times saying that ‘you cannot solve a problem with the same level of thinking that created it’. This means that any ‘problem’ in your life is just the result of a type of habitual thinking pattern, because what we think about we become. It may be conscious, or it may be unconscious. He also said ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity’. Can you see the connection? Most people expect to achieve a goal with the same thoughts, feelings and behaviours that have kept them limited in the past; this is insanity! But, if you want to experience something different, if you wish to experience a different result, then you have tweak your thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
‘Throughout all of history, the great wise men and teachers, philosophers and prophets have disagreed with one another on many different things. It is only on this one point that they are in complete and unanimous agreement – we become what we think about’
Earl Nightingale
New and improved thinking produces a new and improved perspective. With a new perspective comes clarity, with clarity comes confidence. When you have confidence, you then have the ability and capacity to accomplish almost anything. Once a person is experiencing their life in this way, you begin to see yourself not as some inconsequential random spec in the universe, but as an awakening deliberate creator, endowed with the creative powers of ‘The One’. This then becomes the physical experience that ‘The One’ WANTS you to have. For when you are experiencing this, The One is experiencing it THROUGH you! Whoa, that was deep eh? I told you I’d ‘go there’.
It makes total sense that we all need to start with our thinking if we want to change something in our life or create a successful enterprise. After all, where is the experience of your life actually happening? It’s happening in your head isn’t it? It’s not happening ‘out there’, in that person, or with that car, or house or job, no. It’s happening within you. Those things outside of you are just manifestations that you’ve attracted into your life as a result of what’s been going on inside you. This includes the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’. Things do happen out there, but the meaning and purpose you attach to it all depends on you and the internal wiring of your brain and mind. And this is completely unique to you. As mentioned already, no one in the world has your unique blend of history, experiences, attitude, beliefs and expectations and as a result, you have a unique perspective on the world. This explains why two people can experience the exact same event but walk away with a completely different account of that event.
‘That some achieve great success, is a proof to all that others can achieve it as well’
Abraham Lincoln
Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is all about the science of achievement and performance in all areas of life. It states that whether we achieve our goals or not, both outcomes are the result of running our personal internal program of how we act on the incoming data being received and interpreted by our 5 senses. You could think of humans almost like machines running on programs.
We are always running a program whether we know it or not. Right now, I’m running a program called ‘writing’. You are running a program called ‘reading’. When you jump into your car you run a program called ‘driving’ etc. There are many things you do in your day that you no longer need to consciously THINK about, but you do them with ease. This is the result of accessing and running a program of how and why you do things and how and why you don’t do things.
It’s like in the movie The Matrix. In the first of this trilogy, Trinity is up on a building, sees a helicopter, realises that she doesn’t know how to fly it, calls back to base and requests the program of ‘flying a helicopter’ 3 seconds later after her download, she all of a sudden knows how to fly it. If you haven’t seen The Matrix I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s an amazing film that explores the concept that our reality might not be quite as we think it is and perhaps we really are more than we think and that maybe there are pieces to the puzzle we aren’t even aware of.
Just imagine for a moment that you were some sort of technical genius and you were entrusted with an assignment to write the programming code for an advanced robot with artificial intelligence. If your assignment was to create the personality code for this robot to live all the aspects of self-leadership such as an inspired, fulfilled and purposeful life, what would that code look like? What traits or characteristics would you create this robot to have? What would be the world view of this robot? How would it think, feel and behave? The list below can be considered to be the code that you could potentially write.
Although I have never met any of the following list of individuals, I have read a little about most of them. Once you start to take an interest in these remarkable people, you start to see a few themes among them.
This is just a tiny sample of those who achieved a pretty high level of self-leadership. Obviously this is by no means a complete list, but you probably have heard of most of them: Jesus, Buddha, Ghandi, John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X, Mother Teresa, Sr Richard Branson, Deepak Chopra, Dali Lama, Bill Hicks, John F Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Che Guerra, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, Helen Keller, Dale Carnegie, Socrates, Plato, William James, Opra Winfrey, Leonardo Da Vinci, David Ike, Osho, Rumi, Shakespeare, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Sir Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, Thomas Jefferson, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Ramses ll, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Alexander The Great, Joan of Arc, Nicola Tesla, Aristotle, Rosa Parks, Helen Keller, Mohammad Ali, Mozart.
Really, I could go on but let us start with this sample. In no particular order of importance, let’s see if we can identify some of the characteristics and traits of these individuals that helped them develop the quality of self-leadership which then translated into mass influence. Now obviously not all of these individuals created a successful business or enterprise and this is because it wasn’t their focus, but this is the beauty of self-leadership, once you have it, it’s your choice to focus and channel it to create anything you like. For the sake of simplicity I’m going to refer to them in the past tense.
• They ALL had a dream! Every single one of these individuals if you asked them what their dream was, they would be able to articulate it quite clearly into words. They would give you an answer that would tell you instantly that it is something that they have given quite a bit of thought to. On hearing their dream you would probably hear something that is quite BIG, grand and almost ‘super human’. It would be something that ‘the average Joe’ would probably laugh or giggle at. This dream would be something that would extend FAR beyond just meeting their own personal needs, but would be something that many people would benefit from.
‘Before you can make a dream come true, you must first have one’
Ronald McNair
• They weren’t being realistic. Their dream or vision would be a kind of ideal, a ‘perfect world’ so to speak. It would be an ideal that most people would say is never achievable and for that reason alone will never be more than a ‘pipe dream’. They had a way of thinking that was ‘outside the box’, paradigm shifting. They realised that in order to achieve their dream and live it, since it was something so BIG, it needed a type of thinking that really did seem completely and totally unrealistic in comparison to conventional thinking. They could see that thinking realistically would only lead to very average results and much of the same, which is NOT what these people were about. Some of these people are considered to have been way ahead of their time, thinking in such a way that only many years later, often well after their death, was recognised for its value.
• They knew who they were and what they were about. They had a very strong sense of self, who they are and what it is they were here to do. They all felt like they were on a mission, something that was planted within them from the moment of their birth, something that just had to grow and be expressed. They all had a feeling that finding and expressing this mission was exactly what was going to give them the greatest freedom and satisfaction. They all had a very powerful, clearly defined theme for their life, the thing they stood for, which was often something that had far reaching benefits and consequences for the masses.
‘Having conceived of his purpose, a man should mark a straight pathway to its achievement, looking neither to the left or the right’
James Allen
• All were very introspective, at least from time to time. Meaning, that all of these influential people devoted a lot of their time going within themselves to find their dream, vision, mission and purpose. They realised that what it was they were here to do was to be found within themselves, not ‘out there in the world’. Many taught their followers to ‘go within’. Jesus himself said that the kingdom of heaven was within. He taught that what is inside you will set you free and if you keep it inside, it will kill you, or ‘eat you up’. Hence, many of these individuals will often say that inward reflection is important to them. This doesn’t necessarily mean sitting in a cross-legged yoga position like a pretzel chanting sacred mantras, although it can. It is simply referring to a practice and habit of taking some time every day to simply ‘BE’ with yourself quietly contemplating what is TRULY important to you. This may involve some sort of prayer, or a walk in nature or it could be as simple as concentrating on your breathing, or just telling different parts of your body to relax.
• They were not afraid to speak their truth, often in front of large groups of people. Once they felt they had discovered who they were and what it is they were here to do, they were generally unafraid to express this truth to the world. No matter how many feathers it may ruffle, no matter what it may have meant for their credibility or status. They were driven and inspired to share what it was that was inside of them. They did not allow the opinions of others, or the ‘status quo’, to determine what they should or shouldn’t say. Whatever it was that was driving them from within was ALWAYS, without exception, MUCH more powerful than the message being sent by other individuals, institutions, the government or society in general and often it was completely in opposition. None of them were born public speakers, many may have even tried to avoid it, but any fears of public speaking were simply forgotten once they shifted their attention and focus on their dream, vision, mission and purpose. What made them great speakers was not their techniques, skill, or some speaking course but their passion, authenticity and integrity to stand up for what they know to be true FOR THEM. Some of these individuals were even killed or assassinated simply for speaking their truth and daring to challenge the oppressive institutions of power and control of their time.
‘If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing’
Anatole France
• Hardship, turmoil or persecution was often experienced. Almost all of the individuals mentioned above will have experienced a SIGNIFICANT level of opposition, adversity and challenge. This may have arisen from within them while seeking their truth or it may have come from external sources, BUT they carried on regardless. They will tell you that it is those exact challenges that turned them into the person that allowed them to be one of influence, not because that is what they set out to do, but because it came as a natural consequence of the challenge having been faced and dealt with. Their single mindedness to pursue their dream was so powerful that it served as the fuel during the tough times, like a dog with a bone; stepping back down just wasn’t an option. Almost all of these individuals will say that it was that exact challenge that gave them the opportunity to LIVE their dream, vision and purpose and without it, they would not have been able to express who they really are. They are grateful and appreciative of the challenge for it enabled them to more clearly define their dream and purpose in life. They had a way of relating to ‘failure’ that was different to most and their relationship to it was often an advantage that allowed them to preserver with their chief aim.
‘When written in Chinese, the word crisis is comprised of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity’
John F. Kennedy
• The experience, expression and sharing of Love was often a corner stone and powerful theme in their life. Many of these individuals recognised that love was the most powerful human emotion and were able to channel this energy into what they did. They often did it in such a way that they naturally drew people to them like some sort of magnet. They realised the power of connecting with this energy to help facilitate change and inspire others.
• They all asked themselves some BIG questions. The type of questions one asks themselves will really determine the quality of life one leads in terms of purpose and meaning. These people typically were not asking themselves questions like: ‘How can I make more money?’, ‘How can I impress so-and-so?’, ‘How can I become famous?’, ‘What’s in it for me?’, ‘How can I become more powerful?’, ‘What’s the easy way out here?’, ‘Whose fault is this and who can I blame?’, ‘Can I get away with this?’, etc. You get the picture. I can’t imagine these individuals asking these kinds of questions of themselves. Instead, they probably asked questions like, ‘How can I change this for the better?’, ‘What is my life going to stand for?’, ‘What will people remember me for?’, ‘What is my dream, vision and purpose?’, ‘What is it that I’m here to do?’, ‘How can I be more of service to the world?’, ‘How can I make a difference here?’, ‘How can I make this happen?’, ‘What positive lesson can I take away from this?’, ‘Who am I really?’. Etc. It’s not hard to see that if a person is asking these kinds of questions, then what they are essentially doing is programing themselves to become more aware and notice the little signs along the way that will help them answer these questions. This is exactly how our brain works. It is wired up in such a way to help you recognise the answers to your conscious and unconscious questions. You may have heard an idea that we are presented many million dollar opportunities every day, we just don’t notice them.
Why? Because we are simply not asking ourselves the right questions that will allow us to see the opportunity when it’s right in front of our face. Having said that however, here’s the wonderful paradox. It’s sometimes possible to asking a question with the wrong energy and intention behind it which will make us blind to the answer. If you’re looking in the fridge and asking ‘where’s the butter?!’ out of frustration, you can often literally become blind to the butter that is right in front of your nose. It’s almost as if the frustrated energy behind the question is literally making you blind. Then someone else pulls it right out from under your nose. Has this ever happened to you before? Hmm . . . interesting right? The implications of this are definitely worth thinking about.
‘The quality of your life is based on the quality of the questions you ask yourself’
Dr John F Demartini
• Many had a belief in some greater power that existed beyond their 5 senses. Most of these individuals believed that there was something more out there than just what we can see, hear, touch, taste and smell and that this ‘something’ was playing a major role in all of life. Something that has love, wellbeing and joy at its core. They had a belief that this greater power was something they always had access to and were somehow always connected to. It’s not something up there on a cloud but something that is within us. Something they can always turn to for guidance and strength, the source of all things. This belief in something above and beyond that seemed to ‘have their back’, was always watching over them, in good times and bad, often gave them courage to continue their journey towards their mission.
• They were all very self-reliant and resilient. All of these individuals did not rely or something or someone outside of themselves to achieve their goals and dreams. They took complete and total responsibility for the good and the bad of their life and journey. They all had a world view and perspective that put them at the CAUSE side of life, rather than at the EFFECT side of life. They were able to take charge and control, maybe not of external circumstances, but of themselves. They took responsibility for their own thoughts, feelings, actions and consequences. They all realised that it all started within themselves and the ripple effect would take over from there.
• These individuals were service orientated. They all felt some desire to serve and be of service to their fellow man in some way. Even if what they did, many not have seemed to directly serve others, such as Mohammed Ali, the kind of person they had to become to fulfil their dream, SERVED as an example to us all of what one must think, feel and do to achieve ones goals and dreams and Mohammed Ali was definitely an example of that.
‘I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold service was joy’
Rabindranath Tagore
• None were born leaders, or even set out to become leaders, but naturally become one while pursuing their dream. There seems to be something encoded in our human DNA that magnetically draws us towards individuals who are burning with a passion and desire. A yearning and burning that acts almost like a beacon calling us to bask in its warmth. People are naturally drawn to anyone who is lovingly, compassionately and authentically expressing what is inside of them. We seem to be drawn from some place within us, a part of us that is trying to awaken to our purpose, a part of us that is able to recognise the awakening of others, a part of us wanting to get closer to that flame so some of that burning might just fall onto us and spark our own personal fire within.
‘If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader’
John Quincy Adams
As already mentioned, this is by no means a complete and comprehensive list. You might be able to come up with a few other characteristics or qualities that could be included here. However, I’m sure you would agree that if we were able to take small steps towards acquiring some of these traits yourself, it could lead to a very different kind of life experience, legacy, business and enterprise!
Here is a small exercise that I would like to encourage you to do. Take any one of the traits mentioned above and ask yourself some questions about that particular trait or characteristic:
• Where in my life am I already living this trait?
• In what areas of my life could I live this trait a little more?
• If I was living this trait fully and completely, how would this translate into my every day experience?
• How would my interactions with the people around me change if I was totally living this characteristic?
• How would my values and priorities change if I was living this particular quality?
• Am I prepared to make the above changes? If not, why not? What is holding me back? Is this barrier REAL or just imaginary?
• What things would I do more or less of in my day if I was living this trait?
Part 2
These exercises will help you no matter where you are on the spectrum of business, whether you have an established business or if you’re just thinking of starting one. As mentioned, both are designed to give you two of what I believe are the most important things any business person will need; clarity and confidence.
The Walt Disney Process
As the name suggests, this was a technique that was used by the famous Walt Disney, an exercise which helped him create a massive empire ‘The Walt Disney Company’ that we all know and love. It’s quite simple but very effective in helping one to tap into different aspects of themselves to help create new perspectives and gain some more clarity. It’s requires you to wear 3 distinct hats, The Dreamer, The Realist and The Critic. The steps are outlined below.
1) Get three pieces of cardboard or A4 paper (coloured if you like) and on one write ‘Dreamer’ on another write ‘Realist’ and on the third write ‘Critic’
2) On the floor in front of you place the ‘Dreamer’ to your far left, the ‘Realist’ in the centre and the ‘Critic’ to your right with about 1 to 1.5 meters spacing between each piece of paper.
3) The position that you are standing in as you observe all three pieces of paper we are going to call your ‘base’.
4) While standing in your base position, close your eyes take a slow, deep breath in and exhale slowly.
5) Walk over to the Dreamer. You can either stand on the paper or right beside it. This is the place where you are going to give yourself complete and total permission to DREAM about your business. NOTHING is off limits. Become a child and let your imagination run wild with any and all creative ideas that come to you. You can either have a pen and paper to write them down, have someone else write down your comments, record yourself talking out loud or just keep it all in your mind. The important thing is not to hold back while you’re wearing the hat of the Dreamer. Think about as many aspects of your business as you can like size, locations, its clients, employees, products, the culture, your lifestyle while building or working it, how your family is involved (or not), what it does for you spiritually, financially, socially, physically. You get the picture – GO CRAZY! When you feel a sense of completion, go back to base.
6) Clear your mind, take another slow deep breath and then go stand on or over the Realist.
7) While wearing this hat you begin to analyse what is realistic based on what you just dreamed about. This is the time to be ‘grown up’, logical and ask yourself ‘what is possible’. The key here is to be honest with yourself by not underestimating or overestimating what is actually possible. Remember this is for you, it’s between you and you, so be honest with yourself. Start of think about and formulate the potential and realistic pathways to create any possibilities the dreamer dreamed of.
8) When you feel complete, step back to base, clear your mind and now step into the Critic position.
9) Remember this is not the hat used to criticise, but critique. The critic will respond to what you have come up with as the realist and offer any and all possible issues, concerns and challenges.
10) The final step is simply to step between all three hats again and again until you have dreamed as much as you can, found all the realistic pathways for the dream and until the critic has been satisfied with all the realist’s responses. This process will take as long as it takes. It’s up to you to get a sense of when you are complete. You’ll more than likely feel done with the process when you have a few clear action steps that you can confidently take now!
‘Before you are a leader success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others’
Jack Welch
Hierarchical Alignment Technique
This is a powerful process to reduce any kind of emotional block to help you gain the internal resources to move forward on whatever you know you should be doing. This technique is best done will a clear and calm mind at a time when you are not experiencing the block directly. Make sure you do this in a room where you have a little space to move around.
1) Close your eyes and imagine yourself in the undesired state or feeling. Notice the specifics of the ENVIRONMENT, the when and the where you are. See it, hear it, feel it, smell it. Notice your environment very closely when you’re physically experiencing this block or undesirable state that is holding you back..
2) Keeping your eyes closed take a very small step to your right and move your awareness to the actual BEHAVIOURS that immediately follow when you’re in this state, notice what you actually DO and how you do it. Notice what you notice.
3) Take another small step to your right into what you feel your CAPABILITIES are while in this state. Get in touch with what you feel capable of while in this undesirable state. Notice that you probably don’t feel capable of very much.
4) Take another step to the right into your BELEIFS. What do you believe to be true while in this state? Really connect with your beliefs while in this undesirable state. Notice what you notice.
5) Take another step to the right into the space of your IDENTITY, the ‘Who I’ve become’ as a result of steps 1 to 4 when in this undesirable state. Notice what and who all of those elements to your left have created.
Allow yourself to really absorb this identity, feel who you’ve become through the eyes of what all the previous elements create you to BE.
Connect with what you notice.
Now ask yourself, ‘is this really WHO I AM?’ Your answer should be NO!
6) Take one last step to your right into the GREATER WHOLE. This is your definition of your higher power, whatever that is for you. It encompasses all things but no-thing, it’s a place before, above and beyond time and space. It’s all around you and has answers to questions you haven’t even asked yet. It’s pure wisdom, creativity, inspiration. It’s a place where you can tap into your own unconscious mind and higher self to gain even more resources, learnings, clarity and the freedom to choose. For you this space may be God, The Universe, Mother Earth, Gaya, Life Force etc. The label isn’t important, but your connection and experience of it is. While in this space set the intention to absorb any and all internal resources that you want. Just gather those learnings and store them inside yourself wherever they want to go. Take as much time as you want in this place.
7) With all these learnings in place, take a step to the left back into your new identity and just notice for yourself any differences. Notice the new identity that has been created now. Notice your new definition of ‘Who I am’. Store any learnings at this level that will be useful for the future.
8) Take a step to the left and notice what you believe to be true now. What are your new beliefs as a result of the new identity? Take a moment to absorb this and allow yourself to store those resources and learnings wherever you want to store them.
9) Take a step to the left into your capabilities and notice what you feel capable of now with that identity and those beliefs. Storing all these resources and learnings.
10) Take a step into your behaviours. Notice what you actually DO with those capabilities. Storing learnings and resources.
11) Lastly, take one last step to the left back into the environment we started with and noticing any internal or external changes. What do you notice about your relationship to the actual environment around you now? Notice exactly where you are in that moment. Notice what’s different. Store all learnings and resources exactly where they need to be.
Now take a step away and off that line and open your eyes when you’re ready.
To end, imagine yourself at some point in the near future coming across that same old trigger. See yourself right there and just notice what’s different. Notice the feeling and freedom of having more CHOICE to do what you know you need to do when you need to do it.
‘When it is obvious that a goal cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps’
Confucius
Nick Terrone
This is a sample chapter taken from the amazing business guide book, Success In Business. Written by some of industry’s most knowledgeable thought-leaders, Success in Business is produced in an informative, conversational style with valuable, insightful advice and case studies taken from real business people running real businesses.
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