Archive for Research
Perspective Matters!
Posted by: | CommentsHold your hand up, palm forward. Now turn it to the side. Same hand, but it looks entirely different. The difference, as you know, is perspective. Before reading the funny story below, let me say a bit more about perspective.
Successful people learn to switch their perspective to keep their energy high. If you tell yourself that “Business is terrible”, or that “No one cares about me”, you’re not going to have much energy. But if you tell yourself, “Business is recovering” and that “Many people value me”, not only will you feel more like taking your life/business on, but brain science tells us, you’ll be changing your future.
We now have solid scientific studies that prove the fact that “Neurons that fire together, wire together”. What this means is that the more you repeat a thought or action, the stronger the neurological patterns become and the more easily that thought or action can recur.
That’s what makes it so difficult to change our perspective sometimes–the pathways are so well trodden, we can slip into them easily. Developing new ones may feel like a slog at first, but it’s worth it for our thoughts shape our actions and our actions shape our future.
Here’s the fun story:
Bill was working on his family genealogy and found out his great-great uncle, Remus Starr was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. He even found a photo of Remus, showing him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture were the words:
“Remus Starr–Horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison, 1885. Escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged, 1889.”
Bill decided to revise things a bit. He cropped the picture into a head shot, then he rewrote the text:
“Remus Starr was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include the acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and included intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1885, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking a key role in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency, In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.”
Now that’s a change in perspective! (Maybe Bill should consider a job in gov’t public relations!)
FIGURING THINGS OUT
Posted by: | CommentsPERSONAL BEST COACHING PRESENTS:
It’s Okay Not To Know How!
Sometimes we put ourselves under a lot of pressure to know ‘How’ to do something. Sometimes we even stop ourselves from proceeding because we don’t know ‘how’.
Don’t!
Reassure yourself by realizing that many, many highly successful people have started businesses, relationships, projects etc without having a clue how they were going to pull the task to completion. In fact, sometimes not knowing ‘how’ gives us the freedom to explore in entirely new ways.
Take Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. Do you think he knew anything about how to set up a social networking site? No way! He started before the term ’social networking’ site even existed. In fact, his motivation for the site initially was to create a place to meet girls! Now, according to an annual list published by Forbes magazine, Mark is the youngest ever self-made billionaire. The magazine put the
former Harvard student’s personal wealth at 1.5 billion dollars.
So, don’t worry about not knowing how. Just get started. Set out. You’ll figure it out as you go. Don’t get me wrong. You still have to be clear about what you want. That’s given. But if you worry about the ‘how’, you’ll stop yourself before you’ve even begun.
Don’t even worry if your business, relationship, project is failing. Even if all looks lost, that doesn’t mean you can’t figure it out and turn things around. Think of Thomas Edison who had over 10,000 filed attempts at the light bulb. Or, Richard Bach, the author who wrote about a seagull! He was turned down by 18 publishers for his 10,000 word story about the soaring bird before Macmillan finally published it in 1970. By 1975 it had sold over 7 million copies in the U.S. alone.
It’s even okay if you find yourself questioning your ability to do what it takes–you’re in good company:
* Beethoven was told by his teacher that he handled the violin awkwardly and called him a hopeless composer.
* Charles Darwin, was considered a very ordinary boy with nothing special going for him.
* Henry Ford went broke 5 times before he finally succeeded.
* Walt Disney was a cartoonist who liked to draw mice–who would have ever thought he could make millions from that?
What made these people successful?
1) Having a clear vision.
2) Taking action. Over and over again.
3) Staying positive when their attempts did not work.
Life gives us all the feedback we need about whether we’re on track. So, as Tony Robbins says, you want to take what he calls ‘massive actions’ so you can get the feedback you need to be successful. The more actions you take, the more feedback you’ll get. And the more feedback you get, the more you’ll be able to guide yourself along the path to success.
ALL THESE PEOPLE FIGURED IT OUT—YOU CAN TOO!
And if you’d like some expert help in figuring out ‘how’, try me for a free 30-minute over-the-phone “Idea” session. I love giving them and of course, there’s no obligation to go further. Everyone who has one always tells me how helpful
