As with any program to improve yourself and overhaul your capabilities, it’s a step by step process – you don’t scale Mount Everest by just seeing the peak and starting to climb (Baum 5). You need a game plan.
In his book, Mind over Business: How to Unleash Your Business and Sales Success Kenneth Baum says there are 7 steps (heck, takes 12 to kick alcoholism so this shouldn’t be too bad).
- Maximum Performance State (MPS) which drives your Consistent Resilient Action (CRA) (Baum 7)
- A Desire Statement combined with a Personal Action Plan (Baum 8)
- Mindsetting and Value Linking (Baum 9)
- Clarity Amid Chaos (Baum 9)
- A Performance Cue (Baum 10)
- Instant Relaxation Technique (IRT) (Baum 10)
- Patterns of Excellence (Baum 11)
Many of these elements are intertwined but the most important component is (as always) your attitude. If you have the right skills sets and take the right action with the right attitude, you can succeed (Baum 13). Without the right attitude, you’re doomed to failure. Part of having the right attitude is focusing on what you can control. I always get students asking me the “what if” question. What if another applicant has more experience, or more education, or blah, blah, blah? Well, you can’t control what the other candidate has. You can only control what experience and education you have – you have to present your best self at that point in time. You need to focus on that which you can control.
People who have a success mindset have the power of a made-up mind (Baum 19). They are the ones that are determined to succeed no matter what and no matter whom. If you think, “I’ll give this a try and hope it works,” you’re doomed says Baum (19). But if you make up your mind that it will happen, and you keep at it, either you will succeed, or you will not regret having spent a life of never attempting to achieve your dreams.
“Don’t worry in advance,” says Baum (24). Worrying does no good and keeps you from precise thinking and right actions (Baum 24). Again, here is where I see so many people make the mistake of telling themselves they are not good enough, yet. Some people get so caught up in acquiring skills they become perpetual students, never confident they know enough to become masters (Baum 25).
You also have to avoid the negative thinkers and the negative thinking, which may make you think that your days of watching the news are likely over. Actually no. When the press reports that unemployment is at 10%, remember that 90% are employed. Albeit some are underemployed, but even if that underemployed number is 20% or 30% that means a good majority are still employed at or near their skill set. I say watch the news but use it as a source of information and understand that it by no means tells the big picture. What’s wrong is always available. But so it what’s right.
It all starts with a vision (Baum 26). Visualizing where you want to be is a powerful motivator but it needs to be broken down into action items. A grand vision is difficult to pursue, but taking a single action item is much more doable. Therefore, it is important that along with your vision, you identify specific steps. Each step is a more powerful beacon that pulls your through and onto the next step.
Also, decide what you enjoy doing. I didn’t say figure out what you’re good at – there are plenty of aptitude tests out there, but they may not reveal what you enjoy doing. Everyone is average at most things but each of us has something at which we can usually excel over others (Baum 27), and also that we take great pleasure in doing. Find that thing.
Baum, Kenneth, and Bob Andelman. Mind over Business: How to Unleash Your Business and Sales Success by Rewiring the Mind/body Connection. New York: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.
