Change Your Beliefs
Do what the new you does
Beliefs Always = Achievements
Your Interpersonal Game
Connect Your Inner Baby
Change Your Beliefs
i. Who You are
Start changing these automatic beliefs about yourself and think about what it is you really want for yourself and your life.
Then consider the question:
- Who do you need to become to make that real?
- Are you the mailroom minion or a future CEO?
- Are you out of work with no résumé, or are you set to launch the next game-changing startup in the industry?
ii. Who You aren’t
Test these beliefs, and I think you’ll find you’re much more capable than you thought you were and have a lot more potential than you thought you had.
- Of those, how many have you actually tried to achieve or acquire?
- What capabilities, results, and realities do you believe are out of reach for you?
Do what the new you does
With this new vision of who you are, assume the position.
What would this new you do? How do you carry yourself? How do you think? What actions does the new you take? What is no longer acceptable? Become this new person, and the actions will follow the mindset and the results follow the actions. Live out your answers through all your actions.
Beliefs Always = Achievements
Basketball great Larry Bird once joked that when he came to the NBA, his goal was to make one million dollars. He added that his friend Magic Johnson’s goal was to make 100 million dollars. The happy ending, Larry quipped, was that they both achieved their goal.
The more self-belief you have, the more things you will try. And, the more you try, the higher your chances are of achieving.
Your Interpersonal Game
I want to address two key people skills: conversation and caring.
Not just any questions, but open- ended questions that get or allow others to talk. The other is your ability to carry on a conversation. The easiest way to do this is by actively listening while others talk, not thinking of what you’ll say next.
Connect Your Inner Baby
Being good at change and adapting to new challenges is all about learning new approaches and strategies. This is what healthy, happy babies instinctively and endlessly do all the time. We—and our growing children— need to keep in touch with our “inner baby” aptitude for learning if we are to thrive (see Figure).
