Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life: How to Unlock Your Full Potential for Success and Achievement (25 page)

Think about how you would feel if you had achieved your goal.

Would you feel proud, happy, relieved, joyous, or exhilarated? Whatever the emotion would be, you should confidently and happily imagine yourself enjoying the exact feeling that you would have if your goal were already a part of your life.

If you want to earn more money and achieve a higher standard of living, imagine that you are already there, living the life you desire. Imagine how you would feel. Close your eyes and
get the feeling
of happiness, joy, and inner satisfaction.

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When you can combine a clear mental picture of your goal with the same emotion that you would have if it were achieved, you activate your higher powers of mind. You trigger your creativity. You get insights and ideas that will help you to achieve your goal far faster.

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PROBLEMS AS OPPORTUNITIES

The second factor that triggers your creativity and activates your positive mind is
pressing problems
. It is only when you are experiencing the pressure of problems and obstacles that you are motivated to perform at your mental best. Facing and solving the inevitable problems and difficulties of life make you stronger and smarter, and bring out the very best in you.

Most people do not understand the nature of problems. Problems are a normal and necessary part of life. They are inevitable and unavoidable. Problems come in spite of your best efforts to avoid them. Problems, therefore, come unbidden.

The only part of a problem over which you have any control is your
response
to your problems. Effective people respond positively and constructively to problems. In this way, they demonstrate that they have developed high levels of “response-ability.” They have developed the ability to respond effectively when unexpected or unde-sired difficulties occur.

Problems of all kinds bring out your very best qualities. They make you strong and resourceful. The more pressing your problems, and the more emotion you invest in solving those problems, the more creative you will become. Each time you solve a problem constructively, you become smarter and more effective. As a result, you prepare yourself for even bigger and more important problems to solve.

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THINK ON PAPER

One way to improve your ability to solve problems, and to trigger your creativity, is for you to think on paper. Take a few moments to ask,
“What exactly is the problem?”
Then write the answer down in such a form that it describes the problem exactly.

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You can then ask,
“What else is the problem?”
You should beware of any problem for which there is only one definition. The worst thing you can do is to solve the wrong problem. The more different ways that you can state a problem, the more amenable it becomes to a solution.

Whatever difficulties, obstacles, challenges, or factors that are hindering you or holding you back in any way, define them clearly in writing. As they say in medicine,
“Accurate diagnosis is half the cure.”
Sometimes, when you begin to define a problem, you will find that it is actually a “cluster problem.” That is, it is a single large problem surrounded by several smaller problems. Most problems you deal with will be composed of several smaller problems. Often in a difficult situation, there is one large problem that must be solved before any of the smaller problems can be solved.

The best approach to this type of situation is for you to determine the main problem and then define the individual parts of the problem separately.You identify the core problem that must first be solved and then deal with the smaller problems in order. Sometimes solving one part of the problem leads to the resolution of the entire situation.

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GOALS ARE JUST PROBLEMS

A goal that you have not yet achieved is merely a problem that you have not yet solved. This is why success has been defined as
the ability to solve problems
. If you are not earning the kind of money that you would like, that is an unsolved problem. If you are not enjoying the levels of health and fitness that you desire, this is just a problem that you must solve. An obstacle that stands between you and your goal is merely a problem waiting for a solution. Any limitation that is holding you back is just another problem waiting for you to solve.

In every case, your job is to not let the problem get on top of you, but rather for you to get on top of the problem.

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YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION

If I asked you what you did for a living, you would tell me the name of your current position or job description. But whatever ccc_tracy_9_154-178.qxd 6/23/03 3:38 PM Page 160

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your title, your real job is “problem solver.” This is what you do all day long. It is this ability that makes you valuable. You are a professional problem solver. Your success in your career is determined by how effectively you solve the problems and achieve the goals of your position.

Never complain about your problems at work. You should be grateful for them. If you had no problems at work, you would have no job. When people become unable to solve the problems that arise in their work, they are quickly replaced by people who can. When you become an excellent problem solver, you are quickly promoted to solving even bigger and more important problems.

From now on, see yourself as a problem solver. The only question is,
how good are you at your job?
Your goal is to become absolutely excellent at solving any problem that the world can throw at you.

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ASK FOCUSED QUESTIONS

The third way to activate your creativity is by asking
focused questions
. Well-worded, focused, provocative, challenging questions activate your mind and stimulate your thinking. The very best consultants often describe themselves as “insultants.” They don’t give answers. They instead force their clients to ask and answer tough questions.

To trigger your own creativity, you have to ask yourself some tough questions as well, and then question your answers.

Remember zero-based thinking? Keep asking yourself, “If I were not now doing this, would I start it over again today knowing what I now know?”You will be amazed at how creative you become when you examine every aspect of your life as though you could choose to start it again, if you wanted to, based on your present knowledge and experience.

Often, the answer to your biggest dilemma is simply to
discontinue
an activity altogether. If it’s not working out, sometimes the smartest thing you can do is to simply abandon a particular course of action. Always ask,
“What is the simplest and most direct solution to
this problem?”

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CLARITY IS EVERYTHING

There are additional questions that you can ask to trigger your creativity—for example,
“What am I trying to do?”
Be absolutely clear about your answer to this question.

Whenever you experience any frustration or resistance in achieving a goal or getting a result, ask yourself,
“How am I trying to
do it?”
and
“Could there be a better way?”
Don’t fall in love with your current methods.

What are your
assumptions
? What are your obvious assumptions and what are your unconscious assumptions? What are you assum-ing to be true that if it were not true, your thinking would change altogether? Alex McKenzie wrote, “Errant assumptions lie at the root of every failure.”

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THE REAL PROBLEM

I often work with companies that are trying to market a new product or service and they are having difficulties in the marketplace.

When we seek the reasons for their business problems, they usually give me long lists of difficulties with advertising, promotion, people, sales, distribution, delivery, and service. However, the core problem is always that their
sales are not high enough
.

I then ask them three questions. They are questions that you can ask when considering any potential product or service for any market.

The first question is,
“Is there a market?”
Are there people who can and will buy this product or service in competition with other products and services currently being offered? Many people start businesses without realizing how hard it is to attract a customer away from another supplier if the customer is currently happy with the other vendor.

If the company’s answer is, “Yes, there is definitely a market for what we sell. There are people who want it and are willing to buy it from us,” my next question is then,
“Is the market large enough?”
Many a product or service is good, valuable, and worthwhile, but there is not a large enough market to justify investing all the time and energy necessary to bring it to the market. There are better and more profitable uses for the money.

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WHY COMPANIES FAIL

Many people go broke, especially in entrepreneurial ventures, because the market is simply not large enough for them to sell enough to justify the trouble and expense of producing the product or service in the first place. Every investment must be compared with other possible investments that are available at the same time. There may be better places to put your time and money.

This principle applies to you personally, as well.Your job is to invest
yourself
so that you are getting the highest “return on energy.” There are a thousand different ways that you can spend your time and your life. You yourself are your most valuable resource, and you must always invest this resource where you can get the highest return.

The third question I ask my clients is,
“If there is a market, and
the market is large enough, is the market concentrated enough so that you
can advertise and sell to it in a cost-effective way?”
This final question is what often sinks a new product idea. Yes, there is a market, and yes, the market is large enough, but the market is spread over such a wide geographical area that it is virtually impossible to sell to it effectively.

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CONSIDER THE CONSTRAINTS

A good way to trigger creative solutions to your problems is to apply the “theory of constraints.” This theory says that, in every process or series of activities, there is a
limiting factor
. There are constraints or bottlenecks that determine the speed at which you get from where you are to where you want to go. The very act of identifying the critical constraints in your environment often triggers ideas and insights that help you to alleviate them.

For example, let us say that your goal is to double your income over the next three to five years. You begin identifying the constraints on achieving this goal by asking,
“Why isn’t my income twice
as high already?”

Be honest. Ask yourself the brutal questions: Why aren’t you
already
earning twice as much as you are earning today? What is holding you back? Of all the things that are holding you back, what is the major limiting factor that will determine how fast you achieve your goal?

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APPLY THE 80/20 RULE

The 80/20 Rule seems to apply to constraints, but in a special way.

In this context, this rule says that 80 percent of the constraints that are holding you back from achieving your goal are
inside
yourself.

They are contained within you, rather than in your environment.

Only 20 percent of the factors that are holding you back are in the
outside
world. This discovery is a shock to most people. The vast majority of people think that their major problems are created or caused by situations and people around them. But this is usually untrue. Most of the reasons why you are not moving ahead have to do with your own lack of skills, ability, or good personal qualities.

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DOUBLE YOUR INCOME

Let us say that you are in sales. You want to double your income in the next three to five years, if not sooner. The first critical constraint you will identify is the amount of your product or service that you have to sell. If you could resolve this problem, you would achieve your goal.

Once you have identified this main constraint, you then ask,

“What is the constraint behind that?”Your next constraint could be the number of prospects that you have to find. If you could speak to enough prospects, you could probably double your sales and double your income.

You then look behind that constraint and ask what is the constraint that is causing this limitation. This actual constraint may be your ability to prospect, something that is inside of you rather than in the marketplace.

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LOOK AROUND YOU

One good way for you to determine whether the constraint is internal or external is to look around you and see if anyone else is accomplishing the same goals that you want to accomplish. Is anyone else already earning twice as much as you are earning selling the same product or service in the same market? If someone is already doing it, then the constraint is
internal
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inside you. It is the lack of a particular ability or attribute that you need to overcome.

It has been said,
“When a man’s fight begins with himself, he is
really worth something.”
The superior person always asks the question,
“What is it in me that is holding me back?”
Superior people always look to themselves first. It may very well be that there is something in your outside world that is acting as the brake on your potential, but the place to start looking is inside. The odds are you’ll find it there.

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PULL THE TRIGGERS

When you pull these triggers regularly, you will be stimulating your creative ability and switching on your mental lights, like turning up the lights in a dark room with a dimmer switch.

When you set clear goals that you have a burning desire to achieve, you activate your creative mind. When you combine your goals with pressing problems, clearly defined, you generate more ideas. When you continually ask focused questions that provoke your thinking, you see more and better possibilities in every situation. And when you identify your key constraint to achieving any goal or solving any problem, you begin to perform like a genius. You put yourself onto the high road of success and great achievement.

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USE ALL YOUR INTELLIGENCE

You have at least 10 different forms of intelligence, according to the research of Howard Garner at Harvard and the work of Charles Handy in England. Throughout your schooling, you were tested only on the basis of your verbal and mathematical intelligences. But research in the past few years indicates that you have a variety of intelligences, in any one of which you could be a genius; in combination, they enable you to accomplish extraordinary things. Your first job is to identify your
predominant
intelligence or intelligences; you then apply yourself using more of that intelligence in whatever it is you are trying to achieve.

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VERBAL INTELLIGENCE

Your first intelligence is
verbal
. This is your ability to speak, your command of language. The ability to understand and to use language well is closely associated with success in any field that involves communication with others. In every society, there is a direct relationship between your level of fluency in your language and your income.You can actually increase your prospects and your rate of promotion just by learning and using more words.

Each word is actually a tool for the expression of thought. The more words you know and understand, the more complex thoughts and ideas you can form. The better your vocabulary, the more respected and listened to by others you will be. This is why language skills are considered a key measure of intelligence.

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MATHEMATICAL INTELLIGENCE

The second intelligence used to measure IQ is
mathematical
. This is your ability to use numbers skillfully, to add, subtract, divide, and multiply. In business, this is your ability to read financial statements and develop financial projections. The more knowledgeable you are about prices, costs, expenses, and financial ratios, the better decisions you can make, and the more valuable you become.

Many people feel that they have no ability for numbers. They therefore avoid any area or activity where financial fluency is necessary for success. This can be fatal if one of your goals is to achieve financial independence. Fortunately, you can learn to understand the critical numbers in your business with a little study and application. As a result, you will be far more competent and capable of making good decisions for the rest of your business life.

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PHYSICAL INTELLIGENCE

Your third area of potential genius is
physical
intelligence. This is the kind of intelligence enjoyed by top athletes who have extraordinary abilities of timing and coordination in the movement and use of their bodies. A person could fail in school on verbal and mathematical tests and still be an extraordinary success athleti-cally, even though it would never show up on a report card.

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Many people sell themselves short by believing that they are not particularly capable at sports or certain physical activities. The good news is that with proper instruction and practice you can perform quite well in a variety of sports, such as swimming, skating, or ski-ing. It is really only a question of desire on your part. You have far more physical ability than you have ever used before.

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MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE

Your fourth form of intelligence can be
musical
. A Mozart or a Beethoven could have been poor at sports and poor in school and yet capable of composing some of the most beautiful classical music of all time. Many of the top musicians and popular singers today did poorly in school but turned out to have an exceptional ability to create and express music. They were able to perform at outstanding levels musically.

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VISUAL-SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE

Your fifth area of mental potential is
visual-spatial
intelligence. This is the ability to see and create shapes, forms, and patterns. An architect, an engineer, a painter, or a person who has developed the capacity to visualize very clearly would have this intelligence.

An architect, for example, might be able to develop, first in his or her mind and then on paper, beautiful buildings that then people with mathematical intelligence would be able to convert into blueprints and exact dimensions for construction.

This is also the intelligence you use for visualizing and seeing your goals in your mind’s eye before they emerge in your reality. This is an intelligence and an ability that you can develop with practice.

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INTERPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE

Your sixth form of intelligence is
interpersonal
. This is the highest-paid form of intelligence in the United States. It is the ability to communicate, negotiate, influence, and persuade other people. It is characterized by a high degree of sensitivity to the thoughts, feel-ccc_tracy_9_154-178.qxd 6/23/03 3:38 PM Page 167