Master the money! Change Your Life!
Step one: Focus
“You can’t rely on your eyes when your imagination gets fuzzy.”— Mark Twain
If you want to produce strong results in sales and business,
performance isn’t enough,
you have to be efficient too.
And you do this by focusing on the right things.
The vast majority of displays of incompetence
I see in sales and sales professionals do not stem from a lack of ability,
skill, or qualifications.
It is a direct result of people’s tendency to focus on the wrong thing.
Many of us live our entire lives “thinking” on autopilot.
We are operating through subconsciously programmed modes
without consciously thinking about the destination.
In this chapter,
we’ll begin to change that trend
by “thinking about what we’re thinking.”
As you begin to understand the immense power of thinking
in relation to your prospects
for sales and business success,
you will come to appreciate the importance of taking a moment
to think about the things that matter,
you’re thinking.
As the great philosopher Socrates once said,
“A life without consideration is not worth living.”
In this chapter,
it’s our job to see if what’s in our box should be kept or thrown away.
Much of it has been present since childhood,
so as an adult,
you have the choice of keeping it all
and wallowing in it,
or cleaning up your junk thoughts and organizing the rest.
Step 1 in the FEAR process is to focus on the right things,
specifically what you want
to achieve in your sales and business career.
The process requires you
to define your ultimate destination,
map out a few simple steps that will get you there,
and identify any limiting beliefs that could sap your ability to get there.
We also need to make sure we’re focusing on
the right things in our sales and business.
To truly create a success mindset
that can produce powerful sales and business results,
we have to think about what we’re thinking.
think, and make sure you’re thinking the right thing.
This process will take you further than your sales and business goals,
and help you define what you want on a larger scale in life.
An expansion like this is necessary,
as our motivation
to succeed in business often comes from deeper desires related
to the whole of our lives.
It is providing for your family
or helping others through your job.
“The foundation of confidence in virtually every field is preparation.”— Brian Tracy
In this chapter you will consider:
• What you want? We are self-made millionaire
• The person you want to be? We are wonderful couple
• What you want to contribute? Leave assets for life
• What you need to do to achieve the above? We are together
• Restrictive thoughts are holding you back in life and business? Leave our goals
The information you find
when you complete the first four sections will form the basis of your success plan.
The fifth element is designed
to help you identify deeply limiting beliefs
that are undermining your success in life.
Once you identify the above,
you will be able to create new thoughts and beliefs
that reverse their negative and limiting effects on your life.
Don’t worry about organizing information
as you go through this process,
as the next step will require you to bring it all together
into a consistent success plan.
The purpose of this chapter is simply
to spark your imagination.
This is the stage of creativity
and dreaming grandiose dreams.
Keep this in mind when contemplating your dream life and business:
You don’t have to be realistic.
Remember, we are given a reason for our imagination,
so let it run free.
We are not given the ability to dream incredible dreams only
to be tortured by visions that will never be achieved.
We must raise our expectations through creative thinking,
and envisioning a better life is the first step
to achieving that vision.
“You can never earn in the outside world more than you earn in your own mind.”— Brian Tracy
When I think back to the first time
I came up with a plan for my own success,
sitting in my cell,
I was amazed at the boldness of my dream.
I thought about the nature of my life,
the situation I was in at the time,
and compared it to the dreams
I started to imagine.
If I stick to reasonable and realistic expectations,
I might just dream of finding a job
and staying out of jail.
But I want more than that, a lot.
I want to achieve great results in life.
I want to rise above mediocrity.
I want to create an extraordinary life.
Here is the contrast between what I wanted
and wrote down compared to my real situation at the time:
• I want to be a great father
even though I abandoned my son
and had to spend another 7 years in prison.
• I want to be educated even though
I dropped out in 9th grade of high school.
• I want to own a beautiful house in the mountains
even though I have never had a house in my life.
• I want to be a successful entrepreneur,
speaker,
and writer even though I’ve never done it
and have no reason to believe I can do any of it.
• I want to write a book on Maui beach
even though I have no reason to believe that I can write one,
nor do I know where Maui is on the map.
• I want to be rich even though the inmate’s salary is only a few dollars a month.
• I want to have a wonderful wife,
even though I have failed in all previous relationships.
• I want to be a man of dignity,
honor and integrity even though I am a criminal
who has been charged three times and has spent my life lying,
cheating and stealing.
“Be thankful for all your blessings.
An appreciative person makes a pleasant
and optimistic person.”— Brian Tracy
My expectations of a new life were unreasonable.
Anyone sitting with me in the cell,
when they heard about my dream,
would consider me a psychopath.
But having a grand dream is an important part of the process.
Remember that the results in life will never exceed your expectations,
and your expectations will never exceed your imagination.
That’s exactly why you must allow yourself to dream big dreams.
Don’t limit yourself by forcing yourself to be rational or realistic.
According to the very famous advice of the late Dr. Stephen R. Covey,
we do not need to live on the past.
We can live by our imagination.
As you go through the first step of this process,
you’ll begin to put in new things that you can later take out of your box.
Your thoughts are what’s in your box.
As you put your dream life and business in the box,
you will also consider negative
and limiting beliefs that may already be in there.
Grab a piece of paper
and start taking notes while studying this section.
Don’t try to finish in a hurry.
After reading a section,
stop,
think about what you want to achieve,
and make notes.
I repeat again,
we will organize your notes in the next step.
We’ll start this discussion by talking about what you want in life.
While they are not the most important discussion points,
I find that most people can quickly identify such things.
So this is a pretty good start to map out your success plan.
We will consider factors of increasing importance in your life
when doing this exercise.
“Almost all unhappiness in life comes
from the tendency to blame someone else.”— Brian Tracy
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WHAT YOU WANT IN LIFE AND BUSINESS
The most important thing here is to be as specific and precise
as possible about each area of your life.
While you ponder each area,
jot down anything that comes to mind.
For example, think about your income
and figure out exactly how much financial security you want.
How much income do you want to earn annually
or throughout your career?
Think how would you calculate this number?
What does financial success look like in your head?
Presumably,
it is a certain amount of wealth at retirement age.
Perhaps, you define it as the ability
to secure your children’s education
or move into a certain type of apartment.
The key is that you define financial success the way you feel and envision it,
including as many specifics as possible.
Take the time to let your mind explore the possibilities.
The trick is to allow creativity to take control
and let the imagination flow freely.
And again, be precise.
If you define financial success as a retirement condition,
choose a specific age and amount of wealth for it.
If you define success as being able
to provide for your child’s college tuition,
specify how much money you will need for this,
perhaps you should even envision a specific college.
If your goal is to own a certain type of apartment,
visualize the details and features of your dream apartment.
About a year ago,
I was reading the Sunday newspaper
and accidentally saw an advertisement for a strange new sports car,
the car of my dreams as a kid.
I cut out a photo of the car,
held it up and declared:
“This is my future car!”.
Next, I pasted the picture on the fridge.
Over the next few months,
I would often look at the picture on the refrigerator and start thinking,
“Wow! How majestic is that!
Just imagine having the car you’ve dreamed of since you were a kid!”
Finally, I added the car to my success plan.
Less than a year later,
I owned the exact same car.
Not a similar car,
but a model car that I cut out of the newspaper
and stuck on the refrigerator door.
Because the dream I had was so grand
and concrete,
I gave myself a daily reminder of my goal,
so I achieved it.
If your dream is to improve sales
and grow your business,
see how you envision career success.
Is success defined by market share
or the achievement of certain sales or profits?
You will probably define it
by the number of new branches opening
or serving a certain number of customers.
Also, success in your business means
that your customers achieve a specific level of satisfaction.
Make a note of any scale that crosses your mind.
Here, there is no right or wrong way to define success.
The correct answer is what feels right to you.
It is important to have a unit of measure,
as it will be very helpful in helping you move towards your goal,
as well as knowing that you have reached it.
And don’t assume that orthodox units
for measuring business performance are the best choice.
The best way for you to measure success is
to use the things that are important to you
and that make you feel both passionate and eager to think about it.
For example, when I started my living room company in 2004,
I defined success as being a market leader
and holding the number one position in terms of market share.
I decided that,
The company’s success is
when we win more installation contracts than any other competitor.
In the first 4 years of our business,
we won twice as many contracts as our nearest competitor.
I had a specific goal that made me excited and passionate.
It is this goal that motivates
and motivates me to keep moving forward during difficult times.
The secret to success is making a plan
and taking consistent actions toward that plan.
Defining your dream so that it sparks your excitement,
enthusiasm,
and passion will work with the other strategies in the book
to get you where you want to be.
So, the more meaningful your dream is to you, the better.
Don’t worry about how you’ll achieve your income,
sales, and other financial goals at this point,
because the process you’re going through
is designed to help you figure out what actions to take,
which I need to do on a regular basis.
Your current task is to focus on how you want your results to look.
Later, you’ll have plenty of time to think through the steps
you need to take to get there.
Continue to reflect on what you want in life and in business.
Write down whatever pops into your head whether it’s a word,
a complete sentence,
or an incomplete thought.
We will reorganize those thoughts and words in the next step.
It is important that you find the details of what you truly want
as you reflect on these goals.
By going beyond the surface,
you may find that your goals aren’t exactly
what you thought they were.
For example, at a talk for a live broadcast event,
I invited the audience to step up to the podium
and list what they wanted in life and in business.
A gentleman claims he wants to continue
to hone his skills in retirement and saves his decades of learning in a book
to teach others what he’s learned over the course of his life.
“So you want to write a book?”
I ask.
“Yes,” he replied.
I continued, “Why do you want to write a book?”.
“Because I have learned a lot,
and I want to pass it on to future generations.”
“So what you really want is leave a legacy, right?”
He thought for a moment and then said,
“That’s right. What I really want is to leave a legacy.”
“That’s different from writing a book, isn’t it?”
I asked, “Books are just a means by which you can preserve your legacy.”
“I guess so.
I never thought of it that way,” he concluded.
This interactive piece illustrates the need
to scrutinize what we really want in life and in business,
because sometimes,
what we say we want is actually just a means to us,
what I really want.
There is a very common example of this:
Every year, millions of 1.7cm long drill bits are sold.
So, each year, how many people want to buy a 1.7cm drill?
The original answer is probably “millions of people”.
The answer is actually,
“Nobody.
Millions of people want to punch a 1.7cm hole.”
The drill bit is just a tool that millions of people use
to make a 1.7cm deep hole.
The point is, think about what you really want in life
and make sure that what you think you want
is actually not the means to get what you really want.
Again, identifying the things
that really motivate you will give you more inspiration
to achieve your dreams.
If you think you want money,
but what you really want is stability for your family,
you will undermine your own success by focusing on money.
Now, take a moment to reflect on your wishes.
Remember that you don’t have to rush.
Grab a piece of paper,
sit down, relax,
and think clearly about what you want.
Once we’ve come up with something concrete,
we’ll begin the process of loading it into our box.
“Any system or blueprint for success is better than none at all.
Think on paper.”— Brian Tracy
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PERSON YOU WANT TO BE IN YOUR LIFE AND BUSINESS
The next phase of the focus step is to define
who you want to be in life and in business.
This requires you to think deeper
than the moment you define your desires.
It focuses on the type of person you want to be,
both personally and professionally.
It also involves identifying the core principles that define your life and business.
In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,
Dr. Covey brilliantly explains the difference
between values and principles like this:
Principles are universal truths.
They have a deeper meaning than value.
Determining who you want to be requires clarifying the principles
that will govern your life
and career.
You can then put them in the box and tune your subconscious accordingly.
In the end, you will take them out in the form of everyday life choices,
which will ultimately determine the quality of your life and career.
I went through the arduous process
of sketching the type of person I wanted to be,
since I’m a criminal with a criminal record after all.
However, I still followed the advice in Covey’s book
to get a clear picture of who I wanted to be.
“To attract attractive people,
you must be attractive.”— Jim Rohn
Consider the following exercise as a way to help you with this.
Let’s say you attend the funeral of someone loved by all who know you.
You walk into the room and see the grieving faces
of their loved ones and friends.
You approach the coffin to say goodbye
and are startled
to see that the person lying in it is yourself.
This is your funeral.
Think about what you want each friend, family member,
and associate to say as you look around the room.
This will give you a good idea of what is really important to you.
Once you figure it out,
you’ll have a clear guide to mastering your actions.
This exercise was first developed by Dr. Covey,
and when I first completed it,
I envisioned what I wanted my son to say at his father’s funeral.
Because of my homelessness and poverty,
I made it my number one priority
to make money.
However, when considering what I wanted my child to say,
I realized that it didn’t really matter for my child
to acknowledge my financial situation at the end of the eulogy.
Instead, I envisioned my child saying things like,
“Even though my father was extremely stubborn when he was younger,
he later promised me he would never leave me or lie to me again.
And he kept his promise until the day he left.”
That exercise helped me clarify the kind of father I wanted to be.
Once I put that dad in the thinking box,
I had a clear standard of what should govern my priorities.
Think about the legacies you will
and want to leave behind as you do this exercise.
What will people say about you after you’re gone?
What do you want them to say?
How do you want them to remember you as a business owner or manager?
Or a sales professional?
Think clearly about the type of person you want to be.
Then we will put them in the box,
next to your wishes.
And in the end, they’ll be the things you take out of the box.
“Your company’s most valuable asset is how it is known to customers.”— Brian Tracy
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WHAT YOU WANT TO CONTRIBUTE IN YOUR LIFE AND CAREER
Next, start identifying what you want
to contribute in your career.
A true salesperson has the opportunity
to solve problems for others and improve their quality of life and business.
As Lev Tolstoy1 once said,
“Service is the true meaning of life”,
which I find more and more true every day.
The more life experiences I have,
the more I understand that our success
and importance in the business will ultimately be directly proportional
to the size of the contributions we make.
I will never forget Tony Robbins’ description of my story
and the quote we later used as a promotional quote
for The Upside of Fear.
Although Robbins could comment on my journey in many ways,
he said, “Congratulations on your turning point from prison to giving.”
Notice he didn’t say “business”,
“financial success”
or “a house in Maui”.
In his eyes, the importance of what I did was in the contributions.
Over the years, I’ve made a commitment
to connect with and inspire those struggling with issues that once plagued me.
I am also motivated by responsibility
to help others improve their sales careers and business operations.
especially known for his masterpieces War
and Peace and Anna Karenina.
So look for your contribution.
Consider who you will be helping to achieve your own dreams,
financially and professionally?
Who else will benefit besides you?
How will you respond when your name is called?
Committed to using your success
to help others will give you a passion
and a responsibility that goes beyond a mere career in sales.
It will help you see yourself in a broader perspective
and find special meaning in your success,
beyond your immediate family and community.
Because of my background and story,
I have received numerous invitations to speak from prisons,
and other organizations.
I consider it my obligation to accept these invitations whenever possible,
and my employees know that these requests always take precedence,
even if the above organizations do not have the funds to pay for them. Speakers.
Recently, I went to speak at the prison where I served my sentence 25 years ago,
when I was still young.
Before talking to my “friends”,
the director of the prison escorted me to the same cell where I was in 1988.
As I stood in the prison,
waves of memories of the despair of the day before came flooding back and come in me.
Then we went up the stairs and down the row of rooms close
to the cells and the distant gazes.
As I approached the cell where I had been,
an officer motioned for the control center to open the door.
When the door opened,
I walked in and the door closed behind me.
It was a very intense reaction.
I struggled to control my emotions
when I thought about how much my life had changed.
While struggling with the emotions that overwhelmed me,
I spoke to two groups of people who are also looking
for an outlet like I was 25 years ago.
One of the group still remembers me from
when he and I served our sentences together many years ago.
He approached me and said,
“You always said you would do great things,
now you can.”
As we hugged, he started sobbing and whispering,
“If you can do it,
I can too.”
That day became a reminder,
Be strong about how far I’ve come
and how my journey can inspire others to change.
Whether you realize it or not,
your journey will ultimately instill hope
and confidence in others.
Recently, I was invited to speak
to a group of female prisoners
who were participating in a wonderful program called “7 Inner Habits”.
This is a simulation program
Covey’s groundbreaking work for inmates in rehabilitation schools.
My schedule for the week of the talk was frenetic.
Monday morning,
I do a two-hour training program that airs live on Prosperity TV.
Tuesday, I fly to Austin,
Texas for a sales training day event with the legendary Tom Hopkins.
That evening, I flew to Washington,
DC and then to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
From the airport in Harrisburg,
I drove to the hotel and arrived at midnight.
The next morning,
I spoke to a group of business owners and sales professionals.
The event there had just ended,
and I drove to Philadelphia,
where I spoke for many hours that night.
I flew back to Denver on Thursday morning
and landed at the airport around 9.
Then I drove 1.5 hours to the office and spent an hour with the staff.
Then I drove again to my mountain house,
about 20 miles west of the city.
I rested for about an hour at home,
then got ready to move to the women’s prison,
an hour and a half drive south.
When I stopped in the prison parking lot at 5 p.m.,
I was so tired that I could barely see.
When I entered the prison and sat in the visiting room waiting
for the guards to bring in the group of female prisoners,
I seriously wondered if I was working too hard.
However, all signs of skepticism disappeared the moment I started speaking.
Immediately,
I knew I was exactly where I should be.
The hopeful and eager faces of those women were very inspiring.
They wholeheartedly want to change their lives
and are passionate about practicing the principles in the book The 7 Habits.
The problem is that we all find ourselves obligated to serve others,
and sometimes,
we have to put the needs of others before our own.
That evening, I wanted nothing more than to go home and rest.
But I have fulfilled my promise
and helped countless individuals,
including myself,
by fulfilling it.
As you mature and succeed in life and in business,
the opportunities to expand your “circle of influence” are bound to increase.
When I first read about the circle of influence in 7 Habits,
I thought I had a one in a million chance of going
from the isolation of prison to influencing
and motivating others to do or become a success.
But today, I often hear many individuals
and organizations say that their lives and businesses prosper
because of my service and efforts.
You are much closer to having a stronger influence on the lives of others than you think.
Take the time to focus on the contributions you will make
to your life once you achieve your desires.
Ask yourself how will you leave an impression?
And what is his legacy?
Put it in the box, and one day you will realize
that you took it out and made a profound difference in the lives of others.
By now, in the focus step, you should have a pretty clear idea of what you want to be,
who you want to be, and what you want to contribute
to your life and business.
If you haven’t taken the time
to really materialize all of the above,
I strongly urge you to do so now.
Even if you tend to read books and skip the practical part,
consider whether you can produce the results you want,
if you are not willing to take consistent actions regarding the things you want
to do the basis for creating your own success plan.
Thinking through the speakers and then letting go will not be enough.
Take the time to consider them carefully.
Write down a few notes and ideas,
even if it’s just 1-2 words that describe what you want to be,
who you want to be, and what you want to contribute.
You will need this information to outline your plan for success.
And you will stick to it to create the life and business of your dreams.
“Make a habit of dominating the listening,
and let the prospect dominate the talking.”— Brian Tracy
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WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS IN LIFE AND WORK
Once you’ve determined what you want in life and in business,
it’s time to define what you need to do to get it.
This is a key step in creating a superior life and business,
and one where many of us fail.
Finding what you want is a fairly simple process.
Implementing them is a lot harder,
and that’s when the theory is put into practice.
We will discuss how to do them consistently in the next step,
and the goal here is to determine what we should do.
It’s about listing priorities and deciding
which actions will make the biggest impact.
The truth is, winners do what losers are unwilling to do.
It’s not that losers don’t want the same things as winners,
it’s just that losers are unwilling
to act and go after the way winners do.
If you struggle with taking consistent actions
to get what you want in life,
both personally and professionally,
or in other words,
if you find it difficult to act,
It could be for one
or both of the following reasons.
The first reason for these restrictions is that “a bewildered mind will say ‘No!’”, i.e.
we tend not to do anything
when we are overwhelmed by too much to do.
Right now, most of us have lists of a billion things to do
or to happen before we move on with an idea
or project at home or in the office.
Unfortunately, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with these seemingly endless to-do lists,
and they often leave us paralyzed
and then… do nothing.
You’ve probably heard of the Pareto principle,
or the 80/20 rule.
Accordingly, 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.
It is a very powerful tool for simplifying to-do lists
and helping us to move towards our goals and desires.
The trick is, focus your efforts on the activities that produce the most important results.
I call them leverage actions,
the kind of actions that are simple
but produce extraordinary results
and are key to producing great achievements in life and business.
People also often wait until everything is perfect before taking action.
But waiting until everything is right before embarking on a project
will most likely make you wait a long time.
Circumstances are rarely perfect.
Creating a life and business that excels requires you
to act in spite of difficulties, not without challenges.
So, in this process, it’s important to simplify things
to focus on just 1-2 activities that can bring you closer to the results you desire.
You will have plenty of time to take care of the other details,
and the key at the start is to move on
and build momentum as quickly as possible.
When I decided to open my first business in 2004,
a home heating and air conditioning company,
I forged hundreds of necessary things
before the ribbon cutting for the grand opening.
Businesses need locations,
trucks,
warehouses and office equipment.
I must recruit, staff,
and train office staff,
service technicians,
and installers.
I need to set up an accounting department,
apply for the proper permits
and register for legal status,
workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance.
I needed a marketing plan,
a sales system,
and countless operational processes.
There are literally hundreds,
if not thousands,
of things to do.
In fact, the amount of work is so much that it is easy
to get lost because you do not know what to do next.
But this is just a small company
and it can’t be luxurious enough
to have a large staff to do dozens of jobs.
Instead of getting buried in odd jobs,
I decided to identify which leverage activities would produce the most immediate
and powerful results.
Following the basic business philosophy of Thomas Watson Sr., founder of IBM,
“Nothing happens until a sale is made”,
I decided to focus my attention on selling.
But before that, I need a business.
With no office,
staff or service truck,
I placed a full-page ad
for the new company in the Sunday newspaper that said,
“Lowest prices ever!”.
(Since I’ve never done business before,
it’s a genuine statement.)
At the bottom of the flyer, I added “Call NOW!
Operators are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
I’m the operator,
the phone number is my mobile number,
and I’m definitely “ready” for calls,
in the living room.
I received 16 orders on Sunday
and it’s not stopping for more success.
Within 60 months, the company sold,
serviced,
and installed more than $20 million in revenue
from both residential heating
and air conditioning products and services.
If I wait until it’s all set up and ready,
I’ll wait forever.
To be successful, you must act, the sooner the better.
It doesn’t have to be a perfect action,
just an action.
And the secret to success is being able
to decide what action to take,
because you don’t just have a few options
to make a decision.
In fact, you often have too many options.
This can be the real problem,
because as we just learned,
a confused mind will say “No!”
Then nothing will happen, nothing will change
and the dream will still be imprisoned in the imagination.
Without action,
we will not create anything, never.
Think about what specific steps you need
to take to create what you want,
who you want to be, and what you want
to contribute in your life and business.
In each item you’ve noted from the beginning of the focus step to now,
write down just one or two things that will lead
to the results you desire if done consistently.
Don’t worry about defining everything you can or should do,
just jot down 1-2 actions that will produce immediate and powerful results.
Remember:
It’s simple!
The majority of results will only come from a handful of your actions.
Let’s try an example or two!
Let’s say you have a career goal in sales and business
to earn $200,000 in annual income.
Stop and consider your current position in relation to that dream.
What first steps do you need to take to make that dream a reality?
Do you already have a career
and just need to develop it to get there?
Or the first thing you need to do is learn the sales process
Since everyone is at a different career stage,
what you need to do
to reach your dreams will depend on where you are now.
One successful salesperson may just need
to increase the number of sales calls
to reach $200,000 in earnings,
while another will probably need to start by learning the basics.
Since my journey of wealth creation
and success began in prison,
I have had a very long way to go.
However, the most important thing is not the length of the journey,
but where I start.
Your journey will start at a different point from all the rest,
it is important that you identify the first 1-2 steps
that you need to take to start.
As Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher once said,
“The journey
A thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Where you begin your journey to reach your dreams is far more important
than the distance you need to travel.
The first step to achieving a superior sales
and business career is far more important than the next,
as there is no next step
until you take the first step.
Therefore, this is where you need
to focus your energy and actions.
Below each item on the list,
write 1-2 of the most important things you should do.
If your goal is an income of $200,000,
write down what you need to do
based on your current position relative
to that dream,
for example this:
What I want: $200,000/year income
What I need to do:
Study sales books and master the art of selling.
Or:
What I want: $200,000/year income
What I need to do:
Get more referrals,
improve my closing skills,
and consistently serve customers with passion and purpose.
What you need to do depends on your position in relation to your dream.
Again, at this point, don’t worry about
how far you have to go to reach your dream.
Just think about where you have to start.
Right now, that’s all it takes.
The important thing is, while defining each step,
break them down into very specific and simple actions.
For example, what specific things
do you need to do to get an income of $200,000?
Let’s break it down into the number of calls you need
to mine the right audience.
For example, your commission per order is $500,
and your average close rate is 25%.
That means, you need 400 orders worth $500 to reach $200,000;
which with a 25% close rate,
you would need to make 1,600 sales calls to get 400 orders.
If you break down 1,600 calls by about 250 business days per year,
you’ll need to make about 6 calls per day.
Since you’ve pinpointed exactly what needs to be done,
you can easily find yourself needing to make 6 calls a day.
With information
This new and specific,
perhaps your list will look like this:
What I want: $200,000/year income
What I need to do:
Make 6 calls a day and improve my closing skills.
The more specific you are,
the less overwhelmed you will be.
As you go through this process,
you’ll find that outlining specific action steps will make it easier to execute the plan.
If the person in the previous scenario consistently makes the necessary 6 calls per day,
what is the probability that he or she will reach his target income?
That’s pretty high!
You simply cannot do the right sales activities
and inadvertently create the wrong sales results.
Again, the solution lies in the consistency
she uses to make 6 calls a day.
We’ll talk a lot about how to do consistent actions in later chapters,
but for now, just remember:
Keep it simple.
Focus.
As mentioned,
success planning can and should include more than just income,
sales, and business goals.
In fact, success in other areas of your life will increase
the joy you get from success in sales and business.
Consider how you can integrate other important issues
and apply this process in diverse areas of life and business.
Let’s say you want to lose 13.5kg.
You will need to do a lot of work to accomplish this goal, right?
You’ll need to research how to set up a healthy diet,
shop and prepare foods,
and force yourself to eat only those foods.
You’ll also see your doctor
and ask for advice on an exercise program
to help increase your breathing capacity,
build muscle,
and burn calories.
Or you can start with walking a kilometer
and stop eating dessert every day.
Wouldn’t it be less complicated to start that way?
Of course it is,
and as with the previous example,
what you need to do depends on where you stand in relation
to your health and nutrition goals.
That is very different from person to person.
So the trick is, identify 1-2 things that will produce immediate
and powerful results.
Your plan might look like this:
What I want:
Lose 13.5kg
what I need to do:
Walk a kilometer 3 days a week and stop eating sweets
Walking a kilometer will burn about 100 calories
(depending on your weight and terrain)
and skipping one dessert a day
It will eliminate an extra 300 calories (sometimes more!).
Eliminating and/or burning 400 calories per day
is equivalent to losing 0.45kg of fat every 9 days,
because 3,500 calories is equivalent to 0.45kg of fat.
At that level, you will lose 13.5kg within 9 months.
So you have accomplished your goal!
Now ask yourself this question:
If you consistently eat less than 400 calories that you burn each day,
what is the probability that you will lose 13.5kg?
Almost 100%, because science has proven this and
because you are doing the right thing to produce these results.
The only way you can’t lose weight
is by not persisting in eating fewer calories
(unless, of course,
you have an illness or other medical condition).
Once you’ve finished crafting your plan for success,
you’ll learn how to take small,
powerful steps that can change everything
in your life and business.
You are probably starting to realize the problem.
Keep your plan simple.
It’s important to focus on 1-2 simple things
that you should do to make your dreams come true.
Underneath each thing you want in life and in business,
write 1-2 things (not all) that you need to do to achieve it.
Again, we’ll organize this information into
your success plan in the next step.
You will also learn how to take consistent actions based on your plan.
For now, just focus on gathering a list of the things
you want in your life and business.
Apply the same process to who you want to be
and what you want to contribute in your life and business.
Make a list of each and write below 1-2 things
you should do to make them a reality.
One of the most important items on my list is to be a more proactive
and reliable father,
or a better father than ever to his son.
Apparently, there wasn’t much I could do while in prison,
but I knew the point was to do something.
I knew I had to take some action that was consistent
with the kind of father I wanted to be.
So under who I want to be,
I wrote the only thing I could do:
Who I want to be:
The wonderful father of my son
What I need to do:
Stay connected with my kids through weekly letters
The letters weren’t much,
but they were all I could do.
And they have had a powerful impact on my relationship
with my son in the long run.
What matters is not great or grandiose actions,
but persistence in doing it.
I wasn’t always able to visit or talk on the phone with my son,
but I persevered in doing what I could.
Once you identify who you want to be,
make a list of 1-2 things that will help you get there.
Remember that our lives and careers are not determined
by the epic moments of recognition that people witness.
They are dictated by tiny moments of action
or inaction that no one sees.
In other words, winning a sales award
in front of everyone once won’t have as much of an impact
as consistently doing the little things
(e.g., consistently making 6 calls a day). only you see.
Complete the same exercise with the things you want to contribute.
You will find that you can contribute more as you get closer
to what you want to be and who you want to be.
Becoming rich and successful on your own won’t bring lasting satisfaction.
However, if you can use your wealth
and success to contribute to others,
you will have the foundation to maintain your enthusiasm and spirit.
What I want to contribute:
Helping people in need make their lives more productive.
What I need to do:
Build a stable,
fulfilling life for myself and create the necessary resources to help others.
Completing this exercise will give you a detailed list of the things
that make your life more wonderful.
You will have a clear picture of your dreams.
Besides, you will also have 1-2 jobs
bring you closer to your dream,
written under each item on the list.
Combining the items from our example,
the list might look like this:
What I want:
An income of $200,000/year.
What I need to do:
Make 6 calls a day and improve my closing skills.
What I want: Lose 13.5kg.
What I need to do:
Walk a kilometer 3 days a week and stop eating sweets.
Who I want to be:
A great father to my son.
What I need to do:
Stay connected with my kids through weekly letters.
What I want to contribute:
Helping people in need make their lives more productive.
What I need to do:
Build a stable, fulfilling life for myself
and create the necessary resources to help others.
Of course, this is just an incomplete sample list.
You can write as many items in the list as you want.
Be creative.
Use your imagination.
And remember,
you set up with reason
and purpose to give yourself a place to begin your journey
to wealth,
happiness,
and peace.
And this journey will start from a single step.
You now have a clear vision of your life and business,
as well as a to-do list to achieve them.
The next step is to organize that information into your success plan.
However, before we move on to that step,
you have to do one more thing.
You must understand any limiting beliefs
that might undermine your future success.
Limiting beliefs are the biggest obstacle preventing you
from having a great life and business.
For extraordinary wealth,
happiness,
and success,
there is no greater threat than the accumulation of limiting beliefs in your box.
So, if you want to reach your true potential in life and business,
you must identify what those limiting beliefs are and find a way to get them out.
The biggest challenge to discovering
and identifying limiting beliefs is that, in practice, they are difficult to recognize.
These beliefs are so dangerous
because they are so subtle and difficult to detect.
They are disguised in the very fabric
of your thought process and lifestyle.
After all, if you can identify them easily,
identifying and eliminating them won’t be so difficult.
But limiting beliefs work very stealthily
and persistently to convince you that it is you,
not them,
that are the problem.
They will disguise themselves as correct thoughts
and hide them extremely well.
These stereotypes enter your box early on.
Whenever something good happens to you,
they will be there to control you and keep the party from going too far.
If you start to feel a little overconfident that you can achieve anything you want,
they will be there to bring you back to reality.
They are seeds of doubt and insecurity,
voices telling you to be realistic.
They whisper warnings that the economy
and cheap competitors will make sales success impossible.
They are life and business expectations
that someone has imposed on you.
Limiting beliefs can come from anywhere such as family,
community,
other people,
and develop at any time.
People don’t put them there because they’re sinister.
Instead, they are there to protect you and ensure
that you don’t get disappointed
by expecting too much from life.
They are there to make sure you are not hurt
by unreasonable expectations like everyone else.
They are there to help you live reality.
These beliefs are the limits that those
who accept mediocrity have inadvertently placed on you,
they are not yours.
They belong to those who have surrendered,
who have forced themselves
to accept their own reality that superior goals are unreasonable.
And since they belong to others,
you have the right to return them.
You deserve to create your own expectations.
You have the power to resist the routine.
But to do all this,
you must first find those limiting beliefs and outsmart them,
despite their extraordinary ability
to prove to you that they don’t even exist.
As you grew up,
the people around you put limited beliefs in your box.
You accept them as facts
and your RAS begins the process of gathering information
to reinforce what you already know.
Ultimately,
that belief system becomes your only truth.
Sometimes,
you also put limiting beliefs into your own box.
Something happens
and your mind makes a mistake interpreting the information.
This confusion forms the basis for a false belief,
and your RAS recognizes and reinforces that false belief
and filters out information that challenges it.
The RAS system desperately wants to prove that you are always right,
good or bad.
The final impact on your life is not important,
the only important thing is
to strengthen your thinking and prove that you are right.
Once your limiting beliefs become your reality,
the RAS will spend the rest of your life fulfilling those expectations.
You will only find a little more than you expected
and your achievements will never exceed your expectations.
That’s why it’s so important to check the box
to find and identify malignant limiting beliefs.
Usually, you can’t get rid of them completely,
so the best option is to disable
and overwhelm them with a powerful new belief system.
This system will eventually take root
as the old thoughts weaken and die.
Importantly, you don’t have
to think all the things you believe,
and you don’t have to believe all the things you think.
You can control the things that enter
and pass through your mind.
You can become the commander of your thoughts.
Consider a few common limiting beliefs that exist in your mind,
as well as a few concrete examples
that demonstrate their insidious and subtle nature.
Years ago, I noticed I had an unusual eating pattern.
I regularly fill my plate with large servings
and eat every morsel of food before my eyes.
The beliefs that trigger these actions are buried deep within
and influence my behavior in a very subtle way.
In fact, I didn’t even realize my behavior was a manifestation of dysfunction.
That is the nature of limiting beliefs.
They are so attached to us that we often don’t realize how crazy they are.
Eventually, I gradually realized that this eating attitude was causing trouble in my life.
The older I get, the harder it becomes for me to lose weight.
As I began to question myself and try to uncover the source of this tendency,
I remembered how safe
and secure I felt when my mother cooked for the family when I was a child.
There is always a very warm
and secure feeling knowing that mom is cooking in the kitchen.
Thinking back on this,
I realize I was going through the same emotions,
in adulthood, when I had so much food on my plate.
Inwardly, I made a connection between comfort
and the amount of food on my plate,
and this still influences my behavior 40 years later.
When I think about my portion sizes,
I wonder why I often eat everything on my plate
even when I’m not hungry anymore.
I remember the days when I was a kid,
I was only allowed to get up
and leave the dinner table after I had “eaten my plate”.
In fact, if I don’t clear my plate,
not only can’t I leave the table,
but I’ll have to hear about innocent children starving in Africa,
and that’s my fault! It’s quite a burden for a 7 year old kid.
So, 40 years later, I gobble up every morsel of food
because of the thoughts and beliefs that were put into my box as a kid.
How strong are our thoughts and beliefs.
They enter the box and control our behavior for years to come.
There was another limiting belief that got into my box
and had a destructive effect on my life.
That was my father’s bias against wealthy individuals.
I remember my father calling all the rich people “scammers”.
He had a deeply rooted belief (no doubt,
his grandfather put it in his box)
that successful people all get rich by cheating and taking advantage of others.
I really don’t think my father used to think that honest people work hard
to get a relative profit and serve the needs of others.
If a person has money,
it means they have trampled other people. Just simple as that.
As a result,
when I was a kid,
I was very skeptical of people with successful companies.
The more successful they became,
the more suspicious I became.
I remember having a family seafood restaurant
that I used to frequent as a teenager.
The food there is delicious
and I always love to dine in or opt for a takeout sandwich.
Looks like that family has a great product
and is clearly having great success with their restaurant.
But my father always said,
“You know, son.
They are the gangsters.”
My father was like that,
always doubting the success of others.
As this entered my box,
I developed the same belief that “rich people are all scammers”.
Looking back on my life,
it is not surprising that I was not at all aware of the serious ethical
and legal problems of making money illegally.
After all, if “rich people are all scammers”,
and I have to become a scammer to get money, then so be it.
Obviously, my father is not responsible for my choice of criminal lifestyle,
that responsibility rests entirely with me.
However, I do believe that we all have to be careful with
what we put in other people’s boxes, especially children’s boxes.
As adults, we sometimes put our thoughts into our own boxes.
They are just as powerful as the thoughts others put in a box when we were young.
Once, at a televised event,
I helped my audience identify limiting beliefs
that undermine the achievement each of them is trying
to achieve in life and in business.
In the front row was a woman about 40 years old and very attractive.
She seems to be in control of everything,
so I can’t help but wonder what she’s here for.
Then she also began to join the group in the afternoon session.
And her story illustrates how limiting beliefs can take control of our lives,
even when they are completely absurd.
As far as I remember, the conversation went like this:
“Wally, I’m trying to figure out why I’m struggling to get things done.
I started something,
made a little progress,
then gave up.
Looks like I can’t finish.”
“Interesting,” I said.
“Her appearance shows that she can control everything.”
(Sometimes, we’re all excellent at making others think we’re doing fine,
when that’s not the case at all.)
“Actually,” she continued,
“I may not look like I’m in trouble,
but I go through a lot of trouble with my confidence,
because I just can’t seem to get anything done.”
I started asking about her childhood experiences,
as it involved her ability to get things done,
and many of our thoughts and beliefs stem from things
that were put in a box from childhood.
However, we were unable to determine anything
she knew as a baby that might have produced
this restrictive behavior in adulthood.
Then she started talking about her relationship with her mother
after she became an adult.
She shared with everyone how the mother
and daughter argued during her teenage years.
Like so many parents and teenagers,
anger explodes and their relationship goes awry.
In fact, this woman moved out of her mother’s house in her late teenage years
and their relationship continued to deteriorate in the following years.
She and her mother went from arguing to a full cold war.
You can see the pain and regret on her face
as she recalls her relationship with her mother.
After many years of moving out,
she realized the importance of her relationship with her mother.
Therefore, after a long time of discord,
she actively sought out her mother
and rekindled their relationship.
Since they lived in different states,
they only talked on the phone at first.
But after a short while,
she decided to drive from one end of the country
to the other to reunite with her mother.
But unfortunately,
her mother passed away before they could meet.
A woman shares her heartbreaking story as she stands
in the front row in an auditorium full of strangers.
“All wealth comes from adding value,
from producing more,
better,
cheaper,
faster,
and easier than someone else.”— Brian Tracy
The entire auditorium was silent when she finished.
Everyone can feel her loss and regret.
Immediately, I realized that limiting beliefs had entered her mind
because of what she had experienced.
And I asked her,
“You consider not being able to finish things with your mother as a failure.
So do you see any connection between it
and the fact that you can’t get things done right now?”
Apparently, this woman was not responsible for her mother’s death.
However, we must remember that our feelings
and actions are all based on what we think is right,
not necessarily what is actually true.
At first, she did not realize the connection between the two events.
But after we discussed it further,
she admitted that perhaps she had developed an irrational belief.
She couldn’t allow herself to accomplish anything in the present
because she hadn’t been able
to accomplish the most important thing in her life:
Reuniting with her mother.
She was gripped by guilt.
How dare she accomplish anything today
when she can’t complete her reunion with her mother?
This is a powerful example of how limiting beliefs are not necessarily rational,
and that this type of belief is often very irrational.
Rich people are not all scammers
The deaths of African children aren’t really a direct result of what I eat or don’t eat.
This woman is not really responsible
for what happened to her mother.
But these assumptions hinder our ability
to build extraordinary lives and businesses,
not because they are true,
but because we believe they are.
Sometimes, these limiting beliefs are
even built on our basic ideas about the salesperson
and the sales process.
If you stay in sales until the “real” job comes your way,
you’ll probably struggle and end up in the middle of your sales career.
But if you accept your sales career as an opportunity
to serve others with pride and professionalism,
you’ll likely see better sales results and income.
Identifying the limiting beliefs you picked up in adulthood
or as a child is important for you
to regulate your mind and achieve wealth, happiness,
and peace.
Once these beliefs are identified,
you can create encouraging beliefs
to reverse them.
This is what we will do in the next step.
But first, we must identify our limiting beliefs.
Think about the areas of your life that you seek to improve,
as well as what you have learned about them throughout your life.
“The world is full of people who are waiting for someone to come along
and motivate them to be the kind of people they wish they could be.
The problem is that no one is coming to the rescue.”— Brian Tracy
How do your limiting beliefs undermine the accomplishments you’re trying
to achieve in your adult life and business?
Again, these beliefs are hard to find,
because they’re so closely tied to your basic philosophies
that you might think they’re invisible.
It takes a lot of effort and honesty to find them,
and a willingness to consider all the things you thought you knew.
Consider the areas that you want to improve
but struggle over and over again.
Chances are, you’re stuck with some junk in the box
and have formed limited beliefs around what you want.
Asking the opinions of others about what you believe in can also be very helpful.
Ask them to give an honest opinion about a certain belief
that you hold dear and be prepared
to hear what may be.
challenge your beliefs.
Your RAS will be on high alert.
You should also carefully scrutinize the beliefs of people
who are in the same situation as you,
as they will most likely have the same junk-in-the-box thoughts as you.
Whether it’s questioning yourself
or seeking feedback from others,
you must examine thoughts and beliefs that you have consistently proven true.
Maybe they are misleading
or holding you back.
Possibly, they undermine what you’re trying to achieve as an adult.
You should not let yourself be hindered by the beliefs of others.
The point here is not to blame anyone,
much less attend therapy with parents
or retaliate against others;
instead,
it’s about identifying the things you believe in
but may be holding you back
and modifying the way you see them.
You don’t have any limits except the ones you think you have,
and you have to dig deep to find them.
Then you have to take the time to consider these issues.
Don’t cover them up.
What did you learn about money as a kid?
What did you learn about business as an adult?
What did you learn about selling?
And most importantly,
what have you learned about what might happen to you?
Is there anyone or situation that imposes limits on you?
You can optionally define and remove these limits.
You can change it all.
They shouldn’t limit your current life.
By now you probably have a pretty detailed list of your desires,
who you want to be,
what you want to contribute,
what you need to do, and limiting beliefs
that may be undermining your success in life
and business.
“Accept that you are where you are
and what you are
because of your own choices and decisions.”— Brian Tracy
The next step is to start organizing this information into your success plan.
You will gather and then review them in your daily quiet time ritual.
You will review your desires,
who you want to be,
and what you want to contribute.
You will identify one or two things that you need
to consistently do to create an exceptional sales life and career.
And you will create new beliefs and thoughts
to challenge the limiting beliefs you have developed in the past.
You will know what the perfect life
and business look like and how to get there.
The next step in the FEAR process is
to plan your success and emotionally commit to it.
“It’s not what you are that holds you back,
it’s what you think you are not.”— Denis Waitley
