In part 1 I
shared with you the idea that any lack of success you may be experiencing in
your career or finances may be due to your financial thermostat setting and the
fact that you may be operating with your ‘windows open’, making sustained
success more challenging to achieve.
Part 2 is
dedicated to changing that – to ‘closing’ your ‘windows’ and beginning to think
in the way rich and successful people do.
The first
action is to bring out in to the light of day all the beliefs you have around
money and career success. Make a list of all of them – this could take some
time – days or weeks, in fact. It is an ideal exercise for the holiday season
as many of you will have some time away from work. If you want 2013 to be more
successful than this year has been, then taking stock of your belief system is
a valuable use of your time.
Were you
brought up with the belief that
·
“Money
doesn’t grow on trees”
·
“You
can’t have your cake and eat it”
·
“It’s
in the sale, massively discounted. I have to buy it, it is a bargain”
·
“Money
is the root of all evil”
·
“Rich/successful
people are greedy/ruthless/ not to be trusted/criminal...”
·
“You
only need enough money/success to get by – any more is greedy”
·
“Money
doesn’t buy happiness”
·
“Save
your money for a rainy day”
·
“That’s
not for people like us”
·
“I’m
not good enough/clever enough/qualified enough.....”
·
“There’s
never enough, so if 1 person has a lot of money a lot of people can’t have
enough”
·
“We
can’t afford it”
Now,
logically, I am sure you can see the flaws in these words, but if you were
subjected to them from an early age they are imprinted on your subconscious at
an emotional level. When faced with making a decision, most people, most of the
time will make the decision with their emotions not logical thinking.
So, once you
have got all your beliefs out and written down, what is the next step?
Study them
and put them into 2 lists – 1 list for the positive, supportive beliefs that
will move your life forward in the direction you wish to go. On the second list
put all the negative, unsupportive beliefs that are keeping you stuck where you
are.
Which list
is longer?
If you
aren’t experiencing the success you would like then I can pretty much guarantee
that the negative list is the longer of the two!
OK – now you
go through list 2 and with each item you can either
·
Find
evidence to the contrary – so if your belief is that rich people are greedy and
lazy, find evidence of hardworking, generous rich people. If possible spend
some time with them, read their autobiographies, immerse yourself in the
mindset of being rich to do more good in the world.
·
Decide
how you would like that belief to be – so if your belief is “money is the root
of all evil” you might change it to “money is the root of all good” and work
with that belief – because it is more true than the negative.
·
Work
out where the belief came from – who can you hear saying it? Why did they say
it? It was their truth, based on their experience of life, but your experience
is different – how do you experience it? How do you feel when you think about
it? Is it true for you? What do you want to do about it?
Remember,
these are learned responses and not part of who you are. You can decide to
change them any time you choose.
So, when
seeking promotion and success there are a few ‘rules’ that may be helpful
·
Admire
people who have achieved the success you aspire to. Get to know them, ask their
advice and never, never, never resent their success. Bless them.
·
Be
ready and willing to “blow your own trumpet” where it is appropriate. If you
truly believe in your capabilities and know your worth, why wouldn’t you? It
isn’t vulgar, it is sensible!
·
Keep
learning – that includes taking courses, asking questions, networking.
Successful people know they don’t know it all. They are successful because they
are constantly developing themselves.
·
Receive
with grace, knowing you deserve it – whatever it is.
·
Don’t
let fear stop you. Successful people still feel fear but they act in spite of
fear – they don’t let it stop them. They just get used to being out of their
comfort zone and in their ‘adventure zone’. Doesn’t that sound more fun?
So now you
know where your beliefs originated and that they are not relevant to your life and your goals.
You also
know how successful people think and act so you can begin to make changes to
the way you think and behave – begin to model successful people in their habits
of thought and action.
So, complete
the ‘closing’ of your ‘windows’ by making a list of your own, empowering
beliefs about success and money that will form the basis of your thoughts and
actions in 2013. Know that success is yours for the taking – you just have to
do what successful people have always done – get out there and take it!
And if you
are still wondering whether you will still be a ‘good’ person when you have climbed
to the top of the ladder and made your millions remember this – success won’t
change you, it will make you more of what you already are. If you are a kind,
generous and thoughtful person, success will enable you to be even more
wonderful. You will be able to help even more people and be an inspiration and
a role model for those who follow you – what a great thought.
Make 2013
your best year yet.
I am in the
process of arranging my 2013 seminars, some of which will be based on the ideas
in this article. If you would like to know where and when there will be a
seminar near you, or what my seminar topics and schedule will be then please
email me at
info@successandimagecoach.co.uk telling me which areas you are
interested in or requesting the full schedule.
Copyright ©
Sue Courtney 2013 – Success & Image Ltd. All rights reserved.