When did you last think about the way you think?

Internal beliefs

What is it that sets successful people apart from those who don’t set goals in life, who have no particular sense of purpose, from those who feel like a rudderless ship? Has it perhaps got something to do with the way they think? You betcha!  

The ‘glass ceiling’ that people often perceive is standing in the way between them and the success they seek, is only a perception that they have put in the way of their own progress. No-one is stopping them from breaking through it, only they are.

Most people allow their brains to run their lives - very few people run their brains. In other words, many people think the thoughts they have are reality – not that their thoughts are their version of reality. Therefore, if they believe they’re not capable of great things, they look for everything in the backpack of their life to prove themselves right. Their thoughts become their own echo chamber where they get caught up in their own self-limiting beliefs. It won’t matter who begs to differ, who it is that is trying to convince them otherwise; that person will look past their achievements in life and instead will believe they are flukes or luck. In their mind they perpetuate the narrative that success is not for someone like them, that they’re not capable of it- it is not within their reach, or worse still, it is not theirs for the taking for they are not worthy of it. They seem to think being satisfied with their ‘lot’ in life is all they can do.

Success in any walk of life is about taking charge of your brain and making it work for you. Take the field of sales for instance. Results are not about the sales process, they are not about the product, the company or the customer, they are about the salesperson; great results are about how salespeople THINK.

Making noise or soaring above?

Here’s a fabulous tale I heard recently from a connection on Facebook. An urban myth? Perhaps, but one worth pondering on nonetheless:

DUCK OR EAGLE? It's up to you.

I was at the airport when a taxi driver approached.

The first thing I noticed in the taxi was a sentence, that read: Duck or Eagle? You decide.

The second thing I noticed was a clean and shiny cab, the driver well dressed, white shirt and pressed pants, with a tie.

The taxi driver got out, opened the door for me and said: "I am John, your chauffeur. While I get your luggage, I would like you to read on this card what my mission is."

On the card was written:

John's Mission- “Take my customers to their destination quickly, safely and economically, offering a friendly environment.”

I was impressed. The cab's interior was equally clean.

John asked me: "Would you like a coffee?" Playing with him I said: "No, I prefer a juice."

Immediately he replied: "No problem. I have a thermal with regular juice and also diet, as well as water." He also told me: "If you'd like to read, I have today's paper and some magazines as well."

When the journey started, John told me: "These are the radio stations I have and this is the repertoire they play."

As if that wasn't enough, John asked me if the air conditioning temperature was good.

Then he told me the best route to my destination and whether I wanted to talk to him or whether I preferred not to be interrupted.

I asked: "Do you always serve your customers like this?" "No," he replied. "Not always. Only in the last two years. My first years as a taxi driver I spent most of my time complaining like other taxi drivers. One day I heard a doctor specialising in personal development. He wrote a book called Who You Are Makes a Difference. He said: If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you will. Don't be a DUCK! Be an EAGLE! The ducks only make noise and complain, the eagles soar above the group.

I was all the time making noise and complaining. So, I decided to change my attitude and be an eagle. I looked at the other taxis and drivers. Dirty taxis, unfriendly drivers and unhappy customers.

I decided to make some changes. Since my customers responded well, I made a few more changes.

In my first year as an eagle, I doubled my income. This year, I already quadrupled. You were lucky to take my taxi today. I'm no longer at the taxi stand. My clients make reservations on my cell phone.

If I can't answer, I can get a reliable "eagle" taxi driver friend to do the job."

John was different. He offered a limousine service in a regular taxi.

John, the taxi driver, decided to stop making noise and complain as ducks do and started to fly over the group, as eagles do.

You may well know of this story- doing a bit of research, it seems it’s has been doing the rounds for some time; ‘John’ is cited as being called Billy and Wally in other versions, and there are no doubt more names being used. The point is though, that this is about attitude. The attitude you adopt in life will create the circumstances and results you find yourself in. And of course, that all starts with the nature of your thoughts.

By understanding how the mind works and therefore what makes your customer tick, you will be able to tap into what it is they really want and that’s when you get the results. People buy people after all… In these challenging economic times, it is vital for you to have a Winning Edge Mindset and to be ahead of the game. You need to think in successful ways.

Where’s your focus?

An equation for success that we talk about on The Winning Edge course is the following:

Is there a common link between the words in the left-hand column? Yes. As there is in the right-hand column. On the Winning Edge course, we ask participants to quickly jot down what percentage role they think the two groups play in success. So, if they think they play an equal role, then their answer would be 50/50.

There’s no answer you can prove, but from our experience: it’s 80 / 20. You very often need the 20 to make a start but the 80% leverages your success. We’ve had a surgeon attend the course who wholly believed it was 80/20– I wouldn’t have thought he would have put the split that great, but his belief was that if you don’t have the thinking skills, motivation, attitude and mindset at the ready, how can you bring your team in the theatre along with you? Think of it this way, imagine you have the choice to be operated on by two surgeons, one tells you there is an 80% success rate, the other that there is a 20% failure rate, which one do you want to be operated on by?

Your investment

The question is, how much time/money/effort have you spent on the group on the right? What do you think you could achieve if you worked as hard on the group on the left?

It doesn't matter who you are, where you are or what you do. The quality of your thoughts creates the quality of your life, including your thoughts over time around the things you didn’t choose to happen to you.

The question to ask yourself is: do you spend your life complaining and moaning about who you are, what you have and what you do, or if you want better, do you question yourself as to how you can make it better? Do you elevate yourself by changing your thoughts, thus your emotions, leading to a change in your actions and therefore creating more positive habits?

The decision my friend is yours. You are entirely up to you.

Nothing changes if nothing changes. So, choose 2022 to be the year you make that change. #bemorejohn #bemorebilly #bemorewally

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Do you find you tend to believe an unhelpful narrative about yourself? Do you find it challenging to maximise your thinking skills, motivation, attitude and mindset to be the best you can be?  

The Mindset Coaching Membership can help you understand the tools and strategies needed to be the best version of you. With Masterclass Teachings + Coaching + Accountability, we will help you to create the future you want. Find out more here. 

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