When I was a sophomore in college, my friend Dave and I would study psychology all day long, and then relax in the evenings by studying psychology some more. Just for fun.
We were avid learners, and our learnings were never enough. We constantly sought real-life-application of what we had learned in the classroom. Behavior modification, conditioning, diffusion of responsibility, over-satiation (hah!), and more.
One day, Dave and I were sitting on his front porch and he told me he was thinking about trying out for the university football team kicker. I asked him if he had ever kicked a field goal in his life, and he said, “no, but I’ve already done it in my mind 100 times.”
He was athletic, yes, but he had never actually kicked a field goal. He hadn’t studied technique, or foot placement, or how to deal with the wind, but he was certain he could get the job done. He went to tryouts and was offered a spot on the team.
So, how did Dave kick a field goal without having ever done it before? Well, he paved that road in his mind to the point where showing up and putting the ball through the uprights was the easy part. He envisioned his reality until it became his reality.
And what does this have to do with success in business?
I was told a few months ago by my own mastermind peers that “vision without implementation is just hallucination.” Imagining yourself as a successful, wealthy practice owner or entrepreneur without follow through is quite literally just a dream, and nothing more. And yet it has to start with vision. Without vision, we put ourselves at risk of following nothing at all. Rather, just responding randomly to whatever is in front of us. The next email that comes across your inbox. The thing that other therapists in a Facebook group say that they’re doing. A networking event that *feels* too important to pass up.
When we lack vision, we are just steering a speeding ship through the night with no compass, no map, no radar, no coordinates. We are really just out to sea.
The foundation of mindset mastery is vision.
You have to see it in your mind before it happens. You have to know where you’re heading, or else how will you ever know when you’ve arrived?
So, take a moment now and ask yourself, “what is my vision?”
Where do I want to be in 10 years? 5 years? 1 year? Next month?
And work your way backward to determine exactly what you need to do this week to actualize your future vision. It really is, in a sense, as simple as that.
If you are the leader of a team without a vision, your team will soon catch on, consciously or not. Vocally, or not. But they will sense your lack of vision, and their trust in you will erode.
Even if your vision changes, which it will, you still need to have a vision, and be bold enough to put it on paper somewhere. If you are leading a team, share your vision with your team as much as you can. They will follow your lead and will organize themselves more closely toward your vision if it is clearly communicated to them.
At the same time, you may choose to keep some parts of your vision private. Why would you do that?
Well, when you share some of the lofty aspects of your vision (e.g., earning 6 figures, earning 7 figures, working 2 days a week, spending summers in Italy, etc.), certain people who haven’t done their own mindset work will try to pull you back toward their own limited vision and reality. They will literally tell you things like, “that’s a lot of money, how are you going to do that, that’s not possible, that seems like a pipe dream,” and so forth. Most people will cast doubt because of their own private doubt, and they won’t even know they’re doing it.
Be bold enough to have a vision and stay steadfast in your pursuit of its actualization.
If I laid a piece of 2×6 lumber on the ground in front of you, stretching 8 feet long, could you walk across the entire board without falling off?
Yes? Ok, what if I raised that board 10 feet off the ground, could you still walk across it without falling off?
Yes? Ok, what if I raised that board across a section of the grand canyon. Could you still walk across it?
If not, what’s different?
The point is, the action is the same, but the circumstances are different. The risk is greater. The potential for failure is so glaring that it makes the task seem beyond impossible. But the task is the same.
I want you to take a second and write down on a piece of paper exactly how much money you earned last year (net profit).
Got it?
Ok, now I want you to think about what you would do in order to make that exact amount of money in 1 month.
What immediately comes to mind? Write down your immediate, automatic thoughts.
Most likely, you had thoughts like:
“That’s impossible.”
“That’s way too much money to make in a month.”
“My fee would have to be $1,000 per session!”
And so on.
So, why are we so quick to jump to negative conclusions? Because we have been conditioned to do so. Conditioned by whatever factors are relevant to your life and upbringing. Early messages from your parents, your friends, your teachers, your colleagues. Pervasive messages from other people in your industry and in the office next door. It is easier to remain limited by these widespread beliefs than to identify them, challenge, and ultimately replace them.
Write down your own limiting negative beliefs right now. It’s less important to know where they came from, and more important to make a concerted effort to evict them right now, and replace them with thoughts and beliefs that are more reality-based and productive.
The process for replacing these thoughts is simple: write down the replacement thought, and each day when you wake up, tell yourself that thought 5 times. You won’t believe it at first. You won’t *feel* any different.
But after 30 days of doing this, you will notice subtle but powerful shifts. Your mind does not decide what you believe or disbelieve—it is up to you what you feed it.
A major renovation of mindset is the first part of helping a business owner or entrepreneur go from average to extraordinary. It is a grinding, mundane process and your emotions are not necessarily your friend in this process—and this will seem contrary to everything we have learned as therapists.
Push through your limiting negative beliefs, make replacement a habit, and you will see gains in your business and your life like never before.
Let me help you build a better business. Book a free strategy session today.
