Find Your Why & Envision What Success Looks Like To You
I’ve been thinking, recently, about something that may at first glance seem totally obvious. But when you overhear the conversations of some people, you’d be forgiven for thinking they are completely mad!
Why is it, when some people buy a lottery ticket they don’t think they have a chance of winning? The whole point of the purchase in the first place is to be in with a chance to win.
Bizarre, isn’t it? Yet some people will buy lotto tickets expecting not to win! Okay, I know when I buy a ticket that the odds are not in my favour and also, that the same thing applies to the other ‘X’ millions of people who have also bought a ticket.
But, although the exact same odds are against every single person who has bought a ticket, it’s also true that one or more of them might win the jackpot outright or take a share of it. Alternatively, weeks may go by without a winner but eventually someone, or several, will win big.
As I wrote in my opening paragraph, it should be totally obvious that to buy a ticket gives you a chance to win and let’s be honest, every one of us wants to win the big one – right?
You choose your favorite numbers or let the machine pick them for you and then hand over your money to receive your ticket.
So, at some point in that process – however briefly – you have thoughts of winning.
You create a winning mindset.
Entrepreneurs know that the success of any project or business begins with ensuring that they start with the right mindset, a winning mindset. They know that success itself will require more than just thought and use the imagination and visualization powers we all possess, as the catalyst that drives them to do all they can to achieve the success they have already seen in their minds’ eye.
The most successful entrepreneurs have crystal clear goals. They know What they want; Why they want it; How they are going to achieve it.
With a goal clearly set they work back from it, mapping out every inch of the way making sure they stay on the right path.
I came across an article on Entrepreneur.com, written by Carrie Green (Founder of the Female Entrepreneur Association) that delves deeper into the required mindset by presenting four questions that entrepreneurs must ask of themselves.
Although the article appears under the “WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS” section, the questions presented by Carrie are not gender specific and apply equally to men:
The Four Questions Every Entrepreneur Must Ask Themselves To Achieve Success in 2017
We all want to achieve incredible things in 2017. We want to have a bigger impact, create more growth and reach new business heights.
Creating this isn’t going to happen by accident, it’s going to happen because you make it happen.
In order to do that, you have to show up like never before for your goals and dreams. So how are you going to do that throughout the year?
Read the full article here at entrepreneur.com
I hope you enjoyed reading Carrie’s article and have gained something from the four questions she presented that will help you to achieve the type of success you’ve always wanted.
As for me, I’m on a long voyage of self – discovery since my breakdown in 2010. I won’t go into any detail about that here, but if you do want to know more, see my About page.
Questions 1 & 4 are, for me, the areas I really need to focus on.
As a reminder, those questions are:
1. Get clarity: What does success look like for you?
4. Condition yourself for success: What is holding me back?
Developing A Highly Successful Mind
I’ve learned a lot about the mind since 2010, but it’s such a vast area of study, even the professionals admit that they are really only scratching the surface. The key for me is to understand, as much as I can, how to gain the insight into my own mind to not-only pinpoint answers to Carrie Green’s questions 1 & 4 above, but to also understand and find-out more about my own Inner-Self .
To help achieve those answers, I’ve decided to revisit some techniques I briefly came across some time ago.
The techniques were developed and are still being refined by Stuart Lichtman. He calls the techniques CT or Cybernetic Transposition and the seed of the whole thing first started in 1957 when he was a student at M.I.T (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
Cybernetic Transposition sounds like something out of an episode of Doctor Who! You can imagine a plot which involves the Cyber Men taking over the bodies of humans and transposing into them!
Well, I don’t know – maybe it could be a Doctor Who story-line?
Actually, the word cybernetics is a derivation from the Greek word kybermetes, which can mean any of the following:
- steersman
- pilot
- rudder
- governor
I guess it probably depends on the context in which it is used. Stuart Lichtman preferred ‘steersman’, as an inference to gaining control of one’s mind. Specifically, the Unconscious Mind.
Transposition is to take one success you have experienced in any area and reform it for use as a solid foundation to ensure that same level of success in any other area.
As I work my way through CT, I plan to post progress updates here on my blog and on my Facebook page.
Please, let me know your thoughts and opinions on this post.
Twitter: J_Sollee
on March 6, 2017 at 1:37 pm
Hey Mike!
I truly enjoyed reading this post and it came just at a time when it was very useful to me.
I have had quite a struggle trying to figure out my place and where I fit into this crazy world of online business and entrepreneurship.
I’ve always struggled with visualization and the mental game. I’ve tried the “visualization boards” and writing goals, but always lost my way.
Thank you for the article from Entrepreneur.com, it was a very interesting read! (I personally need help with questions 2,3 and 4)
Recently I have taken to meditation and tried to focus on nothing but success, and pondering those 4 questions is something I will try.
I think an issue that a lot of online entrepreneurs have is that they don’t worry about the mental side and they just do things to make themselves look busy without any real purpose. It seems to me, creating a winning mindset (like with the lotto ticket) is definitely a must when it comes to being an entrepreneur.
I am also very interested to hear your progress updates with “CT”. This interests me and I would love to hear how it goes!
Thanks for the post Mike, and looking forward to reading the next.
Best Regards,
Jeff Sollee
Jeff Sollee recently posted…Marketing Mindset â Before Your First Dollar
Hi Jeff,
Thank you for stopping by and for the comment.
Apologies for the late reply, but I’ve not been in the best of health for the past couple of weeks.
This whole thing about the mind is something that I never really considered before I had my breakdown in August 2010. Since then, I have realized just how important it is to take the time to really find out about yourself; who you are and what you want.
Seems a bit “out-there” I know, but when you consider that most people are effectively running on auto-pilot, it does start to sound more obvious.
I have been running on auto-pilot practically all my life! From achieving good exam grades in school & college, to beginning my technical career in electronics and finally leading up to an executive IT position in a global corporation.
I was just doing what I thought I should be doing, without thinking about it too deeply.
Now this may sound pretty weird, but I never did ask myself if I wanted to work at such a high level and if I was OK with all the pressure and responsibility.
My own mind abruptly gave me the answer in August 2010.
I now know that fully understanding your own mind, establishing the correct mindset that is in sync with what you really want to do, gives you a balance & calmness that just wouldn’t have been there before. It also gives you a sense of greater control.
And all that is the start of achieving a winning mindset.
I know what you mean about the visualisation board, as it doesn’t resonate with me either, but meditation does and it’s something I never thought that I would be doing prior to 2010. But now I do that along with yoga on a regular basis. Spending the time to really get to know yourself is important.
A little delayed with CT due to ill health, but I will report progress on my blog as I pick things up again.
Mike
Mike Flanagan recently posted…The Need To Visualize What You Want To Achieve
Twitter: affiliateninjac
on March 7, 2017 at 6:57 pm
Hello Mike,
Just went through the whole article and the reference article you have mentioned on entrepreneur. Both of the articles are great and really enjoyed reading it.
However, I am new to the term “Cybernetic Transposition” and i think i will do a little more digging on Stuart Lichtman’s blog about it. Anyways it’s really interesting to read your article and so I just followed your FB page for further updates. Keep up the good work and have a great day 🙂
Regards
Souvik
Souvik Mallick recently posted…Paid Traffic Sources – 2017 Advertising Guide
Hi Souvik,
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.
I’ve been ill recently, but will now be getting on with the CT stuff and reporting back.
Mike
Mike Flanagan recently posted…The Need To Visualize What You Want To Achieve
Twitter: chakrabracelet
on September 1, 2017 at 9:51 pm
I loved your blog! You did such an amazing job writing this. I will subscribe to your site and hey, check out my blog if you have a chance!
Twitter: best4businesses
on December 14, 2017 at 11:14 pm
Found your great article while researching success visualizations. You helped me with this question – Get clarity: What does success look like for you?
I was so busy trying to succeed I never took time to get clear on what that means to ME. Wow what a game changer. I have subscribed and look forward to reading more of your helpful posts. Thank You
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Shahriar recently posted…HSC 2018 Bangla Question & Answer এইচএসসি ২০১৮ বাংলা প্রশ্ন ও উত্তর
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