One of the perks that comes from working with Superstars is the glimpse into their thought processes I get.
Before I explain what I mean, here’s a quick little quiz to determine whether your mindset is helping you or hindering you. Answer truthfully – no one will know the answers but you.
Answer Yes or No:
- I’m very confident when making important personal decisions
- I’m very confident when making important business decisions
- Once I make an important decision, I don’t second-guess myself
- When mentally debating an important issue, the voice in my head is positive and helpful rather than telling me I can’t do it
- I don’t worry about the future because I believe I have or can find the resources I need to get me through whatever comes my way
- I know exactly what it takes to get to the next level in my business and I’m definitely on my way there!
- Every personal development book I’ve read or course I’ve taken has worked worked to move me forward in my Superstar-ness
- I work with others who are good at what they do so I can use my time and energy to do what I do best, rather than trying to it all on my own
- I’ve heard some people say they feel like a fraud, but not me!
The quality of your decision-making process is directly related to your ability to succeed – personally and professionally. And your decision-making ability is related to the quality of your information and the quality of your thoughts.
So if you answered “Yes” to all nine questions, you know that positive, quality information and thoughts = confident decision making.
If you answered “No” to any of the questions above, your mind actually is experiencing some degree of fear – fear of making the wrong choice, fear of staying stuck, fear of not making it, fear of losing money, fear of not making enough money, fear of losing control – you name it; it’s all a form of fear. And while you understand this intellectually, emotionally you’re worn down by it.
You see, your brain has a number of functions it performs. One of them is to interpret threats in your environment and create a sense of fear in you, to trigger your flight or fight response. That part of your brain is called the amygdala (pronounced ah-mig’-dah-lah) and more commonly referred to today as the ‘lizard brain’ since its function dates back some 6 million years.
Sounding the alarm was all well and good when saber tooth tigers stalked us at snack time. The lizard brain shouted “RUN!” And we did – for our lives! When the amygdala speaks to us today, it sounds like this:
“Growing your business? DANGER! You could fail! You could lose money! You could look foolish!”
“Getting something out of a personal development book? DANGER! You might learn to ignore me when you’re really in danger of doing something harmful to yourself.”
“Trusting other people to help you with your goals? DANGER! You could lose money if the other person does something wrong. And let’s face it – no one else on the planet has your high standards.”
“You tried something like that once before and failed. What makes you think it will work now?”
The secret superstars have learned is to separate out real, immediate danger from perceived and contrived threats. For most of us, that’s not nearly as easy as it sounds. Even when we think we’re okay, we might not be. We suddenly find ourselves STUCK somehow and can’t really figure out why. I know this feeling from first-hand experience.
Remember I told you I was a personal development junkie? Well, as long as I could identify goals, tasks, and timeframes to accomplish them, I thought I was doing everything right. Then one day I realized I was stuck. And it hit me that I wasn’t as alright as I thought I was.
You see, my lizard brain had been convincing me that everything was going well, so I wouldn’t change anything. So I didn’t change things which in retrospect needed changing. I didn’t realize this at the time. At the time, I simply felt stuck with no explanation as to why!
In order to take a step forward, I had to learn to talk to that lizard brain. Make no mistake; I couldn’t do this on my own. Nor did I feel I needed long expensive therapy of any kind. But I knew someone who had a product which could help me.
Fast forward a few months to today – I’ve taken my business to the next level! It’s an immensely satisfying feeling, like a constant hum running 
through me. You see, IMMEDIATELY after using this product, doors started to open. One right after the other. Things went from why-is-this-harder-than-it-has-to-be to easy and natural. Oh sure, I have some exasperating days, but since using this product, none of them have resulted in a why-am-doing-this feeling! NONE!
You’ve heard me talk about the product before – it’s a course entitled “From Inner Critic to Inner Ally.” And if you’ve read my previous emails about this course, you know other people besides me have experienced the same kind of mental and emotional relief – FREEDOM actually – that comes from teaching your ancient stuck-in-the-past lizard brain to differentiate between real potential life-threatening situations and spreading your wings situations.
Even the whole process of developing and marketing the “From Inner Critic to Inner Ally” course proves the point. Andrea Patten, the author, realized that her energy was best used for creating courses. It’s her love and her strength. But marketing them? Not so much. Marketing her courses doesn’t play to her strengths.
That’s why Andrea has chosen to market her courses through others, specifically those who have taken the course and who can testify firsthand what a difference it made in their life. (See Question 8) Andrea pays a commission for this as it’s her policy to give back to those who help her. Hopefully I don’t have to say this, but no amount of money could cause me to recommend something I didn’t believe in. When you’re a consultant like I am, you name is your brand and integrity is paramount.
So, go back to the list of questions. Any answers ‘No’? If so, do yourself a favor and learn more about the course.
