Five months ago I went to the doctor. He looked at his chart, looked at me and said, “Cliff, you need to lose weight.” I knew that, knew that if I did I'd be healthier. I knew would feel better about myself and knew that the added vigor would spill over into everything I do. So why didn’t I just do it? I’m sure you’ve asked yourself the same question.
How is your business doing? Could it be better? What prevents you from being extraordinary? My belief is we put too many limitations on ourselves and they are what prevents us from losing weight, making the next call, sending out reminders, building a marketing plan, etc.
So how do we recognize, plan, commit, change and preserve?
“Our only limitations are those we place on ourselves.” ~ Gail Lynne Goodwin
Stop with the Excuses
I hear it all the time during consulting sessions: “I can’t do that.” “I’m not creative,” “That won’t work for me.” Or they may say, “That person is just lucky!” The list goes on.
We certainly have biases that hamper our growth and our ability to move forward. We put limits on what we can achieve, placing self-imposed shackles on ourselves. I’ve done it! “I woulda, shoulda, coulda...” but didn’t. But why?
The mind is indeed powerful. Thought and attitude are tied together. You must believe in yourself, your abilities, and your ability to achieve.
Over the years I, like many, have struggled with this. When do I make the right career move? Is this the right campaign? Will people think it’s dumb? Once I began to trust my instincts – knowing that I sometimes would fail, make mistakes, but more often than not succeed – I found myself in a much better place.
“We must become comfortable with being uncomfortable.” ~ Seth Godin
Believe it or not, that instability is the thing that will help push the envelope. I have seen it happen over and over again. Challenge yourself by working on small tasks and then expand. Do this again and again until it becomes habit. Clear your mind to be quiet and trust your gut. Don’t allow the negatives to keep you from acting on your gut feelings.
I recall a story of a large – massive – bull in a paddock. The pen was flimsy and busted up but when the bull brushed up against it, he always backed away, believing he couldn't move it. He was much stronger than the fence and could have broken through easily, but the hurdle kept him penned in. How many of you have hurdles have you erected that prevent you from getting to new pastures… better opportunities? Test the fence!
“The problem is not that our goals are too high, it’s the contrary – it’s they are too low and we achieve them” ~ Sir Ken Robinson
Your thoughts, the way you perceive things, can either hinder progress or move it forward. How long would you try something before you quit? How many times will you reach out to a prospect? How many different touch points will you use before you throw in the towel? Had Thomas Edison given up in his quest to invent the light bulb after his hundredth attempt, may still be reading by candlelight. (He failed over 1,700 before he succeeded!) His response to a question about his dogged attempts: “I didn’t fail, I just figured out 1,700 ways how NOT to make a lightbulb.” Your attitude is indeed connected to your thoughts and ambitions. Having the right forward-thinking attitude will help in moving the success needle forward.
Don’t Limit Your Success or the Success of Others
Limiting your success means limiting opportunities, some of which may lead to the next biggest break-through or discovery. If you are in a position of authority and staff members, children, friends (yes this applies to all aspects of life) see yo
limiting yourself, they may follow suit. Limiting people stifles growth, erodes our creative capacity and all of this breeds mediocrity. It is so important to empower those around us to be the very best they can be. It makes for better businesses, better families, and better individuals.
“I’m not saying that being wrong is the same thing as being creative. What I am saying? is if you’re not prepared to be wrong; you’ll never have an original thought” ~ Sir Ken Robinson
Adopt a free thinking environment and allow folks to be wrong. Being wrong, making mistakes and learning from those mistakes will help your organization thrive. It’s empowering!
That said, some limitations are good. Anything that negatively contributes to the demise of your health is not good so putting limitations on consumption IS good. Too much of any one thing is not. So take a hard look and put limitations on yourself that will cause you or your business harm; these limitations should accelerate your success rate.
You become whom you associate with. If you are better than everyone you deal with you won’t grow; reach out and find others that challenge your way of thinking – in fact, find people that are better than you; these people will push you beyond your limits, which will of course make you better yet! Can you think of any limitations you place on yourself? Generally these are false beliefs and self-imposed – we talk ourselves into this mindset.
Here are a couple of thoughts to help get you moving forward.
• Select a challenge, something you would like to do but haven’t
• Plan out the steps, a timeline to reach this goal
• Have the will and commitment to press on no matter what
• Be flexible, willing to do a little more – even when it hurts – and adjust
• Persevere, knowing that anything worth having is worth working for – it will NOT come easy
• Find a coach or a mentor that will help hold you accountable
Take this one step at a time and do your best to rid yourself of the self-imposed shackles of limiting yourself. Realize that you are worthy of doing great things and being a contribution to others. Remember when others see you do this it becomes an inspiration for them.
Getting back to the conversation with my doctor; five months later I have dropped 45 pounds, and my doctor said to me, “…congratulations, you have managed to add eight years to your life…” Wow, eight more years to spend with my amazing family and friends!
Until next month, no more limitations and continued success!
For more than 30 years, Cliff has been speaking, training and consulting internationally to associations and national business groups on more effective ways to market themselves, their products and services, as well as motivating their personnel. Recognized by PPAI for his creativity, he has won the prestigious PPAI Pyramid award 25 times, and the Printing Industry's PSDA’s Peak Award for creativity five times in three years. He has also received PPAI's Ambassador Speaker of the Year Award six consecutive years and was the inaugural recipient of PPAI's Distinguished Service Award. Named one of top six industry speakers and trainers, he also was recognized by PPAI in the book, "PPAI at 100," as having a significant influence in education. He has also been recognized by Counselor Magazine as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in the Promotional Products Industry. You can engage with Cliff at http://www.myengagepage2.com/cliffquicksell.