Feb 7, 2016
Have you kicked off February with the same energy that you kicked off January?
Ohhh, . . . did that question strike a chord in you? Be honest.
If I’m being entirely honest with myself, which I’m trying to be, I have to say the answer to that question for me is no. If I had to put a number on it, I would say I’m operating at about 80% of the energy I had last month.
I suppose that’s not too bad. But imagine if I operated for the majority of the year at 100% of the energy level I started with!
Imagine if you did too! What would your results look like by the end of 2016?
Take your time reading this email. Instead of skimming it, read each word, looking at the message as a mirror of how this concept applies to you.
Last week we talked about success and how success is not the destination. Success is the consistent movement toward ideals or pictures that we have in our minds. You can form an ideal, a vision, for your health, wealth, family, sales, business, and so forth. Hopefully, by now you have formed some ideals in your mind (and on paper) for all of the key areas of your life.
Now, sit back and think about the characteristics you require to achieve the ideal. What are they? Answer this question before you move on.
My mind gravitates toward words from my friend Richard Brooke’s book Mach II With Your Hair On Fire: The Art of Vision & Self Motivation: physical energy, enthusiasm, creativity, courage, and persistence. There is an umbrella word for all of these characteristics: self-motivation. Self-motivation is the energy inside of us that gets us to act powerfully.
Do you agree that if we had an abundance of physical energy, enthusiasm, creativity, courage, and persistence we would gravitate, very naturally, toward the ideals we have set for ourselves?
Allow me to share my personal experience. Please don’t read it and say, “Oh, there’s Spurvey tooting his own horn.” I’m only sharing it with you as an example of how the formula can work. I suppose that I could share a failure in the area of my physical fitness too. But I don’t think that example would be quite as empowering. You see, this formula works in both directions: positive and negative.
About two years ago, I began to form an ideal in my mind. I wanted to take my personal sales story (both the good and the bad) and share it with others who are involved in entrepreneurial or sales pursuits. I saw that sharing as the best use of my natural gifts and the skills I had developed over the previous twenty years. I also saw it as something that would be rewarding from both an intrinsic and an extrinsic perspective. I formed a vision and, lo and behold, self-motivation in the form of physical energy, enthusiasm, creativity, courage, and persistence began to pour forth from me. I had applied the exact same methodology in 2006 when I originally dove into the sales profession.
Signs that I am on the right track are showing up consistently in my life. My network is evolving, resulting in powerful, positive people coming into my life for me to collaborate with. Opportunities for me to share my experiences with groups of people are showing up on a weekly basis. Here is last week’s Forbes article that tells my story. I’m quite proud to be written about, and I’d be honored if you shared the article on social media.
I think it’s safe to say that the methodology of forming ideals, or visions, works. Do you agree?
Self-motivation flows when we have a crystal-clear vision in line with our values, gifts, and purpose.
Reflect on this email for a few minutes. Look at your past successes and failures through the lens of self-motivation.
Next Sunday we’ll talk about vision.
Have a great week.
Chris