The Seven Secrets To Ignite Your Balance Sheet & Employee Peak PerformanceThe Seven Secrets To Ignite Your Balance Sheet & Employee Peak PerformanceNapoleon Bonaparte did not tolerate fools gladly, so was incensed when accused of winning battles not by brilliant strategy, but only due to good luck. His riposte was succinct: “I’d rather have lucky generals than good ones.”
What would your business look like if all your employees were a lot luckier? What if you were a luck magnet too? If you are tired of endless performance appraisals, unimaginative strategic staffing plans, and low employee morale scores then you need to know why I do not consider luck to be random.
I present workshops all over the world and so can now predict the topics that resonate most deeply with delegates. These topics are usually related to the timeless trilogy of health, wealth and happiness. I ask a series of questions from the stage to extract more detail. Then I add a magic word to the conversation. I ask quietly,
‘Would you like to have more LUCK in your life?’
The atmosphere in the room becomes electrifying, as the delegates lean forward in their seats. This magic word that ignited the audience is ‘luck’. Even thinking about luck appears to ignite primeval emotions, or even obsessions. These are probably rooted deep in our reptilian brain. Yes, we all want more health, wealth, and happiness, but our overarching wish is fundamental. It is to be lucky.
Is that possible? It certainly is, and I will share a few examples with you.
My clients include leading names from the diverse worlds of sport, business, the entertainment industries, and professional poker.
Many of them have been hugely lucky, and I am going to share some of their lucky secrets so that you can get lucky too. One of them was so lucky that he won over a million dollars shortly after we worked together. :
In this article I will share three secrets to getting lucky and then a further three in next week’s blog post.
The first secret of success is to accurately identify your goals. The challenge is that most people do not really know what they want from life. They know what they think they want, but that is often not quite the same.
Mark Twain clearly observed similar lack of clarity amongst his circle of acquaintances.
‘I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can’t find anybody who can tell me what they want.’
It is very easy to think of an impressive goal, but is it the correct one? Is it something you want to achieve, or something that parents, teachers, or friends have recommended?
When people follow their passion they are rarely disappointed. These are the lucky people. How do you spend your money at present, after all the bills have been paid?
How do you spend your discretionary time? What activity makes time fly, fills you with deep contentment either during or afterwards, and, in a humble and grounded way, you know that you are rather good at?
So once you have decided on your real goal, the more different ways you can remind yourself of your goal each day, the more successful you are likely to be. There are many ways to do this. Examples include writing the goal on stickers and fixing them to the bathroom mirror, the refrigerator, using the goal as a screensaver on your computer, mobile phone, and alarm clock.
These actions direct your unconscious mind, and help to build a self-fulfilling prophecy. Also keep in mind that writing is the doing part of thinking, and is also a powerful connection to your unconscious mind.
‘A goal properly set is halfway reached.’ – Abraham Lincoln
This second secret is confidence and is extremely important in determining whether you will lead a lucky life. Fortunately there are many ways to increase your confidence and self-esteem. The truth is that what goes on in your head will sooner or later come out in your life. Henry Ford expressed this succinctly,
‘Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.’
One of the things that goes on in your head is a voice. It may be your own voice, or it may belong to somebody else. Often it is the voice of authority from the past, perhaps a teacher, or a parent.
This voice is your internal dialogue. Your mind is usually full with a constant chatter giving a running commentary of your life. Very often it slips out of the mouth, usually followed by an embarrassed pause. ‘I was just talking to myself’, you mutter.
Adopt this mantra right now. Say it out aloud.
‘From this moment forward I will only say good things about myself.’
Follow this mantra for a week and you will start noticing how your mood and your luck have improved. Follow this mantra for a month and your friends and family will start asking what has changed in your life.
If you are concerned that you might lose out on learning from your mistakes, or becoming arrogant you can add the following words if you so wish.
‘Fear not. I can trust family, friends, and the rest of the world to point out my mistakes. I do not need to give them any help.’
This is another exercise that is well worth adopting. It is about remembering the good times. As with most things in life it will require some preparation, and effort on your part. However when compared to the size of the glittering prize out there it will be one of the best investments you have ever made.
A powerful starting point is to make this commitment. Write it down, and then you are much more likely to keep to it. Say it out aloud too, with conviction.
‘From this moment forward I will remember every good thing that happens to me.‘
Unfortunately most people have a brilliant memory for remembering all the things that went wrong, but struggle to think of the many good things that have gone right in their lives.
So when something goes well for you, wallow in the pleasure for a second or two longer than you ordinarily would, before allowing the memory to slip into your unconscious mind. If you can do this several times a day for a month there will be a subtle change in your brain chemistry and outlook on life. You will notice the difference. Those closest to you will notice it more.
You can enhance this effect by subtly giving your brain another push in the right direction. When you have one of these pleasurable experiences make sure that the memory is easy to retrieve by associating it with a physical anchor.
Some people touch their thumb and forefinger together to reinforce a happy memory. Others touch their ear, or brush their trousers. Spend some time choosing yours. It should be discreet, but most importantly it should feel right with you.
Adopt this practice for a month, and the chances are that you will continue in the future. These anchors will soon become a seamless and automatic part of your life.
A common characteristic of successful and lucky people is that they have a very clear picture in their head of what it is they wish to achieve. These are called visualisations.
Albert Einstein had magical visualisations too. He explained that most of his creative thoughts were in pictures, and that he rarely thought in words at all. This is proof that a picture, or visualisation, is worth more than a thousand words.
You can create pictures in your mind too. It is even more powerful when you make your own movies in your head to reconstruct the success that you desire.
Great movie directors know the importance of creating vivid imagery using all our senses. These are our only information inputs from our environment. We have five senses; what we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. Now it is time for you to direct your own movie. Make sure it is packed with detail relating to your five senses.
So let the cameras roll. Lie back, close your eyes, and imagine some success you have achieved in the future, perhaps a few months away. Then reflect on all the things that went right over the preceding months to position you for your success. You recognise that your processes were sound, and that your journey was a series of small steps, and not all of them were in the correct direction, or so it seemed at the time.
Your thoughts are interrupted as a journalist from the local paper approaches and asks you for the secret of the amazing improvement in your life. Could you pass on some tips that would interest and help her readers?
Pause for thought for a few seconds. Then share with her some of the most illuminating insights and suggestions that you found the most useful.
What you have done is change your perspective. You have permitted your brain to create a vivid movie of a positive outcome even though it is in the future. Furthermore you have also changed your perspective by being the observer, and watching yourself behave with unconscious excellence in this movie.