Do you want to change your daily thought processes, ditch those everyday cyclical habits that you know are bad and get some BIG results? Then read on my friend, read on...
To start with, I pose you this simple question.
What can you do today that will expand your current version of reality?
It quite obvious really, but often we are too focused on doing and being busy with an endless list of 'to do's' that we fail to think smart. To expand your reality and you grow yourself, you must always be thinking, BIGGER, in every situation, place, events, challenge yourself to think larger than you've ever thought before.
Grant Cardone references this technique a lot, he loves it so much he even named his conference 10x! Take a leaf out of Grants book and think 10x.
In case you need some extra motivation, remember, you’ll be dead soon, it’s a sobering thought, but in the grand timeline of the existence of the world, you’re practically dead already.
If you want to make your mark on this world and change it for the better then you need to get to it, and fast!
What is your mission? What were you put on this planet to do?
Now we’ve got the pep talk out the way, what decisive actions can you take to ensure you #thinkbig always?
1. Clear Your Mind — When you connect with the universe in a mediative relaxed state, your unconscious will bring new realties into your conscious, ideas will pop out of know where and creativity will present itself in abundance. To find this inner place in my own life I joined Virgin Active — specifically to go to their Himalayan salt room, and just sit there, no phone, no partner, JUST ME AND THE SALT. It replenishes the negative ions in your body and 20 minutes in there can be as good as 3 days by the sea.
2. Think Both — this is the mantra I tell myself always, how can we do both. How can we get the big sale and serve the customer, how can we go on a luxury holiday and pay for a destination wedding, how can I study an MBA and move to a different country?
If in doubt, think both. Always!
Both = growth, and if you are settling for one or the other without first considering the possibility of getting both then you are accepting a mediocre reality into your stream of conscious processes. If this mediocrity spreads it will fester on other areas of your life such as your relationships, your sex life and your aspirations.
On top of this, you will not believe ‘it’ is possible, your frame of reference will become warped and the other guy, girl, competitor will beat you.
3. Make New Friends — if you find yourself bored and unimpressed by life, get your butt off the sofa and get out there making some new and exciting friends that INSPRIE YOU.
We are what we focus on, we create more of what we focus on, we become what surrounds us, have you ever heard the saying you are the average of the 5 people you spend most time with.
If your social circle, your colleagues, and your family aren’t lifting you up to the high heavens and you are doubting your skills and gifts for the world then run like hell into the nearest convention centre and get mingling.
Change the scenery, get awestruck by how awesome your new friends are. Take a class, start a hobby, do tough mudder and make friends on the track. Whatever you do, do something. Life it too short.
4. Take Risks — push your self imposed boundaries, Inmail that person on LinkedIn, make that phone call, have that awkward conversation with your boss, seriously, what’s the absolute worst that can happen? You loose your job, okay, and then what?
Often, we create all these impossibilities that stop us from moving forward so we tread water, for years. Is there a conversation or phrase that you keep repeating, year after year, ‘we should do that’, ‘we should take advantage of this’, ‘no one has thought of it’ — these are your starting points, these phrases or repetitive conversations are signals that are guiding the way to your new and improved growth life.
If you want to grow you will need to experiment, this means following those harebrained ideas that come to you at 3am in the morning. Investing huge sums of money not knowing if it will pay off and going with your own flow of life, without waiting for anyone else to approve it.
Richard Branson is the ultimate risk taker, he advises if you get offered a job that you don’t know if you can do it, say yes, take the job and then figure it out. It’s about grabbing life and being bold.
5. Learn To Juggle — the more balls you have in the air the more you increase your chances of success. This relates to taking action in the NOW, and not putting off what you can do today for tomorrow.
Say for example, you want to get your art into the big famous gallery down the street, how could you do this? There are heaps of ways, and most likely a series of things you will need to do to make this happen, it won’t come from desire alone, it will be because of research, persistence, risk taking, luck, knowledge and charisma.
When you want something big to happen in your life, it is important that you are taking action on all fronts, it doesn’t have to be perfect, we aren’t aiming for A* we are aiming for action, taking the step forward, emailing, tweeting, making contact, it’s a series of parts that when put together in a whole make the complete picture. Ryan Serhant, from the Bravo TV Show Million Dollar Listing and Sell it Like Serhant, talks in detail about this one skill, when you close a deal you don’t stop, you move on the next one, you are making calls in the car, booking your next appointment in your current meeting, you do whatever it takes. He advises, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, don’t over invest, have multiple balls up in the air, that way you can close more and grow bigger.
6. Learn To Say No — it’s tough sometimes to know what you should be giving the heave ho and what to commit wholeheartedly to. The way I think about this is by asking this simple question when I am faced with a decision, the question is, will doing this take me closer to my goal?
If not, then say on ya bike, and move on. My advice is don’t overcommit yourself to things that don't support your BIG LIFE GOALS they will drain you of your energy so that you don’t have any time to focus on the things that will change your life, like learning to code, invest or writing a novel.
7. Be In The Game — learn to push your own boundaries of what you think is possible, daily.
You need to count on yourself, you need to be your champion rather than waiting for others to tell you that you are amazing, or you should totally apply for that job.
Be present, know your worth and back yourself to win. Fear and doubt can influence what we think is possible in life, be sure to give yourself a primer for success before giving into fear.
Gabrielle Bernstien talks about counting backwards from five to zero in your mind and then just doing what ever it is your were contemplating before you have time to think about it. By counting backwards it distracts the mind before doubt has a chance to sabotage.
8. Take The Initiative — learn to think several moves ahead, and then prepare for it.
9. Live With Optimism— don’t complain, easier said than done right, when people are talking loudly on the train or the dog keeps barking or the delivery guy is late but complaining literally sucks the life out of you, take responsibility for the situation and fix it. Remember, responsible means response able, e.g. you are in control of the response you give out to the world, you are response able.
There is always a way. Jack Ma, the self-made billionaire founder of Alibaba states this to one of the most important trait. Those who look outward with positive energy will attract the same in return. They will take the failures as lessons and learn from them.
10. Immerse Yourself In Learning — get a book case and fill it with 200 books, then read them all. Ingest education on all fronts, online classes, webinars, conferences, blogs, members only sites, magazine, be aggressive with your commitment to constant learning. Make a commitment today.