Expectation

I'm going to spend some time with the next few topics covering 5 key mind shifts that you need to make to increase your success. Some of them will seem fairly basic at first glance, but I challenge you to really think and consider your personal thoughts and philosophy around each topic we cover. The small changes in the way we think often produce the largest changes in our results. Our philosophy about life is what determines most of outcomes. Many times if you're not making the progress you want to be, it's because there's an underlying conflict somewhere in your philosophy. Unless we take the time to analyze our thinking and challenge our current beliefs, we may never uncover those issues and it will be a constant struggle. We need to uncover those areas and see if there needs to be a change in philosophy that will propel you towards your goals. Lets' get started with the first mind shift we need to evaluate.

We don't get what we want. We get what we expect.

Let's explore this a bit.

Think about what you want to get out of life; what you want to accomplish. Think about the big things you've set out to do, especially the ones you keep aiming for but seem to consistently be falling short - maybe even way short. Think also about those you know that have dreams and goals, but for whatever reason aren't reaching them. I would strongly suggest that, if you really dig deep (and you may not really have to dig that deep at all), at the root of the problem is likely this one piece of philosophy. Here's why I say that. What we want, and what we expect, can be and often are two separate things. Plenty of people want to be a millionaire. In fact, if you asked 100 people on the street if they wanted to be a millionaire, if I were a betting man, I'd say your chances of all of them giving you a "yes" answer are pretty darn good. So, why aren't they? It's because, while they may want that, they don't expect it to happen to them.

Now of course there's more to it than that. Obviously there's the effort you need to make, the education and knowledge base you need to build, and so forth. You can't just expect something to happen and have it happen. That's called ignorance. The point is, if you don't expect something, it won't happen, regardless of the efforts. You can have all the knowledge, you can take all the steps that should be taking you where you're trying to go, but without this key piece of actually expecting the results, you will never get anywhere. You'll continue running in place, expending a ton of energy without any real results. You may make some small progress, but you'll never achieve your full potential. Everything you do starts with expectation and belief! It's the foundation of any endeavor, large or small. You simply cannot achieve something if you don't expect it to actually be fulfilled.

Think about it. You will not put in your full effort to something you don't believe will actually happen. Why would you? What's the point if you don't really think you'll get there? Really examine this in your own life. Spend some good, focused time just writing out what you want and seeing if you truly believe and expect that in your life. Dig deep. You may think you believe and expect what you're striving for to happen, but when you start really challenging yourself and looking closely at each of your goals, you may be surprised at what gets flushed out. Be honest with yourself. If you don't have the expectation or belief, it's ok! Telling yourself you do when you really don't will not help get you past it. You need to identify what you do and do not have expectation of so that you can make a deliberate adjustment to your mindset. If you ignore it, it won't change. But if you acknowledge it, you can make the choice to rewire your thinking to that of expectation and belief.

I was listening to a sermon recently, and the pastor made an observation on a passage that had never occurred to me before. In the story of the birth of John the Baptist, Zechariah and Elizabeth are old, and have not been able to have a child. They are in a state of waiting. An angel appears to Zechariah, and tells him he will have a child, even in their old age. Though at first he does not believe, we look further and, later in the story (Luke 1:24) it says he returned home from his service at the temple, and "soon afterward his wife became pregnant". This is not to be crass, it's simply an observation that once he believed, he was filled with expectation, and expectation, in turn, leads to action. Without the belief and the expectation of good things in your life, of achieving what you've set out to do, you will not take the action steps to make it happen.

I challenge you to really explore the expectation and belief in your life. Do you really expect the results you say you want? Or do you need to go to work on changing your philosophy, changing your wiring, so you do in fact expect those things and believe they can and will happen in your life. Only then can you move to effective action and massively increased results, and start seeing the things you want in your life come to be. Your only limits are those that are self-imposed in your own mind.

"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve." -Napoleon Hill

The Power of Belief

We all know the classic story The Little Engine That Could from our childhood. The story has so many philosophical principals in it it's incredible; from persistence, to focus and drive, to the power of positive thinking. The principal I want to hit on right now is belief.

Belief is a huge factor in whether you have success in your goals or not. You must believe or there is no way you will put in your full effort. If in the back of your mind you are thinking "this will never work", you are going to struggle. After all, why would you work so hard on something when you "know" it will never work out anyway? Here are the key areas of belief you must have:

1. Belief in yourself - You must believe in yourself if you have any hope in succeeding and reaching your goals. If you do not believe in yourself, that you can and will actually accomplish what you are set out to do, then you will never come close to what you are capable of. Without full belief in yourself you will constantly be in a struggle to take the steps that are necessary to climb to the top of your mountain because you will always be thinking that the effort is in vain because you don't actually think you will get to the top. This belief is the cornerstone to all of the others. If you don't believe in yourself it doesn't matter how great your belief is in the other areas, because you will simply never put in the full effort.
2. Belief in possibility - Similar to belief in yourself, you have to believe in the possibilities out there, and that there is a ton of opportunity if you just go out and get it. If you don't believe there are possibilities, then again you will not put forth the effort.
3. Belief in abundance - You also have to believe that there is abundant opportunity; that there is plenty to go around. If you don't, instead of seeking help and advise, you will try to go it alone and hoard information and opportunity. Success is a collaborative experience, and takes the efforts of many. Sure there are many "self-made" millionaires, but ask any of them and they will tell you they had a great team around them to get them to where they are. Without the belief that there is abundance and plenty to go around, you can't work together with others in an effective manner to get higher results.
4. Belief in your "why" - You have to belief that your "why", your reason for achievement, is a worthy goal. Money alone will not fuel a belief enough to keep you going. Instead, think deeper about why you have the goals you have. Who do you want to impact? What kind of legacy to you want to leave? If money is a goal, don't think just about the money, but what will the money mean  to you? What will it help you accomplish as far as helping others? What will the money get you -and I don't mean material possessions; that's the same line of thinking as just the money itself - does it get you more time with your family? Does it help you be in a position to start the business you've always wanted to start? Does it give you freedom? Know what you are chasing, but you must also know why you are chasing it.
5. Belief in your system - There are many ways to build wealth, especially with all of the modern conveniences and the way technology has changed how we do things and the opportunities it has created. But you need a system in place to be successful. Success isn't an accident. Success requires thought, planning and strategic action steps. You have to set up your system, whatever it is, and you have to believe it will work. This doesn't mean you can't tweak it along the way, but it does mean that you have to have faith that you are headed in the right direction, and that with adjustments along the way, it will work. Whether the system is one that was taught to you by a mentor, or something you've come up with from your own research, you have to believe that the efforts will pay off.
6. Belief in others - Ok, I admit, this one can be hard because let's face it, people let us down. But you have to believe in others and believe they can help you or you will be trying to do everything on your own, and if you are doing that you are severely limiting your ceiling of success. You simply can't know or do it all, so you have to trust others to help you. This includes advisers, business partners, mentors and the like. Believe that there are people out there that do want to help you and see you become successful. Seek those people out, bring something to the table, and have faith you can help each other in your endeavors.