Question: What is the best personality or the best identity for you to assume?
Answer: Anything you want! A cheerful friend, a businesslike executive, a caring listener. Whatever is best at the time. Different circumstances require different attitudes.
For example, to be a bossy manager at work might be appropriate, but you might drive your spouse crazy if that identity comes home with you. To be a rowdy sports fan at a game is great, but not who you should be when asking for a raise.
The reason people have trouble determining who or what they should BE is because . . . they don't start with HAVE.
"Children in the West are commonly asked `What are you going to BE when you grow up?' It is a silly question and can drive any child up the wall. Because it's the wrong question -- it hits the wrong end of the cycle."
"The child is also asked, `What are you going to DO in life?' That's just as bad. It is quite difficult to answer."
"If we asked children, `What do you want to PRODUCE in life?' we could probably get a workable answer. From that they could figure out what they'd have to do to produce. And from that, they could know what they had to BE. Then, with a little cooperation they would be able to lead a happy and valuable life."
"A lot of people and businesses fail because they don't do this." -- L. Ron Hubbard
Example: A young man likes to cook and make people happy. He may decide the product (HAVE) he wants to produce is: "Properly fed, happy people who pay me well for a fabulous dining experience at my awesome restaurant."
Based on this decision, he works out his career by listing the steps (DO). His steps include enrolling in a cooking school, working at several restaurants for the experience, saving money and so on. His planning is accurate and efficient. The young man then works out the best identity for the job (BE). He needs to BE a successful restaurateur: proud, charming, service-oriented, smart and wealthy.
To put his plan into action, this young man starts the cycle with BE and assumes this identity as the first step. He strolls around BEING a successful restaurateur from day one. He's proud, charming and service-oriented. He even feels wealthy.
He can then easily DO the steps needed to get what he wants to HAVE: a successful restaurant with happy customers. He accomplishes this much faster and more easily than a person who cannot BE a successful restaurateur until he owns the restaurant.
So if you want success and wealth, BE successful and wealthy before you get there. It not only works, it's fun!
Assume a wealthy identity. Test drive a big new Mercedes. Drive by your dream home. Stroll through a $50-million building as if you own it.
People will want to be around you. Opportunities will pop up. Money will be attracted to you.
You'll feel great! While this exercise focuses on making money, you can do these steps with any of your goals.
1. Take out a blank piece of paper. At the bottom of the sheet, write down how much money you want to earn per month, one year from now.
2. Above the dollar amount write down what you need to produce (HAVE). What will someone pay you that much money for? What final product must you produce that is worth the amount of money you want to earn?
For example, a plumber wants to earn $8,000 per month in profit. He calculates his costs and determines he needs to produce or HAVE "$20,000 per month in high-quality plumbing work to happy customers who refer." If he does this, he will take home $8,000 per month.
A dental receptionist who wants to earn $3,500 per month might decide she needs to produce much more than "scheduled patients." She talks to the dentist and discovers she needs to produce "a dental practice that doubles in production, because of my hard work, so I can earn $3500 per month."
The partners of a law firm decide they want their group to collect $500,000 per month. If they do this, they all get what they want to have.
What do you need to produce to earn the money you wrote in Step 1? Write this down.
3. In the middle of your sheet of paper, write down what you need to DO to reach that level of productivity.
This is planning at its finest; you start with the final result and work backwards.
Just before achieving the above product, what will you do? Before that? Before that? Plan your steps from this future point in time back to the present.
For example, the plumber needs to DO more promotional actions, delegate responsibility to his assistants and make sure every customer is completely satisfied.
The dental receptionist needs to organize the doctor's schedule better, make more reminder calls to patients and keep the doctor busier.
The law firm needs to hire more associates, attract wealthier clients and win more cases.
4. At the top of the page, write what you need to BE to accomplish the plan and obtain the final product.
The plumber needs to BE a responsible manager and not a fun-loving worker. He decides he needs to BE a successful, responsible, cheerful, efficient, passionate business owner.
The dental receptionist needs to BE the boss of the patients' and doctor's time, not just be a receptionist. She needs to BE a successful manager.
The law firm itself needs to BE the most powerful law firm in town. So it moves to the biggest building in town, hires the best decorators money can buy and gives to its clients an overwhelming feeling of strength.
Whatever you write at the top of your paper is what you need to BE. It's the most effective identity you can assume. BE THIS PERSON RIGHT NOW.
Now that you are BEING the correct identity for this goal, DO the action steps. You will then HAVE the money or goal. Use this exercise in all other areas of life.
To HAVE a successful marriage, what should you DO? Based on that, what do you need to BE?
To HAVE a success child, friendship, career, job, body, car, website or whatever, what should you DO? Based on that, what do you need to BE?
To HAVE a happy life, what do you need to DO? Based on that, what should you BE?
The answer to all of this is your correct starting point.
Start! |
