Harnessing The Power of Mindset & Action For Success
Intro
Welcome back to another installment of #AJsBookClub! Here we summarize some of our recent reads & dive in to the take aways to help enhance an aspect of our lives. Specifically, an aspect of our own definitions of success.
If you haven’t already, consider joining the discussion on facebook. We’re a growing community of people who like to share & discuss books that are what I consider to be “Success Focused”. In the mean time, feel to check out other reviews & summaries on the blog page (quick link here to make life easier!)
Motivation & Self-Help
I spent a lot of 2022 reading motivational and self help books.
Books that I chose because I wanted to change the way I viewed the world and more importantly how I viewed myself.
Books that would help me change my mindset to become better.
I originally found Ed Mylett as I was watching his episode on the bigger pockets podcast.
His words are inspirational and his methods for success are based on both experience and science. Quickly I became and fan and ordered his book, "The Power of One More".
This book helped me to learn new strategies and put some familiar concepts in a better perspective.
Power of One More
The main focus of the book is taking one more step, making one more effort, or doing one more thing to reach your goals and achieve success. Mylett argues that success is not about being the best or the most talented, but about consistently putting in the work and making the extra effort. He encourages readers to embrace the power of one more and to keep pushing themselves, even when things get tough.
If you follow me on twitter (you should!) (@DJAJZampella), you'd know that one of my main mantras is "Keep Fuckin Goin". This book really builds on how to go do just that!
At just over 250 pages, there is a TON to take away from this book, but I want to highlight 5 few key takeaways that really resonated with me:
Learn to Identify & set your thermostat
Mylett uses the metaphor of an internal thermostat to explain the concept of setting and achieving personal goals. The idea is that everyone has an internal thermostat that determines their level of success and happiness, and that this thermostat can be raised or lowered depending on their thoughts, beliefs, and actions.
Your internal thermostat is set by the beliefs you hold about yourself and your abilities. If you believe that you can achieve great things and that you're capable of success, your internal thermostat will be set high, and you'll be motivated to take action towards your goals. On the other hand, if you believe that you're limited and that success is out of reach, your internal thermostat will be set low, and you'll be less likely to take action.
The key to raising your internal thermostat is to adopt a growth mindset, to embrace the power of one more, and to consistently take action towards your goals. By consistently taking one more step, making one more effort, and doing one more thing, you'll raise your internal thermostat and increase your chances of success.
Reticular Activating System
We often hear people talk about "The Secret", "The Laws of Attraction", or "Manifesting" (Fun twitter thread on this!). This belief that if you think hard enough about something that you bring it in to your life. Well, turns out there's a lot more to it than that, and it's based in science!
What is really happening is that you're engaging your RAS (Reticular Activating System). The RAS is a part of the brain that filters information and determines what we pay attention to. By aligning our goals and keeping them laser focused in our mind, our reticular activating system makes our brains more aware of the things we want to see.
Has anyone ever brought up a certain type of car to you and then magaically you start seeing it all the time? This is a prime example of your RAS at work. Imagine if you could use this to your advantage?
RAS can be programmed by setting specific, measurable, and achievable goals, and then focusing on these goals every day. By focusing on your goals and taking consistent action towards them, you can program your RAS to help you achieve your desired outcomes.
Things like visualization and affirmations can play in programming the RAS. By visualizing your desired outcomes and repeating positive affirmations, you can reinforce your beliefs and increase your chances of success.
Watch Your Own Silent Movie
We rely so much on dialogue in movies & television today. You can walk away from a movie or show for a decent amount of time, but quickly pick right back up what's happening just from context clues in the dialogue.
You know what didn't have that luxury? Silent Movies
Silent Movies had to rely on the actions of the actors to tell a story
Imagine if your life was a silent movie. All your interactions had no sound. You might not be able to hear someone talk about how they plan to be the best sales person, but you can see their actions of picking up and making more calls than anyone else. Working longer hours.
If actions speak louder than words, are your actions enough to make your words unnecessary?
Inconvenience is Not Easy, but Convenience is a lot worse
This doesn't mean you should go off and make your life miserable.
Success is not about living a comfortable life, but about being willing to step outside of your comfort zone and embrace the challenges and difficulties that come with growth and progress.
We need to be proactive and intentional about seeking out inconvenience, as this will help to develop resilience, self-discipline, and the other qualities and skills that are essential for success.
Once you take the path of comfort and convenience, we're already on the decline. You need to go attack with urgency because convenience never actually lasts.
Mylett highlights the connection between convenience and commitment. Inconvenience can be directly tied to commitment, your drive to over come and continue pushing forward.
Often, the greatest things in life come out of inconvenience. They are things that you knew were worth it and kept pushing toward.
Mylett quotes legendary motivator Ken Blanchard:
"There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something you only do it when its convent. when you're committed tot something you accept no excuses only results"
Conserve mental energy through habits
Habits are dependable and help sustain us through the tough days.
They create the process for us to go execute consistently without having to focus significantly mental energy. I consider this to be a way to "automate" our life. (I plan on writing an article on this soon - I'll link to it here after I do!)
People often think that you need to have motivation or inspiration to get started and be successful. That's actually pretty backwards.
Habits are the things that make us consistent and help you get through those days when you don't really feel like doing the things you need to do to be successful
Conclusion
I could continue to write a lot more about this book, but I'll just close with a line from his book that I think sums it up pretty well.
"You were not born to be average or ordinary"
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Until Next Time
A.J. Zampella