Understanding Exactly What You Don’t Want:
(And Reverse Engineering Your Success)
I haven't always been a positive person or had it ‘easy.’
Hard to tell as you only know me from X.
But i have always been interested in the mind and specifically personal development.
Though that didn't mean as much at 14.
And that is where we begin the beginning of this story. And it features some Trainers and a girl.
And the surprising capacity of accomplishment, and even a secret to boot!
So i remember distinctly being 14 here, and suffering from my first case of a teenage broken heart.
Beth was her name and my affections for her were spurred in favour of her liking another guy who was altogether more ‘cool’ than me.
Not in terms of personality, I have always been a pretty cool dude, but specifically that this guy having better trainers - oh the shallowness of teenage love attributes !
At the time it upset me quite deeply.
But I bet she is regretting it now!
So I decided i would follow the advise in the books that i read, i thought positively and followed much of the usual stuff.
But still I remained extremely frustrated.
Nothing was working to make me feel good.
And all the positive thinking on the planet certainly didn't afford me a new pair of Nikes.
(No matter how positively I thought about them)
But then in my own young, uninformed manner, I stumbled across a discovery, that I consequently evolved and still use it to this day.
And years later I even expanded it more and it ended up as one of my core questions.
(In my self created Coaching Model which is known as the Master Elements.)
And what it was, is how we can actually use the very same thing, that we don't want, as an equally powerful force to propel us towards what we do.
And leaning in on an ‘anti vision’ (as the latest terminology would label this as) was a powerfully defining moment for me.
It can help us when positive thinking has failed. (though there are powerful ways to get that to work too, but they are for another story)
So let me tell you about how you can do this, and lets continue the story of Beth.
So i leaned hard into my now so called 'anti vision.'
I absolutely refused to let this situation go on.
And i summoned my resolve and my anger, and all my frustration and pain, and i got myself a morning paper round, and i also went door to door cleaning cars!
My parents were not flush with money, and asking them for new Jordans was going to be a resounding no.
So I worked hard and by fortunate circumstance, my paper round route had a lot of big houses.
And dang if you think i rise early now, well it wasn't far off it back then!
It was a twenty minute cycle to collect the newspapers and a further 15 to my route.
And most people they would just have delivered. And so did I and dang, always on time.
Spurred on by my own anti vision - I just would not rest until i had made enough money to buy these Nike Jordans!
But i always have done things differently and after a month i went back…
On a saturday, I distinctly remember it still.
And i knocked on the door of all the house.
yep, every single last one.
‘If you are satisfied with your paper delivery, I was hoping you might show your appreciation with a tip.’
Back then my sales skills were less than stellar, but would you credit it, some people did pay!
And i did the same to my car washing customers too. Dang by the end of it all I was flush (for a 14 year old)
And I eventually did get those new Trainers.
Driven on by my anger and pain!
And the end of the story - Beth still didn't love me, but her best friend thought my Trainers were the bomb !
So the message my friends here is simple. Asking our self what we don't want, is sometimes every bit as powerful as exactly what we do.
And you can use what you don't want to power you up, and use that as a motivation to succeed.
Until next time friends,
Yours,
Michael Masters - (the Nike Jordan wearing)
Info Architect.
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Helping you Master the Elements of Mindset, Coaching, Content Creation, Writing and Personal Branding.
By Bulletproofing Brains, Businesses and Bank Balances.
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