What is the one thing keeping you from achieving success? Is it a lack of talent? Money? Education? While all of these things are important, they are not the most important thing. The most important thing is something that is within your control - your mindset.
*"Remember, our enemy is not lack of preparation; it's not the difficulty of the project or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account. The enemy is our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications and a million reasons why we can't/shouldn't/won't do what we know we need to do." -*Steven Pressfield
Is this the kind of nonsense that made you roll your eyes when you were a teenager? That's exactly what I was thinking.
...but then I continued seeing the same thing from experts and studies all over again.
Success is not about what you do, it's about how you think.
Your mindset is the determining factor in whether or not you achieve success. If you don't believe that you can be successful, then you won't be. On the other hand, if you have a growth mindset and believe that no matter what your current situation is, you can achieve success.
The common denominator between the most successful people is not what they do but how they think (and act). The richest and most famous people in the world didn't get to where they are by accident - there were many contributing factors, but at the end of the day, it was their mindset that propelled them to success.
The good news is that your mindset can be improved and changed. It's a skill like any other - one that takes time and effort to develop, but once you do it can have a profound impact on the rest of your life.
The majority of people never achieve success because they don't have the right mindset. They don't believe that they can do it, so they don't try. Or, if they do try, they give up easily when things get tough. Successful people have a different mindset - one that believes in themselves and their ability to succeed. They know that they can achieve anything if they just try hard enough and are willing to work for it.
So, how do you go about developing this mindset?
The Myth Of The Talent Wars
"War on talent" is an ongoing battle that has dragged on for a long time. In today's hypercompetitive economic world, companies are doing everything they can to attract and retain the best workers.
Ettling explains, "This entire premise is founded on the notion that there is a talent crisis. "I believe that there is no shortage of talented people in this country," he says. People may perceive scarcity only if they are fishing in an insufficiently large body of water. Unconscious bias at work is to blame for this."
In today's society, it seems like the only way to achieve success is to be born with a certain level of talent. This could not be further from the truth. While natural ability does play a role in success, it is not the only factor that determines whether or not someone will reach their goals. There are many people out there who are successful despite having "average" talent. So what separates these people from the rest? The answer lies in their work ethic.
The problem with talent is that it is an easy excuse for people to use when they want to avoid doing something difficult. Instead of putting in the time and effort required to achieve success, individuals will point their finger at their lack of ability as being responsible for their failure. While this may seem like a good strategy on paper (and could even sound reasonable to some people), there is one major flaw with this approach: it doesn't work. If anything, using a lack of talent as an excuse only makes things worse!
When you tell yourself that your failure is due to something out of your control (like having no talent), then all the blame goes on external factors instead of internal ones. This can be damaging to your psyche, as it causes you to give up on yourself before you have even tried. As long as you believe that success is only achievable by those who are born with talent, then you will never reach your full potential.
According to marketing guru Seth Godin, the battle is really for one's attitude:
...it's not a talent-hunting exercise. It's a quest for a new outlook. For a small number of positions, the only requirement is that applicants possess the requisite set of abilities. The first violinist in a string quartet can be an option. However, even here, it isn't talent that makes a difference between a winner and a loser, but rather attitude.
Having said that, I do not believe that attitude is the only factor that matters. Of course, there are additional considerations such as prior work experience and education, but...
Some of those things don't matter at all.
Is this person a hard worker? Meh. Overrated.
It's a popularity contest — and it's usually for a justified reason.
It's a popularity contest — and it's usually for a justified reason.
You, like all managers, presumably spend a lot of time trying to impress your superiors. Whether it's completing a huge assignment a day early, pleasing a hostile client, or bringing your boss a cup of coffee, you do anything you can to ensure that you'll be promoted as quickly as possible..
How often have you given any thought to the impression you make on others in the workplace? Many people feel that they are only responsible for satisfying their superiors. This is not the case. They naively assume that as long as their employer is pleased with them, everything will be fine.
The truth is that your boss's image of you is mostly a mirror of how the rest of the corporation views you. If a substantial number of individuals in the company have a bad opinion of you, your prospects of success will be significantly reduced.
If you want to succeed in your career, you need to create strong relationships with everyone you work with. Security guards and even the CEO should adopt this mentality.
If you find yourself saying, "But I'm right and they're wrong!" stop yourself immediately. — Congratulations, you have officially been diagnosed with an attitude problem.
Yes, it is a popularity contest — though not necessarily one that is unjust to the involved parties.
People who have a lot of friends at work are more productive.
... having a lot of friends at work can make you more productive. Numerous studies have shown that socializing with your coworkers (positively and constructively) can lead to increased job satisfaction, decreased stress levels, and even higher productivity rates. So the next time you're feeling bogged down by a project, try reaching out to your colleagues rather than working in isolation; you may just find yourself feeling better!
Not intelligence or effort, but how the members of the team feel about each other is a better predictor of success than either of them. those two factors.
According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, "Researchers at Google discovered that what makes a team successful has more to do with how coworkers feel about each other than any other factor — including intelligence or effort." They found that teams, where members had positive relationships with one another, were more likely to succeed than those who did not.
Rather than "Fairness," the issue is "Trust".
To earn trust, you must show compassion for people, not just money and power. A supermarket does not sell trust." - The Dalai Lama
Our world is held together by a few basic factors. Trust is the social glue. Its existence allows individuals to live and work together, feel protected, and be part of a group. Without trust in a leader, organizations and societies suffer from fragmentation, conflict, and even war. That's why we need to trust our leaders, family, friends, and coworkers.
But we know when we've lost trust. When that happens, we lose energy and engagement. We go on an internal strike, not wishing to sympathize with the individual who has wronged us. We may not show it, but we are less likely to express our feelings, promote our values, or keep our promises. As a result, we distance ourselves from them and their world. This loss of trust might be visible or covert, especially if we appear present but are absent. Those who have betrayed our trust may not even be aware.
On the plus side, trust helps people want to join a partnership or group with a common goal and readiness to rely on one another. A partnership or group that is based on trust will allow us to give our all, not only in terms of physical presence but also in terms of our dedication, talent, and energy.
There is no need to yell, "That's not right!" Unlike grade school, life is not a meritocracy.
Our brains can be twisted by the school. In the real world, there aren't many exams where you're the only person who gets a high grade.
Collaboration is referred to as "cheating" in the educational system. It's the primary method of getting things done in business.
There's also the question of trust when it comes to collaboration. How can we trust someone who has betrayed us before?
If you've ever been in a situation where others have let you down or not followed through with their promises, then it's easy to understand the value of having trustworthy people around. It can be hard to find teammates who are reliable enough that they'll always come through when they say they will, but once you do, it can make all the difference in your business!
Even if hard labor isn't always rewarded, studies suggest that those who persevere are better off in the long run:
In a recent BYU study, employees who are "genuine believers" in the mission of their organization are more likely to gain their status and influence than non-believers...
According to the findings, those who have a strong commitment to a company's mission or cause are more likely to hold influential positions within the organization, while those who are only concerned with meeting their daily quotas fall into the latter category, regardless of their formal position or overall performance.
As a former HR expert, Cynthia Shapiro has a good grasp of the facts.
You'll have a better chance of keeping your job if you can make your daily actions and choices appear to be in line with the company's expectations. Is there any way to tell? Even if they don't have the best skills, those who are perceived as openly aligned earn recognition, favor, and promotions. Those are the people who rise to the top regardless of their abilities or performance.
More and more talented people are being let go by their employers because they are seen as a potential risk and can't be trusted. Employees who lack the greatest abilities and may even need to be taught how to perform the job are being promoted because they appear to be aligned with the firm's values and the company believes they can be trusted over others. This is a costly and time-consuming practice.
What Is The Next Step?
Keep in mind what Don Quixote taught us:
Be a knight by behaving like one
What does this have to do with the workplace? Here's what it might look like at my place of employment:
"Be the person you appeared to be at your job interview."
That's who they hired. That's what they were hoping to obtain for the money they paid for.
At the same time as you were a joy to be around, you were also quite attentive.
Exactly what more could a firm want?
