Becoming Your Best

Becoming your best is both a mindset and a skillset. Focusing on this principle will dramatically improve both your mindset and skillset. In the spirit of Good, Better, Best, it doesn’t matter where you are today; this principle will empower you to improve every area of your life!

The fact is that your actions and your behavior follow your thoughts. If you thoughtfully engineer what goes into your mind and your heart, these factors of change will have an enormous impact on your ability to achieve your dreams and realize the best you can be.

The acronym GIGO has commonly referenced the saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” However, we can change that to also mean “Greatness in, greatness out.”

In a computer, a person can only access a file if it’s on the hard drive. Likewise, you can only access a skillset in your mind once you’ve learned it. So, whether it’s leadership, parenting, self-development, exercise, etc., it’s about first gaining the right knowledge, then applying it. This is why great leaders get great results; they focus intently on gaining knowledge and improving their situation.

There are two dynamic ways in which we can continuously grow through knowledge:

1. Regularly assess the external environment.

2. Stimulate and exercise the mind.

Assess the External Environment

The external environment is everything happening outside your immediate surroundings.

It is essential to realize that the external environment often cares nothing about you. It can be cold, impersonal, brutal, and impartial. If you know what’s coming, you can often minimize its impact or take advantage of an opportunity.

View the video below to explore the external environment and the potential threats and opportunities.

What are your threats and opportunities?

Think about the external environment and list all the threats and opportunities, personally and in your organization. You or your organization are in the middle of the ring (the radar); the external threats or opportunities are listed on the outside.

Let’s Practice!

Take a second and think about all the forces that exist in your external environment. Has there been anything in your genes that might give you a propensity toward a certain health problem, such as cancer, eye problems, or heart disease? Do you have multiple suppliers, or do you rely on one supplier? If you have only one supplier, what would happen if a natural disaster disrupted that supplier’s operations? These are just a couple of questions that might help to get you started.

Once you finish thinking about the various factors, circle or highlight the two or three threats or opportunities that can have the biggest impact on your life. Then develop an action plan for taking advantage of opportunities or avoiding the threats to you and your organization.

What would your analysis of the external environment (personal and organizational) look like? Try it for yourself!

Prioritize and rank your threats and opportunities from largest to smallest. What are the top three?

Beware of false knowledge. Are you ranking these with a bias of some sort?

This exercise can contribute to personal success, relationship success, or the success of an organization, and it can save a lot of heartaches. It can help you identify potential opportunities by observing trends. It helps you think ahead—3 months, 12 months, 5 years, and 10 years down the road. It is a great “what-if” exercise. This is key to your success. You need to be constantly aware of the threats and opportunities that are coming at you. This is a powerful way to gain knowledge, which then allows you to effectively apply it.

You can download the sheet here.

Stimulate and Exercise the Mind

The message of this quote is powerfully accurate because the quality of your life is directly affected by the choices you make. Even when a setback or tragedy strikes, the knowledge you have acquired from the people you have met and the books you have read can help you overcome it and move forward to be your best. In order to apply knowledge, though, you must first acquire it.

Certain habits empower people to grow their knowledge so they can then apply it. The power of this principle is developing a thirst for knowledge, then applying that knowledge to improve your personal and professional life.

Though these habits may seem familiar, people talk about them more than they practice them.

Our research showed a strong correlation between success, time invested in reading, listening to podcasts or audiobooks, and seminars or training. Test the power of this principle by developing a reading goal that stretches you (yes, that includes audiobooks).

As you build upon what you have already accomplished and cultivate your unique qualities, seek to associate with people and read books that will move you closer to your best. It’s also essential that you avoid negative conversations and books that could keep you from your goals—and that could possibly destroy your dreams.

Game-Changing Invitations That Could Have a Dramatic Impact on Your Personal and Professional Life

Where would you like to be in five years? Remember, Charlie started by saying that we’ll be the same in five years except for the people we meet and the books we read. Let’s look at Charlie’s quote a little more closely. We have several game-changing invitations that could have a dramatic impact on your personal and professional life.

Read at Least One Book a Month

Develop the habit of reading at least one book a month. The books you read should be those that teach you new skills, increase your knowledge, and help you grow in your professional and relationship skills. It might be helpful to keep a journal of reflections on what you’ve read, as this will help you to retain knowledge and information. Ask yourself, how can the key points in the book be applied to my life? After all, what you know isn’t of value until you apply it.

Many authors pour their life experiences into their books so that others can benefit from them. Reading, then, is a way to hyper-accelerate your development by learning from the successes and failures—and the research—of accomplished men and women. I’ve found that highly successful leaders almost always read voraciously.

When you read at least one book a month, you reap many benefits. You stimulate your mind. You acquire more knowledge and enhance your skill sets. The brain is like a computer. When you try to access a file that’s not on the computer, you get an error message that says, “File not found.” When you read and learn from others, you’re loading the files into your mind so that you can access them when you need them.

Invest 3% of Your Income in Yourself

Now for the second part of the equation to stimulate and exercise your mind: invest 3% of your income in yourself. This is money that you put into expanding your mind and your knowledge. If you do this, you’ll probably see a dramatic improvement in many different areas of your life.

What would 3% of your income amount to? Think about ways you could invest that in being a better leader or sales manager, becoming more physically fit, developing stronger relationships, or learning skills that make you more valuable in your career. Are there some courses you could take that might help in a particular area, such as motivation, sales training, personal growth, emotional intelligence, leadership skills, or relationships?

Surround Yourself With People Who Inspire and Lift You

In addition to reading at least one book a month and investing 3% of your income in yourself, another way to stimulate and exercise the mind is to surround yourself with people who inspire and lift you up. One way to do this is to create or join a mastermind group.

When looking for wise minds to consult, you should find a group of people who inspire and motivate you. Finding others who want you to succeed isn’t easy, but the benefits are worth the hunt. I suggest that you look around in your local area and find a way to join or form such an advisory group. The idea is to surround yourself with people who can help you be your best.

Maybe you could also consider investing in a coach who can help you review your vision and your goals, then chart a course to get there. If you take this route, make sure that the coach has strong credentials and references. A great coach can be a valuable asset and guide you to higher achievements and greater fulfillment, but some coaches are more qualified than others. You don’t want to waste your time or your money. If you invest in a coach, do what entrepreneur and motivational speaker James Malinchak suggested, “Find someone who’s been there and done that and is still doing it successfully!”

Summary

Of all the things we teach, this particular bit of advice can be one of the most fruitful and one of the greatest game changers in your life. To summarize, you can grow and stimulate your mind by reading a book a month, investing at least 3 percent of your income in your own development each year, and joining or creating an inspiring group. These are proven methods for acquiring the necessary knowledge to soar to amazing new heights in many different areas of your life.

1. Determine an area of your life you want to improve (leadership, relationships, health, etc.)

2. What are some books or podcasts you could read or listen to this year that apply to the area you want to improve? Take a few minutes to search the Internet for books or podcasts related to the area you want to improve.

3. What are some additional ideas on how to invest in yourself (courses, trainings, etc.)?

Sumary and Reflection

When you are armed with knowledge and apply it with all the energy and enthusiasm you have, it changes the game. It helps you to develop creative new ideas and solutions, to scale new heights, and to see new vistas. Knowledge will provide you with an enormous competitive edge that makes a decisive difference in a rapidly changing world.

1. What are your thoughts on this principle and how they apply to you and your organization?
2. What are three important things you want to remember?
3. What’s something you will start doing today to better live this principle?
4. What is the next book that you can read to help yourself personally or professionally?