How do psychology and cognitive science tie into business so well, and how can we use basic human psychology principles to do business even better?
My fascination has led me to do a TON of mindset work — which I truly believe is *crucial* to get to the next level of business without zombie-style-crawling your way up.
^^ How many Halloween references can I fit in one email??? We. shall. see.
One mindset framework or model that I’ve been mulling over the past few weeks has been the HAVE > DO > BE model VS. the BE > DO > HAVE model.
That’s uber confusing-sounding, so lemme break it down a ‘lil for ya.
Model #1: Have >> Do >> Be
The person following this model has a victim-mentality: They believe that when they HAVE enough of some resource (ex: time, money, support, resources, knowledge, etc.) then they’ll DO the things that they need/want to and then, and only then!! will they BE happy or successful!!
They believe they have to HAVE something or be pre-qualified to take the action they need to bring their dreams to life to BECOME the type of person they want to be.
The problem with this is that these people will always be looking & waiting for external things to change before taking the action they need to see the results they’re dreaming of.
Model #2: Do >> Have >> Be
This model / framework is dubbed the “worker” model. I feel like this model rules them all within the creative industry.
A person following this model believes that they must DO more things to HAVE the things that they want to BE happy.
^^ However, the problem with this is that they’re setting themselves up in a pattern of being defined by the work that they do, so they’re highly likely to do more work and drive themselves to the point of burn-out. And they believe that the more that they HAVE, then the more they now have to lose — so they must work *doublyyy* hard.
Plus, having more things doesn’t necessarily = happiness.
So you’re probably wondering, well neither of these two sound greattt, they kinda sound like tricks — so is there a winning treat model?
Well, there is! Here’s the Snickers style winning model!
Model #3: The winner (winner chicken-dinner!) — BE >> DO >> HAVE
This type of person asks “Who do I need to BE” and THEN from that place, what do I need to DO to find success? What type of person would be successful at what I’m dreaming of and what types of action steps would they take to get there? This leads to success & having the outcomes that they want most easily!
Your subconscious makes up about 90-95% of your brain and stores things like your identity, patterns, beliefs, past memories, automatic actions & behaviors that make up the majority of your thought processes and thus your feelings, actions & outcomes!
A key piece of that is your identity — which makes up who you think you are, how you think you relate with those around you and the rest of the world as well as what you think you can and cannot do.
That last part is super crucial when it comes to stepping up and becoming a business owner or taking your business to the next level! It all starts with reshaping and rethinking your IDENTITY so that taking the action steps that are necessary to get yourself to the next level become easier and are met with less internal resistance.
When it comes to this, I recommend taking it a few steps at a time:
- Journal out what this next-level self is like!
What does he/she believe about themselves, believe about their capabilities, about the world around them, about money, about their purpose and the type of work that they do?
What are obstacles that you have overcome to get to level you’re dreaming of? What type of self-talk or limiting beliefs did you have to work through tp operate at this new level?
2. What are some daily action steps your best self would take?
These can be small things that take 5-15 minutes — but the repetition over time has allowed you to achieve the level of success you’re dreaming of!
3. Take it even one step further & break your action steps down!
What action steps could you do each day, each week and each month to achieve the success you’re looking for?
4. What does “having it all” REALLY look like?
For a hot sec’, block out what everyone else is doing. If you could dream and anything was possible — what type of life would you want? Feel free to think bigger than what’s “realistic” here since that is informed by what your mind CURRENTLY thinks is possible!
Feel free to journal it out, sit & meditate on it, talk to yourself to answer these questions – however you best process your thoughts, take a stab at it!
Keep the BE > DO > HAVE model in mind and always ask yourself: “Who do I need to BE to DO the things I need to do in order to HAVE the type of life I’m craving?”
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