One of my favorite is “The Santa Clause” starring Tim Allen.  There is a scene in the movie where Allen is at the North Pole and tells one of the elves; “I see it, but I don’t believe it.”  She replies; “You’re missing the point, seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing.”

I have seen so many blogs written about goal setting and New Year’s resolutions.  Hey, nothing wrong with that and most of them if applied and followed will no doubt, net positive results.  I want to put a little different spin on it.

I think that most people fail at reaching their goals because they need to see them to believe them.  What is we believed they would come true before even beginning that “Day 1” activity.  I don’t know if this is true or not but I have heard one of my mentors refer to January 10th as National Quit Day.  The average day that most people quit their New Year’s Resolutions.

For the sake of this post, I will assume this is true.  Why do most people quit less than two weeks into what they saw as their goal for the new year?  Simple, if you buy what I am selling – they have not seen any change and therefore don’t believe it will come true.  End of story!

I am taking a little different approach this year.  I have my goals and a plan to achieve them, but I have simply accepted the fact that they will happen.  This may sound a little far fetched and that’s OK.  My mentor John Maxwell, once told me that; “What other people are saying about you is none of your business.”  Good advice as far as I am concerned.

So I am sure you would like to know how this works.  Well, here is my take.  I have been working hard on building my business for over two years and I am seeing the results of doing the things that required believing before seeing.  I am not going to pretend that my own self-limiting beliefs have not taken me to some lows along the way, but I do believe.

I know that there will always be bad with the good, but accepting that allows me to move past the challenges knowing that they will always exist.  Believing that good will happen and then watching it happen reinforces my belief that this will be my best year ever.

If you think about it, there are many things in life that really require believing before seeing.  Things like love, joy, peace and happiness.  Really, put this to the test – if you get up in the morning believing that you are going to have a great day, you will.  If you wait to see something good happen before you put a smile on your face … well, good luck with that!

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” – Henry Ford (Tweet This / Share on Facebook)

My hope for you today, and really the rest of this year, is that you can find some truth in the idea that believing is seeing.  So a simple question for you to ponder today; “What do you believe will happen this year?”  

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Click here to get a copy of my Kindle Book “The Manifesto Of An Influential Leader”

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Barry Smith  1/2/14   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2014

The post Believing Is Seeing – What Do You Believe 2014 Holds For You? appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

Some of you probably recognize Burg as the co-author of The Go-Giver, but this one is all his and according to the author, his finest work – the book he was meant to write.

Burg starts out by introducing us to the idea of Ultimate Influence ==>the ability to get the results you want from others while making them feel genuinely good about themselves, about the process, and about you.

Burg suggests that Ultimate Influence is based on five key principles that occur on an ongoing basis.  In this post, the second of four, we will take a deeper look into the first two principles (1) Control Your Emotions and (2) Understand the Clash of Belief Systems.  Take a look at these and see if any of them might apply to your life.

1.  CONTROL YOUR OWN EMOTIONS

• Responding Versus Reacting – I love this one!  Responding is how you stay in control.  React, and you are letting the other person control the outcome.  How is that working out?
• Effectively Handle Verbal Attacks
• Make Calm Your Default Setting – What if you could actually accomplish this? Have you ever noticed that when they get louder, so do you?  It does work in reverse – when was the last time you tried that?
• Overcome Anger
• The Persuasive Power of Positive Detachment
• Think Before You Speak
• Agree to Disagree – What would the world be like if everyone thought the same and agreed on everything?  Sometimes agreeing to disagree is the best way forward.
• Consider the Source

2.  UNDERSTAND THE CLASH OF BELIEF SYSTEMS

• Belief Systems – the Problems and the Solution – There is some great insight here. People’s beliefs are created largely due to what they have experienced in their life. Expecting someone to agree with you, just because you think you are right, is like expecting them to abandon everything they have ever known.
• “How Would You Define …?”
• Accept the Responsibility for Communication
• The Importance of Conscious Awareness – You know that I am a big awareness fan.  When you are consciously aware, you can use all the information you have to create and communicate a thought.  Isn’t that a better option that what you “have always done or said?”
• Personal or Not?  How Do You Know?
• Love Languages from Liberty the Cat
• First, Know the Issue.  Then, Choose the Words
• The Answer?  Based on What Information? – Better the question, better the answer right?  It works the same when making decisions.  Better the information, better the answer.  Have you ever tried to complete a puzzle without all the pieces?
• Perceptual Realities Equal Different Conclusions
• Change Your Non-Serving Beliefs to Be More Productive

Well, there is a taste of the thoughts and ideas found within this book.  I encourage you to pick up a copy and fill in the stuff I left blank on your own.  Some of the chapter headings listed above don’t make a lot of sense until you listen to Burg’s wisdom.  Now is your chance!

We certainly have much more to look at in Adversaries Into Allies but let me leave you with this question today; “If you stayed in control and recognized that other people can believe what you believe, but simply think about it a little differently, that it might just make sense to work with them instead of against them?”  Just a thought!

***********************************************************************

Click here to get a copy of my Kindle Book “The Manifesto Of An Influential Leader”

Don’t miss a single post from Building What Matters by subscribing at the top left of this page. 

Help support us by clicking here and Liking our facebook page

Barry Smith   12/12/13   photo courtesy of burg.com   © Building What Matters 2013

The post Adversaries Into Allies – Part 2; Staying In Control appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.