THE CHALLENGE
Go / No Go. That’s the question we ask ourselves as entrepreneurs dozens of times every day.
When we have to pick up the phone and make that hard call. Or go out on a limb to make an opportunity happen. Or accept an opportunity that’s going to throw us outside of our comfort zone.
So why is it that we sometimes find it so hard to Go towards the things we claim to want? Why, after setting our sights on the prize can’t we just get out of our own way and Go, Go, Go all the way to the finish line?
I come across this question a lot. From students. From mentors. In my own life.
The nearest thing I’ve found to an answer is the idea of Self Esteem. In a sentence, you could say that self esteem is the reputation you have with yourself.
In a practical sense, your level of self esteem is what determines whether you Go / No Go on each and every one of those daily decisions.
Various aspects of the Self Esteem equation are threaded throughout this program, but I wanted to put them all together here in one lessons with a very simple quick Action step for each one.
Dr. Nathaniel Branden is the father of the concept of self esteem. A practicing psychotherapist his whole life, he identified what he called the Six Pillars of self esteem.
If you want to raise your self esteem and your ability to take more action towards your goals, then spend time every day working on these aspects of your life.
They will help you take action on this program. They will help you in your business. They will help you in every aspect of your life.
Each action you take will result in an instant boost in your level of self esteem. Just like strength, you can condition, develop and maintain high levels of self esteem. Practice weekly, daily, hourly and you’ll be forever adding power to your Go muscle.
Here are the 6 pillars. And 6 action steps.
1. Live Consciously.
Respect facts. Be present. Be open to feedback. Ask questions. Seek reality, do not deny it. Avoid dogma. Think for yourself. Trust your senses.
Action: Pick one aspect of your life where you know you are burying your head in the sand. One unpaid bill. One ignored phone call message. One email you’re trying to forget. One decision you’re pretending doesn’t exist. Go face up to it, take action on it and relieve yourself of the burden its costing you “behind the scenes”.
2. Self Acceptance.
Own your experience on Earth. Take responsibility for your actions. Take responsibility for who you are. Don’t judge yourself, but accept where you are.
Action: Go look in a mirror. Preferably a full length mirror. Ideally naked. No makeup, no sucking in, nothing to hide behind. Scared already? Then there’s plenty of self esteem waiting for you to claim. Make a habit of looking at yourself in this way. Start to really see yourself. Then build on that very real foundation.
3. Self Responsibility.
We are the authors of our own lives. Never ask “who is going to take care of me”. Never ask “who is to blame”. Ask “what needs to be done, what can I do to make it happen”.
Action: What are you not taking responsibility for right now? What are you putting off? What are you hoping someone else is going to take the heat for? Go grab it by the throat. Own it. Do what needs to be done.
4. Self Assertiveness.
Be authentic. Don’t fake who you are for fear of criticism.
Action: What are you doing that isn’t really “you”? What are you saying that is actually someone else’s voice? What have you not been saying, that you deeply believe? Go say it.
5. Live purposely.
Identify your short and long term goals. Do what needs to be done to reach those goals. Course correct as you get feedback on the journey.
Action: We started the program with setting conscious goals. Did you do the exercise or skip it till later? Go make your plans, get out of the spectator seats and into the game.
6. Personal Integrity.
Seek to be consistent between what you know, what you say and what you do.
Action: Are you living up to the title you’ve given yourself? Are you living up to the standard you set for other people? Where are you falling short? What single act can perform with more integrity right now?
If not now, when?
I don’t believe there’s a better way for the conscious mind to get leverage on the resources of the unconscious mind than practicing the 6 pillars above.
So, if you have the desire, the want, the need to do something or be something, then practice the six pillars daily. Use them to turn your desire into the practical power to give yourself more “Go’s” and less “No Go’s”.
Use this as your default procrastination page. Use it to power yourself up each morning. Use it to give yourself the energy to do all the other parts of this program that you haven’t done yet.
Tell us what you did and how it felt in the comments. Support is open to anyone who wants it on this one.