Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you live with more fun, appreciation and a better overall attitude.


THE CHALLENGE

The Mindset challenge I am proposing this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"What three people have contributed most to my success?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question and you will uncover important life lessons, discover new opportunities and attract exciting people into your life.


THE TIPS

Before you begin your day today ask "What three people have contributed most to my success?"

The follow up questions could be "What specifically did they teach me?" and "How as their teaching benefited my life?"

Think back to your teachers, your parents and your family. What about the people you have worked with, the new friends you've met, old friends you've reconnected with? How about a spouse or a loved one? A work mentor, manager or colleague?

A good test to determine whether the person you are thinking of is in your top three, ask yourself "Where would I be today if I did not learn ______ from this person?"

If you would still be essentially the same person, then perhaps search for someone who possibly has made a more meaningful or significant contribution to your life.

If you would not be where you are today or who you are today as a direct result of dealing with this person then there's a good chance that they rank in your top three.

Try and come up with at least three people, even if this exercise takes a couple days to really think through. You may however have many more than three top teachers, in fact, this is going to be more likely as you get more and more successful.

People who are a success become successful by walking on the shoulders of giants. What that means is that successful people, before becoming a success realize the importance of standing on the shoulders of the people that they respect and admire.

In fact, here is a brief list of famous mentor - mentee relationships that you might recognize:

Huey Lewis mentor to Bruce Hornsby
Don Henley mentor to Sheryl Crow
Mel Gibson mentor to late Heath Ledger
Maya Angelou mentor to Oprah Winfrey
Stevie Wonder mentor to India.Arie
Earl Nightingale mentor to Bob Proctor
Socrates mentor to Plato
Mark O'Meara and Butch Harmon mentors to Tiger Woods

Did a couple of those names you just read surprise you? Yes, mentoring has been around since before Socrates and Plato and some of the most successful people in the world have mentors.

Why does the greatest golf player in the history of the sport require mentors and coaches?

The world's most successful people have long realized that the more people that they learn from the better and faster that they will grow. It is impossible to make all the mistakes you need to learn all in your own lifetime so leverage the lessons of others to skyrocket your success.


THE SECRET

There is no "right" or "wrong" answer because the person and premise is completely decided upon by you. If you don't feel someone is worthy of mention, then simply don't mention them.

The truth is that we ALL have something to learn from one another. Every person that comes into your life, whether yesterday, today or tomorrow has something to teach you.

Try and get in the habit of finding a "Sensei of the Day". Sensei is a Japanese word meaning teacher, so Sensei of the day is simply a Teacher of the Day.

Every relationship that we hold with our self reflects an agreement about the nature of the relationship that we have made with ourselves.

Learn from the people that are in your life whether you perceive them to be a positive or negative influence.

If you feel that they are a positive influence try to identify one or two areas that they do well in and implement a similar strategy into your life. Don't be afraid to approach someone that you admire and ask them for some quick words of advice. All successful people had help along the way, the more you ask for it the more you can receive.

If you feel that they are a negative influence try to identify one or two reasons why you think they are behaving or acting out in this manner and gain understanding as to what specifically bothers you about their actions. This is a contrast to what you do like, but sometimes we need to know what we don't like in order to help determine what we do. The next time you find someone demonstrating a behaviour you don't like, silently thank them for the gift of awareness of contrast and endeavour never to act like them.

When you become thankful for the people that are in your life you naturally start to attract more of them to be thankful for. Appreciate the lessons of life and the teachers they come from and you will be ripe and ready for relationship riches!