You Can Achieve Anything

Too often we allow ourselves to be controlled by people and circumstance outside of ourselves. It was Harold Sherman who said that the more you depend on forces outside of yourself, the more they will dominate you. When I’m in my seminars I often ask people to share with me the words they use to describe when they feel positive or negative. After people finish sharing the words they prefer I ask so who gets to choose how you feel. The audience responds in unison – you do.


I explain that it’s easy for me to stand up their on a stage and say you do, but in the heat of the moment when you’re under pressure is that what you do. I mean when you’re driving down the road and someone cuts you off it’s not always easy to remember that I get to choose how I feel right now. So we need to do more than simply acknowledge that we get to choose how we feel. We must live that message.

If you understand that you are in control of your emotional responses, you can break free from paying the role of the victim and take control over your emotions. This will allow you to maintain a positive attitude, have more energy, enthusiasm and self-belief in your own abilities, rather than be controlled by circumstances and other people.

The challenge of managing your emotional state is not limited to external pressures. You must also be aware of your internal dialogue. The messages we give ourselves have a profound affect on the results we produce. I have adopted a powerful formula to assist myself and my clients that comes from Tim Calloway. A tennis coach Tim observed that people’s performance could be measured by a simple formula. P-I = P. The letters stand for your Potential minus interference equals your performance.

Most people don’t live their potential. The average person’s performance is a long way from their potential best. The critical part of this equation is the aspect of interference. What interferes with your potential? Many of the barriers we face are the mental. They are our own limiting thoughts. It is the doubt we hold in our ability to be all we can be. On the wall of my office I have a poster that reads, “The highest fences we need to climb are those built within our minds”. While there is no doubt that there are times when outside factors can inhibit our progress the biggest obstacles for most people to overcome is their own thoughts. We need to recognise and eliminate the self limiting beliefs that are causing us interference. You have unlimited potential. You must know that without doubt.

When I train sales teams we explore the issue of trust. Without trust it is almost impossible to sell. But trust is not limited to a salesperson and a prospect, it extends out to the relationship you have with yourself. Do you trust you? Are you confident in your own ability or do you constantly doubt yourself? If you don’t completely believe in your own ability you will never fully commit yourself. You will tend to hold back from giving your all, allowing the doubt in your mind to distract you ultimately impacting the sort of results you produce. If you want others to trust you, you must first trust in your own ability.