To Succeed... or Not to Succeed? by Maureen Pisani

Truth be told, isn’t that the question most minds ask in the early hours of the night? You know that for success to be achieved, the amount of work expected from you is huge! You think that if you do what’s expected, you’re sure to succeed. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case! So, what are the hidden secrets that trigger undeniable success?

Do you see how some people are programmed to be top achievers, while others, regardless of the work they actually put in, never seem to grasp that level of peace of mind, of abundance, of financial freedom you consider to be success? For the outsider, it might seem like the luck of the draw…but what if it isn’t? What if you have more control than you really think?

YOU DO!

Once you discover how things run, then you can set course, overcome obstacles, stay fully aware of the destination, and know that you will reach it.

You’re aware that you have a brain and a mind. The mind conceives the idea “I’m thirsty” and the brain sends the impulse to have the nerves stimulate the muscles for your hand to reach out for the glass, so you can have a sip of water. What most don’t know is that the mind is split: the conscious mind is 3-12 percent, and the unconscious mind is 88-97 percent operational. Your unconscious mind is running the programs that determine the outcomes of all the goals the conscious mind comes up with.

The programming of your consciousness is set according to what you experienced, learned, heard, witnessed, or read up to the age of 8 years. You have a predetermined library that encompasses who you are, what your attributes are, your own self-identity, and what your financial comfort zone is. Yes, before you turn 9, your future and all its success are determined.

As you strive to achieve your goals, your unconscious mind reverts back to your original ‘library of knowns.’ It will check on what attributes you have and access them, but it will also access your financial comfort zone. This is where it gets tricky because your financial comfort zone was set by how much your parents earned. Whatever lifestyle you were raised in, however they thought of money, is what you have in your unconscious mind. If they were financially comfortable, you learned that money was easy and achievable.

If, however, they struggled with finances, never having enough to make ends meet, then that’s what you have in your unconscious mind—that money is difficult to earn and there’s never enough.

As soon as you realize this is the first step towards empowerment! Just because your unconscious mind has that programming doesn’t mean you’re stuck with it. There are several things you can do to update your programming to exactly what you want it to be!

Please, also keep in mind, that everyone functions on a reward system. Since childhood, you’ve worked hard for that gold star, for that A+, for first place. However, in adulthood, you work yourself to the bone, and when you finally achieve it, you skip over the achievement and go on to the next task. It’s essential for you to celebrate your successes; otherwise, your unconscious mind will not understand why you’ve worked so hard to get it and will not respond wholeheartedly when you start your next project.

There are two types of motivation. Knowing which one triggers you will help you succeed with fewer setbacks and enhance your success rate. They’re typically known as ‘away from’ and ‘toward’ motivators.

‘Away from’ motivators are when you’re really motivated because you never, ever want that to happen to you again! ‘Away from’ motivators are when someone who has chest pain for the first time, changes their diet to prevent a full-blown heart attack.

‘Toward’ motivators are when you’re really motivated because you really, really want that accomplishment! ‘Toward’ motivator examples are when women work on their figure for swimsuit season. They will do almost anything to look good in a bikini!

So, what motivates you? Do you work harder because you know the bills are due? Or do you work harder because you want your company to break that record of sales? What gets your engines running? Understanding this is extremely important, because ‘away from’ motivation ebbs and flows. It’s triggered only in emergencies. ‘Toward’ motivation is consistent in energy and will get you to success sooner and in a more substantial way than anything else will.

If you realize that you function with an ‘away from’ motivator, don’t panic. You can change things. Take a few minutes and look for what you will achieve once you’ve gotten yourself far away from ‘_______,’ that situation that you never want to experience again. Once you recognize what you will inadvertently achieve once you’re in the safe zone…focus on that!

Whenever you realize that you’ve made the upgrades, that you are making money, instead of allowing the usual pattern to be triggered, (which usually lets you slack off to bring you close to desperation and then gets you to where you’re once again motivated) focus on that goal. Make it real. Handwrite a detailed paragraph about how safe and great it is for you to achieve it. Describe the benefits you’ll receive. Handwrite that paragraph every evening, within the last 30 minutes of your day. It will start turning things around for you and your company.

Here are some other techniques that will help you (in order of effectiveness):

• You can say and handwrite affirmations. These are positive statements that create a positive feeling within you. However, you need to write them at a very particular time of day – within the last 30 minutes before you go to sleep. Then you can re-read them during the first 30 minutes after waking up. These two windows are times where you are in a natural hypnotic state. This is when your unconscious mind is open and can accept your suggestions.
• You know what your weaknesses are, and you know your past failures. Holding onto those negative emotions will hinder your progress. If you know that there are negative thinking patterns or memories that are slowing or maybe even stopping you from moving forward, you need to release them. Whenever they bubble up to the surface, handwrite them on scratch paper…write everything down, until you can write no more. Then rip them to shreds, it’s incredibly cathartic.
• You can download generic hypnosis recordings. Yes, they work, but they’re generic so they will initiate some upgrades in your unconscious mind, but they won’t be exactly what you need. The best way for you to create a positive strategy for success is to have a personalized hypnotherapy session. When it is personalized, the hypnotic recording will be tailored to you, your company goals, and your thinking patterns. Always make sure that the hypnotherapist you’re working with, has adequate training and experience, this will ensure that the wording in the recording is specifically adapted to your unconscious mind’s programming. Yes, please listen to these recordings for a minimum of 21 nights. Give your unconscious mind time to hear, listen, gauge, accept, and implement.

As you implement your new strategies, you’ll notice that change/upgrades/improvements don’t come with fanfare. They’re subtle, natural, almost unnoticeable until one day you’ll realize that it’s happened! You’ve achieved it! And yet you can’t quite put your finger on when exactly the upgrade was implemented. One thing’s for sure though: you find yourself feeling really glad you believed in yourself! Now, you get to add more labels in your unconscious mind ‘I know I’m worthy!’ ‘I am worth it!’ and, ‘I am successful!’

Maureen Pisani, C.Ht., T.N.L.P, is an author, speaker, hypnotherapist, and founder of Pro Thrive Science-Based Hypnotherapy. www.prothrivesbh.com