I’ve had a few difficult things to take care of recently. Nothing terrible, but hard for me. I didn’t want to do these things, but they were things that needed doing.
I spent a week working my way through a conversation I need to have. Arguing both sides of it and scripting what I would say and each counterpoint. None of it helped me get the conversation started. In the end, it was two mental tricks that got it done. One builds on our discussion from yesterday. If you haven’t read that one now would be a good time to go back and take a look.
First, I mentally reviewed every conversation I’ve ever had like the one coming up. Do you know what I realized as I played these events back through my mind? Every single one ended well, with both parties smiling and shaking hands. Everyone involved BETTER off in the end, but it was still not easy.
It may be that I’ve forgotten all o the failures (yes, we humans do that without knowing it. We tend to be biased creatures and our memories are full of holes and revisions. ) But as far as my ego was concerned who cares. I needed the boost and reviewing this history gave me that boost.
With that in mind, I could picture an amicable solution to the current conversation. I could imagine it vividly, including the sun pouring in through the window, a warm handshake and a “thank you very much.” I had my ending. Now I just need to get my b, and I figured the middle would take care of itself.
The nice thing is the beginning is super easy. What’s the smallest, tiny tinniest thing I could get myself to do. In this case, I came up with two. Two simple things I would need to do and the rest would take care of itself.
• Come up with a good opening sentence
• Get my feet to walk through the door
That was it. The rest would all take care of itself.
And do you know what happened? That’s exactly how it went. I figured out my opening sentence. Then I got my feet through the door, and the rest is history. The rest just sort of follows along the plan I have in mind.
It happens over and over and over.
That’s how I get through job interviews, my exams, oral presentations and visits to the dentist. (I HATE the dentist. My hygienist loves knowing what I do for a living and watching me squirm in the chair. )
It’s all the same. Review past success. Picture them in your mind. Then find the smallest thing you can do to get you moving in the right direction and do it.
Pretty simple.
Same with your loans and your finances. No fancy tricks. Nothing new. In fact, the things I recommend you can find in the bible, but if you’re not doing them woo hoo, they can lead to a very long career. A very long unhappy career fighting over pennies because you made some dumb mistakes early on.
Let me give you the simple, easy things you can do to get started on the right path. The April issue of PAES will get you out of debt and help you build a fortune. Not overnight. Not in a few days, but it will change the course of your life. No exaggeration.
The deadline is March 31st. Don’t miss this one. Click the link and make your grandkids happy.