So many people often hold themselves back because they don’t envision a certain level of success. They never see themselves going above a certain point. An example can be found with many minor league baseball players. Many minor leaguers will get a chance or two in the “show,” do well for a brief time, but then fall back to poor performance and eventually get sent back to the minors. This happens in large part because they don’t see themselves as major leaguers. They’re subconsciously looking for ways to fail and fall back into their comfort zone.
This same concept is true in sales and business success. In sales we call it the “glass ceiling.” If you don’t see yourself as being a top performer, you’ll never be a top performer. You will be limited by your own “head trash.”
I never had this problem in sales, because I always saw myself as the best salesman for the client. I always knew that if given a chance, I would do a better job than anyone, and I wasn’t afraid to tell someone that. Because I really believed it, it resulted in high levels of success in sales from the very beginning of my career that has continued to this day. However, I will admit, that when it comes to overall business success, I also have some “head trash.”
We have been a small to medium-sized printing company for a long time, and I’m comfortable in that space. Although I do well in sales, I can only do so much and my company growth has to be from sources beyond my direct sales. However, when I get around other business owners who are excelling at a very high level, I often get intimidated. I have not seen myself at that level in the past. As a result, my attitude has gotten in the way of moving my company to the next level.
About two years ago I came to this realization and decided I needed to make a change for me to take this company to the next level. The change was only in my head, but resulted in a bit of a different philosophy. I told myself that these super successful guys were no smarter than me. If they could do it, there’s no reason why I couldn’t either.
I decided to go out of my comfort zone and approach people with various business joint venture propositions that I had previously been hesitant to make. I joined masterminds and rubbed elbows with guys that had much larger companies than mine. I made a change to how I went about growing the company.
The results have been dramatic. We are already seeing results that show a significantly steeper growth curve. I am dealing with higher-level people and negotiating higher-level deals. And it all came from me getting over my internal mindset limitations.