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Mental Toughness=Profits and Success Today

Guest post by: David Carter

Article Overview: All sizes and shapes of companies are focused on survival in what Tom Peters calls our “Looney” times today. And, I have focused a lot on survival strategies with my clients. However, strategies, tactics, methods, and techniques are not the total answer. My thinking about survival in our recession has been profoundly influenced by a book called "Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why" by Laurence Gonzales. It's a book that chronicles incredible stories of survival in plane crashes, getting lost at sea, surviving in Arctic temperatures for weeks, etc. And one theme comes through like a beacon. It is not the physically strong that survive. Surviving [and profiting from this recession] all starts with a single decision.

Mental Toughness=Profits and Success Today

All sizes and shapes of companies are focused on survival in what Tom Peters calls our “Looney” times today. And, I have focused a lot on survival strategies with my clients. However, strategies, tactics, methods, techniques are not the total answer.

My thinking about survival in our recession has been profoundly influenced by a book called "Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why" by Laurence Gonzales. It's a book that chronicles incredible stories of survival in plane crashes, getting lost at sea, surviving in Arctic temperatures for weeks, etc.

And one theme comes through like a beacon. It is not the physically strong that survive. It is the Mentally Strong that make it. To be precise, it's the mentally strong and mentally flexible that survive.

If you mentally think you're going to fail, you're going to fail. If you're determined to succeed, but you can't visualize that your situation can change for the better, you can't adapt and end up failing.

When confronted with a life-threatening situation, 90% of people freeze or panic, says Gonzales in his exploration of what makes the remaining 10% stay cool, focused and alive. Although there's no surefire way to become a survivor, Gonzales does share some rules gleaned from the survivors themselves: stay calm, be decisive and don't give up.

You have to be both mentally strong and flexible to succeed. Let’s apply the Gonzales rules to how we are all focusing and responding to our recession and learn from them.

Rule 1-Stay Calm. This rule is screaming “stay focused!” Focus on what you want to have happen, not what you are afraid of. Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."

Rule 2-Be Decisive. Now is the time for action. Play to win! Too many businesses are playing not to lose. Remember what General George S. Patton said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow." I believe you have a 12-18 month window to gain market share and a substantial competitive advantage.

Rule 3-Don’t Give Up. Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working, doesn't mean it won't work. It just means that it might not work the way you're doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. When you're ready to quit, you're closer than you think. There's an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed." Don’t give up on your goals or dreams-focus on HOW you can achieve them in a different way.

Start your regimen of mental toughness training today. Think that the only thing to figure out is HOW to reach your goal (it never occurs to you IF you can reach it).

You can always pick up a book to learn more knowledge, but mental toughness doesn't come from reading. It comes from DECIDING you're going to be mentally tough no matter what happens. Mental toughness isn’t something you inherit. It isn’t something you study. It is something you simply DECIDE.

And it is this same decision that you and I face every morning when we get out of bed. There is no shortage of unexpected problems in life/business, especially in a recession. That's a given.

The only question you need to ask yourself each morning is to decide if you will be mentally tough today or not.

Surviving and profiting from this recession all starts with a single decision... DECIDING you will survive and profit in this recession.

DECIDE first, and you will figure out the “how.”

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Article Tags: execution, mental toughness, recession, survival strategies



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