Change can be difficult – but not impossible.
Let’s break down how to change directions in your life and how to make tough decisions to do something you’ve never done before, especially when it comes to investing and finances.
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You can’t change your destination overnight, but you CAN change directions overnight – Jim Rohn
The year 2019 is moving! And I am so excited about what the rest of the year holds – for me, and for you. I hope these episodes are helping someone out there reach a breakthrough – with their money, with getting started in investing, or even with their mindset. This is what it is all about for me, and thanks for being here on this journey with me.
Trying something new can be one of the scariest things to do.
The older you get, the scarier it is. When you are young, you do not mind trying new things at all. You may try 3 or 4 different types of sports without even a second thought – about how you look to others and how good at it you might be.
As we age, we may become painfully aware of… well, pain! We care how we look to others. We become aware of disappointment and it becomes tougher to make decisions.
I want to share with you a few keys that have helped me make big decisions along the way – career-wise, getting involved with the stock market, etc.
If you do what you’ve always done, then you’ll get what you’ve always gotten – Tony Robbins
These types of quotes may have seemed cheesy to me in the past, but now they make a lot more sense with more life experience. They have a lot of truth to them.
There is a range of action, and a range of results.
For instance, if you a look around there are a lot of people who went to school and got jobs paying 50-60K a year. They did the same thing, and got the same result. It’s not until you look at someone who went a different route, like get a PHD, who got a different result.
If you want a different result, then you will have to do something different than that has always been done.
Doing something different may mean doing it in ADDITION to what you are currently doing. It doesn’t always have to change everything. It may be working on your job and then after work, investing or learning something new.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. -Albert Einstein
I have had several conversations with people who say: “I want to get involved in the stock market.”
Or: “I want to start investing this year.”
And my response is: “Great, so what are you doing differently this week to start?”
And a lot of people freeze at that point, because they are unsure of their next steps. The busiest date on the calendar is Someday.
You need to do something different in order to break the insanity, to break the “someday” on the calendar.
Strategies that have helped me in the past:
1.) The Average Person VS. The Above Average Person Method
When it comes to money, for example, the average person thinks about what they have to lose. They may think, “Well what if I buy that course and nothing ever comes from it? Or if I put money in the stock market and I lose it all?”
The average person always thinks… “What if it doesn’t work out?”
The above average person thinks… “What do I have to gain?”
They think about all of the positive things that could happen with moving forward.
In the past, when I get stuck making a decision I make a different kind of “pros & cons” list – I make an “Average Person & Above Average Person” list.
When I was deciding whether or not to buy my first stock trading course for $4,500, for example, I thought to myself, “The average person would say that they don’t have the money, what if it doesn’t work out, and wait for Someday.”
But I knew the Above Average person would find a way to get into the game! They would focus on the positives that they could gain from purchasing the course.
I asked myself: “Do you want to be average? Or do you want to be above average?” And the answer was clear.
There are people in my life that are “average” thinkers when it comes to the topic of money. So you need to make a decision if you want to follow in that path or be an “above average” thinker.
Let me be clear – I am not saying being “average” is a bad thing because this is about the thinking process. There plenty of things that you can be above average in. I am just talking about tough decisions and in particular the subject of money.
But this process also works in other avenues, too.
For example – if you are trying to get healthy, the “average” person may skip Friday at the gym. That doesn’t make them a bad person. But what is the body builder or health nut on Instagram going to do? They are going to go to the gym on Friday! Even though they worked all week like you and are probably tired like you, too.
So what will you do?
2.) Human Logic
When I look at someone successful, perhaps it is someone who has my dream car or house, I do the Human Test.
I ask myself, “Do they have a superpower that I do not have?”
Can Warren Buffet see through walls to read financial statements? No.
They don’t have a superpower.
So then… does Warren Buffet have special access to stocks that I don’t? No.
Since they are obviously human and have the same access that I do, they obviously know something that I don’t. They have an X factor that I am missing but I can LEARN and have similar results.
You won’t get the exact same results, let’s be clear. But you can your version of it.
I can get my version of Warren Buffet’s results with my resources.
Some people do defy the Human Test….
For example, I don’t care what knowledge I have, I will never jump as high as LeBron James. I can’t sing like Mariah Carrey. That is an unfair advantage they will always have. That’s a field I am not willing to dabble in.
When it comes to things that the “superpower” or unfair advantage has nothing to do with it… it means I can go for it if I make the decision to go for it.
3.) The Bad, Good, Great, Phenomenal Thought Process
I have to give a shoutout to my cousin Ken Glenn because he really helped me with this one.
When we were in Network Marketing together, I was so nervous to do my first presentation. Ken asked me if I wanted to be a regional manager someday, which I did.
Then he asked me what regional managers do. And I replied that they made hundreds of presentations in front of thousands of people.
So Ken’s response was… “Here is how this works: you need to be bad before you can be good. You need to be good before you can be great.”
And then Eric Thomas taught me that phenomenal came after great, which is a whole other level.
So anytime I make a decision to try or start to do anything new, I go into it knowing that at first I am going to be bad at it.
At first, it is not going to be as exciting. BUT I have to be bad so I can can get good.
You have to go through the steps to get to phenomenal.
And at that level it is about stamina – it is about maintaining that amazing level for years.
With each level, you need to factor in time and circumstance too. For example, if you were never taught any financial education growing up, you may stay in the “bad” level longer than someone who was raised by a father who was an investor.
Understanding that you will be bad at something at first helps you make the decision easier.
Most people don’t even give themselves credit. They immediately say, “Oh, I know I wouldn’t be good at that.” Well… YEAH if you haven’t been trained in it.
You wouldn’t be good out the gate – but be willing to work your way through.
4.) The Hero Method
You may realize that for certain areas, you do not have the mindset, the energy, and all of the qualifications to play in that arena.
The Hero Method allows you to become someone else.
Ask questions like, “What would Warren Buffet do?”
For instance, if you lost money on a trade, Warren would research what went wrong. He would find strategies to protect his assets in the future from doing that again. THAT’s what my hero would do – he wouldn’t give up. So then you follow suit.
So sometimes I have to step outside myself and think, “I am not Jason Brown right now. I am Warren Buffet. What would he do?”
Your heroes didn’t stop at the excuse because they wouldn’t be here today if they had.
For example, let’s say I am just getting started in investing and I need to get a course to do so. What if I don’t have any money?
What would Warren Buffet do in that scenario? He would perhaps get a library card and check out a book on investing. Even if he didn’t have a car to get there, he would get a ride with a friend or take the bus. He doesn’t become Warren Buffet by stopping at these excuses or hurdles.
5.) Work on Your Mindset
Make sure that you are reading books and getting around the right people – the ones who are going to help you pursue your goals and are trying to get to a new destination.
Successful people don’t always make the right decision, but they make their decisions right. -Unknown
People who are on the fence get shot from both sides.
You are not moving forward so you are still stuck, and opportunity may pass you by.
Successful people make decisions. They aren’t always the right ones.
They realize they have to keep going, they realized what they didn’t want to do, and the right way to move forward.
Start to use all five of these tactics in order to move forward.
If you are still holding back or are nervous to start making decisions, walk through each of these steps.
Ask yourself what the average person thinks about the decision versus the above average person? And if people and educators about investing, like myself, are superhuman or just normal humans? Are you okay with knowing you will be bad before you can move through the steps to get to phenomenal? And decide who your hero is and who you need to be to keep moving forward.
You now have some tactics on how I make decisions moving forward and being okay with whatever results that occur. And I hope that you are able to evaluate some of your life decisions with this lens, too.
Let’s go live life and let’s go be heroes so our future grandkids can say, “What would Grandpa/Grandma do?”