Real Change Step 5: The "No-Brainer" Way to Making Change Last

Do you have what it takes to make change stick? Lasting change requires one of two things: Passion or Decision. And if you happen to have both, you can be unstoppable!

Think of Passion as the throttle in a car - unless you have your foot on the brake, it will move you forward without effort. Passion is the short cut to lasting change, because it does not require constant regeneration. Passion is always there, ready to support your dreams. You can deny it or refuse to act on it, but it will live inside of you forever.

Passion is a "no-brainer." You cannot will it into being, there are no tools to create it, and no one can give it to you. It resides in your heart, not your head. You know if you have it, and you cannot fake it if you don't.

Decision, on the other hand, is all about what goes on in your head. It is the intensity of your willpower, the strength of your determination, the power of your mindset. It can be taught, developed, tweaked, and focused. Think of Decision as a drive shaft and steering column. Your brain kicks it into gear and sets the course. Of course as you meet bumps in the road, your brain will also constantly question the Decision, so you will need to keep steering to reconfirm your direction.

Passion is clearly the easier way to ensure lasting change, but if you don't possess it, you can muscle the change to stick using continually renewed Decisions. The ideal situation is, of course, a combination of Passion and Decision. When driven by passion and supported by a decided, determined, willing mind, your results will last and last.

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Creating personal change requires a process that begins with preparation and ends with making change stick. To review each of the steps in detail, click on the Blog Archives in the lower part of the column on the right and find my previous posts on this topic as well as others, all on the 20th of each month.

Congratulations on taking the time and making the effort to create change in your life. Real change is just around the corner!

Linda Spevacek is an innovative speaker, author and coach who can help you create prosperity across all aspects of your life. For speaking topics and programs, visit www.ExpertProsperity.com

Real Change Part 4: The Action/Inspiration Cycle

What do success and sex have in common? A little bit makes you want more!

All analogies aside, taking action that results in success inspires more action, which leads to more success.

Taking that first exploratory step is often the most difficult, so it is understandable that we hesitate.... lose courage, and sometimes stop.

Yet, have you ever had the experience of trying something you were a little uncertain about, only to find out it wasn't as bad or painful as you thought it might be?

In fact, maybe you even liked it! And not only were you willing to do it again, you looked for opportunities to do it again!

That's the Action/Inspiration Cycle.

But what about when taking action results in something less than success? There are still two beneficial outcomes: Momentum and Learning.

Momentum: In the beautiful illustration above, even when the arcing line turns downward, it is still in motion and eventually turns upward. Just like when you are skiing or bicycling, building up a little speed going downhill can actually help propel you back up. Your personal power is enhanced when you have momentum. Here's another reason to build momentum: If you are not in motion, you are stagnant. Think about that.

Learning: The words "mistake" and "failure" have terribly harmful connotations in our culture and our minds.

Would you think I was crazy if I told you that failure is a good thing? I love the story of WD40 to illustrate this point. WD stands for Water Displacement. But do you know what the 40 stands for? It took the inventors 40 tries to get the formulation right. How many of us would have stopped at 39 tries? 30? 10? or even 2?

To my mind, failure should be cause for celebration, because it eliminates a way that doesn't work and zeros in on what might work next time. Failure is an opportunity to learn something very valuable. And those opportunities don't come along often enough.

Bottom Line: Take action to get into motion, and let the outcome inspire more action. Get on the Action/Inspiration Cycle, and eventually you will spiral up!

Want to read the the previous posts from the "Real Change" series? 
Here they are:
Part 1: Find the Gap
Part 2: Finding Resources
Part 3: Overcoming Obstacles

Stay tuned for Part 5 coming October 20. See you then!

Linda Spevacek is an innovative speaker, author and coach who can help you create prosperity across all aspects of your life. For speaking topics and programs, visit www.ExpertProsperity.com

Real Change Part 3: Overcoming Obstacles

Every journey has roadblocks, obstacles, detours, setbacks, diversions, and a hundred other "reasons" why you should turn around and go home.

Real or physical obstacles, including money issues, are fairly straightforward and usually can be dealt with using one of the strategies posted on the 20th of last month in Real Change Step 2: Finding Resources.

Mental roadblocks on the other hand, are often far more challenging, typically because there is no readily apparent outside solution. Overcoming mental roadblocks requires one of two things: a very powerful mindset (which I could write an entire book about) OR a very simple tool pirated from the business world (which I can teach you right here).

All mental roadblocks can be stated as a belief you hold.

"I am afraid I might fail."

"I'm too old to start something new."

"I can't think of anything of value I have to offer anyone."

The simple tool is a version of the well-known "Cost-Benefit Analysis," only flipped around to become the "Benefit-Cost Analysis."

For any belief you hold, write down the Benefits. For example, the Benefits of being afraid to fail are: I don't have to worry about embarrassing myself, I get to stay safe, I get to stay comfortable, I won't lose anything, and so on.

Then list the Costs: I continue to disappoint myself, I disappoint others, I will never realize my dreams, I won't impact the world the way I would like to, I won't be recognized and admired the way I would like, I may be missing my best chance at happiness, and so on.

Now, make your choice. It is easy to weigh the impact of the belief and decide whether the Benefits outweigh the Costs. If so, stay with the thought. It serves you well. However, once you decide that holding onto that belief is simply too costly, you can actually remove it from your mental inventory forever. If it comes back, do the analysis again.

Believe it or not, you can apply the Benefit-Cost Analysis to any decision you are weighing in your head. Once you master it, you will be able to rapidly move past any mental obstacle that gets in the way of achieving real change.

Linda Spevacek is an innovative speaker, author and coach who can help you create prosperity across all aspects of your life. For speaking topics and programs, visit www.ExpertProsperity.com

Real Change Part 2: Finding Resources

Scarcity of resources is the first roadblock people usually put up when they think about changing something. "I don't have time to work out every day." "I don't have the money to start my own business." "There are no jobs open in my field."

Deal with scarcity in these ways:

1. Give and Get. Think of a way to barter what you do have for something you don't have. If you teach yoga but don't have time to keep your own books, let an accountant attend classes for free in exchange for an hour a week of bookkeeping.

2. Start Small. To start your own business you do not have to enter into a $100,000 franchise. It costs less than $100 to buy a url and get a simple website hosted for a year or more. Voila, you're in business. Other expenditures can be made after you make your first sale. If time is short, commit just 15 minutes a day to your desired change. That adds up to almost 2 hours a week, which is a pretty good chunk of time - certainly enough to make progress.

3. Talk It Up! What if you could attract resources to you, abundantly? You can by creating a compelling message. When you speak passionately about your dreams and desires, people will want to help you, partner with you, become your customer, even bankroll you.

4. Take a Side Step. Sometimes there really aren't enough resources to do exactly what you want to do. So instead, consider similar but less time-consuming/less expensive/less scarce opportunities.

5. Meet Your Internal Advisory Board. Much of the expert advice you need about how to deal with scarcity is already in your head. Your fears and feelings about scarce resources often stem from valid concerns that need to be addressed, and who better to address them than the person who knows all the details? Instead of attempting to ignore those doubtful, fearful thoughts, give them names and put them on your internal advisory board. When you hear that little voice saying, "You can't afford that," pretend that voice is your Chief Financial Advisor and find out what conditions would be necessary in order for him/her to approve that expenditure. I guarantee you also have an excellent Risk Manager, Human Relations Consultant, Marketing Director, and other internal advisors who absolutely know what you should be doing if you actually "listened" to the messages they are sending.

Don't let scarcity stop you from moving forward toward your goals. You have more resources than you know, probably more than you even need, to get started today.

Linda Spevacek is an innovative speaker, author and coach who can help you create prosperity across all aspects of your life. For speaking topics and programs, visit www.ExpertProsperity.com

Real Change Part 1: Define the Gap

I've only ever had one client quit on me, but when I offered to refund her enrollment fee, she refused. "No way," she said. "It's not you. I can definitely see that your system is exactly what I want and need. But I just can't get past the first step of even thinking about what I want to change - it's too overwhelming to have such a long list!"

So listen up - the process of change does NOT begin by deeply delving into everything you think is wrong with your life. Instead, we are going to focus on "The Gap." The Gap defines the area you need to move across in order to get to where you want to be. The ugly truth of your current situation actually does not matter! We are focusing on solutions, not conditions, during this process. Use the system as it is laid out, and you absolutely will move forward towards the success and personal satisfaction that you desire.

In order to define your Gap, grab a sheet of paper and draw two vertical lines about 1/3 and 2/3 of the way across the page, to make three columns. The first column will contain general areas you MIGHT want to improve (you're not making commitments here, so there is no risk in writing something down!) For example, you might list JOB, LOVE LIFE, WEIGHT, FUN.

In the next column, opposite each general word, capture what the "Ideal Situation" would be; in other words - what success in that area would look like. For example, after JOB you might write: Great boss, Opportunities to advance, Less Travel, At least $80k. Keep adding to your list as new thoughts occur.

Finally, in the last column, identify "What's Missing" in order for your ideal situation to exist. In the Job example, what's missing in order to achieve your ideal situation might be: Someone who knows Great Boss #1. Greater recognition of my leadership skills (can I highlight my skills in some way or obtain Leadership Training so I have some credentials?) To reduce travel - More local customers and develop the ability to connect with customers without traveling.  To warrant a larger salary, I either need a more responsible position or renegotiation of my contract.

Your inventory of "What's Missing" is The Gap. In a relatively painless way, you have just identified specific things you might want to change. Now you can choose which ones to focus on first. Circle or highlight your priorities.

Congratulations - you have just completed the first of 5 steps that will lead you to successful, lasting change! The remaining 4 steps will be rolled out for you in coming months on the 20th. For an overview of the entire five step process, check out the this article ~ How to Achieve Real, Lasting Change published last month.

Linda Spevacek is an innovative speaker, author and coach who can help you create prosperity across all aspects of your life. For speaking topics and programs, visit www.ExpertProsperity.com