“Your mindset is your attitude!” – Kimberly Reed

What gets you off to a great start?

Whether you’re about to close on a big sale or interview for a new job, your mindset in approaching any goal-oriented situation can absolutely make or break you.

Our experience in working closely with professional athletes and military Special Operations personnel has taught us, unequivocally, just how essential it is to take control of your mindset before engaging in a critical activity.

We define Fearless Leaders as Mindset Maniacs. These are leaders who create an optimal state of mind before they even begin to engage in a challenging or important life situation, be it personal or professional. Public speaking, receiving a performance review, or even just arriving home after a hard day’s work are all times when you can alleviate stress by simply learning to temper self-defeatism.

Mindset Maniacs, before entering any new setting, know that the two most important things for performing at their best are:

• Having an aligned mind
• Being fully prepared tactically, temperamentally and technologically

Are you at your best when you engage in the most important moments of your life?

Do you think a world-class athlete can perform at an optimal level if she begins her competition while feeling:

• Physically tense?
• Overwhelmed with negative thoughts?
• Fearful?

What if there were a part of them that very badly wanted to be successful and another part of them that didn’t?

Any one of the above scenarios would diminish an athlete’s performance. These handicaps can also apply to any important situation in life.

Take a moment to think about the following scenarios. How profound an effect do you think a positive mindset would have in each situation, as opposed to one where you don’t fully engage? What would be your most important thought, or emotion, when:

• Leading a team meeting?
• Talking with your boss?
• Arriving at work in the morning?
• Arriving at home in the evening or after a trip?
• Presenting or giving a speech?
• Playing a sport or other competitive activity?
• Engaging in a new project?

Fearless Leaders thrive in moments like these. Why? Their secret lies in having aligned minds.

We define an aligned mind as having a symmetry between one’s mental and emotional energy. Doing this eliminates both conscious and subconscious conflicts. Mental chaos or interference is a huge obstacle to your ability to focus and be totally present in pivotal life events.

The power of your subconscious mind is extraordinary. If you were able to successfully align the power of both your subconscious mind and conscious mind, you’d be unstoppable. But if your subconscious and conscious minds have different goals, your subconscious will most likely win. Your subconscious mind is dominant.

The greater control you have of your thoughts going into a stressful situation (positive and negative), the more likely you are to be at your best. This, in turn, creates the greatest possible outcome. When you have a misaligned mind, your goals are conflicted, which increases your stress and frustration levels. You end up underperforming because you’ve sabotaged yourself without even realizing it.

The techniques to align your minds are fairly easy to learn. Your real challenge will be learning about the subconscious beliefs and fears that may be blocking you from reaching your ultimate goals. It may sound a little intimidating or frightening at first, but don’t worry. Once you dig deeply enough and discover what it is that’s holding you back, your minds can ultimately be aligned for your benefit.

Researchers at New York University have discovered that we make 11 major decisions about a person in the first seven seconds of meeting him. These include:

• Is this person trustworthy?
• Is he likable?
• Confident?
• Is he worth getting to know better?

Carol Kinsey Goman, in her book, “The Nonverbal Advantage,” provides strategies on how to make a good first impression. Her first recommendation is: Adjust your attitude. Mindset maniacs are adept at consciously controlling their attitude through their thoughts and actions.

This is why your emotional preparation, or pre-routine, is so critical. People pick up on your true emotions even when you try to hide them, either consciously or sub-consciously, in the first seven seconds after you meet them. Good or bad, they will then make decisions about you based on that first impression.

Misaligned minds (having conflicting goals) causes stress, frustration, and underperformance because you sabotage yourself without knowing it. When your minds are not aligned, you may consciously put a great deal of focus and energy (even money) into a goal but then sabotage your own efforts subconsciously.

With that in mind, think about whether you are passing or failing the seven-second test. Do you consciously control your thoughts, emotions, and actions as you engage with new people?

For questions about this post or for information on becoming a fearless leader, contact Dr. Cathy Greenberg and The Fearless Leader Group at (888) 320-1299 or by email at hello@fearlessequalsfreedom.com.