I’ve spent almost 30 years teaching the Five Principles of Success, which run in a set, proven order. Until now that is. These unprecedented times have caused me to rethink what order these principles should now sit in, at least for the time-being.
For those who don’t know, the order has traditionally been:
- Know Your Outcome
- Take Action
- Have Sensory Acuity
- Have Behavioural Flexibility
- Operate from a Physiology and a Psychology of Excellence
So, what does the order now look like, and why has it changed?
The new order for the Five Principles of Success
Up first is, operate from a Physiology and a Psychology of Excellence, which now comes BEFORE you choose your outcome.
This is because if you choose your outcome while feeling panicked, scared or any other negative emotion, the outcome you pick won’t be the best one. So, you need to change your state first.
When selecting the outcome, it needs to go towards what you want. The situation we have at the moment is that the world has pressed pause on life, so people are thinking there’s no point having goals because nothing can be done. Instead, it’s vital to have outcomes, and big ones at that.
We’ve all got ambitions that we’ve prefaced with “One day I’ll…”. Now is the time to start achieving those. Make your outcomes BIG! If we haven’t got something really big to look forward to, something that matches your life path or life purpose, we are going to struggle. Go for it, what’s to lose?
Next up is flexibility, both in behaviour and thinking. What we were doing before, even stuff that worked, isn’t working any more. Trust your unconscious mind. It’s aware of so many ways of achieving a goal that you might not logically or rationally think of. If you have set an outcome, and your unconscious mind says, “this is what you should do”, do it. It’s got a better chance of success.
Which leads us into taking action. Not only do people not have goals, they’re not doing anything. That’s dangerous. If you put your foot on the brake for weeks or months on end, when we do come out of this you won’t be in a good place.
And finally comes Sensory Acuity. Ask yourself: “Did what I have just done work?” If not, stop it, and do it a different way until achieving your goals. And remember, whether it worked or not, use Sensory Acuity as a feedback loop, providing information to start the five steps again and enjoy ongoing success in these difficult times.
