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INNER GAME STRATEGY
Getting what you want - The Seizing of Opportunity
An insightful person said, "Confidence is either a gift or an acquisition."
In the case of acquisition, it is born of opportunities successfully taken. Whenever, an opportunity is declined because
of fear, confidence is weakened. This means that the lack of confidence is emphasized.
So when you
have an opportunity to network with someone who fits your networking action plan i.e., a person who represents a
bridge to furthering your personal goals in the social or business arena and you fail to act, you are in fact reducing your
ability to act confidently in the future. You are reinforcing your lack of confidence.
When you fail
to act, you are probably justifying the lack of action in your mind. You say to yourself, oh its not the right
time, this not the right place, they may become hostile if I speak to them. Oh come off it. It’s not that
complicated.
What you are actually doing is using your own self talk to work against your own goals.
Everytime you take a positive step that focuses your confidence on a goal, your confidence becomes stronger and stronger.
Okay, so we don't run up on the President of Wachovia Bank and ask for the vice president position in the middle of his
lunch. However, we do make strategic contact with him during the cocktail party if only to exchange a business
card.
Here are some steps to increasing your networking confidence:
1. Pay attention.
You should develop a readiness to seize opportunity by exercising alertness to all minor affairs of life. The person
who is dedicated to networking success is concerned with every detail in life.
2. Accept the Opportunity - You must with confidence real
or forced, accept every opportunity that comes your way; believe unflinchingly that you will succeed and shut the door of
your mind to all fear and worry.
3.
Seek Opportunity - Whenever you get the chance, seek out opportunities that are not apparent and create chances that do not
already exist.
4. Deny Failure - If you allow failure
thought to manifest in your mind, it may take root. If in any instance, when you feel you have not done as well as you
planned. Keep it to yourself. Do not display a lack of confidence to others. Here’s the concept.
When you deny the lack of confidence, you partially crush its impact. However, if you reveal it others, you have to
contend with not only your own mistrust, but the seed that you have planted in others.
Whenever an opportunity is accepted, opposite effects follow
Your self image is how your view yourself. If you see yourself as a failure,
there is no way you can be successful until you change your self image of yourself.
A friend of mine worked
at well known advertising firm in Center City. He dreamed of running his own department. Yet at business functions,
he insisted on wearing jeans, sneakers and a sports jacket. He knew that all the department heads would be wearing two
piece suits. He claimed he felt uncomfortable in suits. Well, you can imagine how uncomfortable he felt,
when the department head job become open and was awarded to a less talented co worker who fit the company's
image. My friend missed some basic principles which are all apart of the inner game.
The first principle is create an image in your own mind of what success
looks like to you. If you dream of being a department head and all the department heads were business suits than
your self image should see yourself in a business suit. You should also see yourself interacting with your colleagues with
ease and confidence. The second principle has to do with people identifying you with power. "Act like
you are the man and people will treat you like you are the man".
In order to develop yourself as a successful networker, you must began with yourself. It
does not matter whether you a successful sales person, businesswoman, lawyer, social worker or baseball ball player.
They all have something in common that gives them the winning edge--an inner game. Their self image
is one of success. They know how they fit into the game. They practice within while they await their turn to execute.
They do this repeatedly and consistently. By the time, it is their turn at bat, or to
present, they are ready for success. They can feel it, smell it and taste it. They wrap
themselves around themselves as a successful proposition.
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