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Questions direct your focus, so they play into everything in life—even reading comprehension. Because people typically don’t ask enough questions when they read, they compromise their focus, understanding, and retention. If you prep your mind with the right kinds of questions before you read, you’ll see answers (pug dogs) everywhere. For that reason, I place specific key questions throughout the book.
To start you off, here are the three dominant questions to ask on our journey together. They will help you to take action on what you learn and turn the knowledge into power.
How can I use this? Why must I use this? When will I use this?
Instead of passively reading, consider these questions as you take in the knowledge in this book. Remember, questions are the answer. At the beginning of every chapter for the rest of the book, you will find a series of questions that are designed to prime your focus as you read. Study the questions before you read each chapter, and you’ll be better prepared to understand and remember what you learn.
Along with the questions, do the “Kwik Start” exercises seeded in strategic places throughout the book. They are specific activities designed to train you to take immediate action in your learning and life. Most of these can be done in one or two minutes. Remember the power of neuroplasticity: Every time you answer a question and do a new activity, you rewire your brain. I also conclude each chapter with exercises to do before you move on to the next section, to really set these lessons into practice.
L I M I T L E S S M I NDSET THE WHAT
mindset
mind·set (noun)
The deeply held beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions we create about who we are, how the world works, what we are capable of and deserve, and what is possible.
The first element of the three-part Limitless Model is Mindset, which is the mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person’s responses to and interpretations of situations. Mindset is made up of beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes we hold about ourselves and the world around us. All behavior is driven by belief, so before we address how to learn, we must first address the underlying beliefs we hold about what is possible.
We’re not born with pre-installed mindsets about what we’re capable of achieving—we learn these fixed and limited ways of thinking from the people in our lives and the culture we experience growing up.
Think of a young elephant tied to a stake in the ground. When it’s a baby, the elephant isn’t strong enough to pull the stake up, so it eventually stops trying because it learns the effort is futile. As the elephant grows, it gains more than enough power and strength to pull out the stake, but it remains tied up by something as inconsequential as a rope and a flimsy piece of metal because of what it learned as a baby. In psychology, it’s called learned helplessness.
Most of us behave like that elephant. At some point, we had an experience that gave us an impression of what we’re capable of, and our belief about our potential has been set ever since. But just as helplessness is learned, it’s just as possible to learn to be limitless. In this section, you’re going to learn about the seven lies we’ve been taught about our potential and how to replace them with new beliefs.
I use the term LIE intentionally. In this case, LIE is an acronym for Limited Idea Entertained. If you are like the vast majority of people out there, you are entertaining ideas about yourself that define you as something less than what you truly have the potential to achieve. You’re giving these ideas energy and allowing them to take residence in your mind, but they’re really nothing but BS (in this case, an abbreviation for Belief Systems). Over the coming chapters, you will discover where these lies come from, how they imprison you, and what you can do about it. And keep asking yourself this question: How many of my perceived constraints are nothing more than LIEs and BS? I think you’re going to be stunned with the answers, and that these answers are going to be liberating.
A quick story before we get going. One of the most cherished friendships of my life was the one I shared with Stan Lee. As you know, Stan’s Marvel creations helped me through some of the biggest challenges of my life when
I was younger, and they continue to be a nonstop source of inspiration to this day. My conversations with Stan were always engaging and very often illuminating.
I remember one such conversation when we were in a car together on our way to a dinner. Stan looked resplendent in his suit with a bold Spiderman tie, and I was inspired to ask him something I’d always wanted to ask.
“Stan, you’ve created so many great characters over the years, like the Avengers and X-Men,” I said. “Who’s your favorite character?”
He didn’t even hesitate a second.
“Iron Man,” he said. “And who’s yours?”
I pointed to his tie. “That would be Spiderman.”
Stan nodded and said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” “That’s so true, Stan. And the opposite is also true: with great
responsibility comes great power.”
He seemed to like that, which tickled me to no end. But while I’d never phrased it that way before, I realized that I was voicing one of the key tenets of the limitless mindset. When we take responsibility for something, we are imbued with great power to make things better.
That’s what a limitless mindset is all about. Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we must be accountable for who we become. It’s about understanding that we are responsible for our assumptions and attitudes. And when you accept that all of your potential is entirely within your control, then the power of that potential grows dramatically.
So, superhero, let’s get started on unlimiting your mindset. As Stan would say, “Excelsior!”
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