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BE
what you
want to become
FIRST
so the actions can follow.
Don’t TALK about it; BE about
it.
BE
.
ACT
on being. Then
HAVE
.
For example, if you’re in the “aspiring entrepreneur” category, it’s most likely
because your identity is not consecrated as an entrepreneur, but instead
something like “I’m an Intel employee, and I would love to quit my job someday
and start a business.” You’re not a nonsmoker who’s experienced a shift
cataclysm; you’re simply a smoker
trying
to quit and, unfortunately, will
probably be for life.
When you identify as an entrepreneur, you will do whatever it takes to quit
your job and succeed as one because your identity seeks congruence. Identified
as an “employee looking to quit,” and
your identity is congruent with the status
quo
—you won’t do what’s necessary, and instead, actions become convenient
and trivial.
My identity shifted when I saw a Lamborghini as a teenager. From that day
my identity was 100 percent entrepreneur, keeping me tracked forward even
though my actions weren’t always entrepreneurial. Debt and five years of
corporate grooming at college can do that. To keep the boats floated and the
dream alive, I worked menial jobs better suited for a high-school dropout, not a
dual-degreed college grad who tossed his cap with honors. It took me over ten
years before my identity as an entrepreneur (BE, followed by ACT) matched my
results (HAVE). That’s the power of identity.
How you see yourself makes or breaks the foundation you work with—the
sturdy ground of THIS IS ME or the motionless treadmill of THIS MIGHT BE
ME.
So how do you change your identity?
First, identify what you want to be and label yourself as such. Unfortunately,
this isn’t easy unless it’s attached to an emotional episode,
a shift cataclysm
,
which also can double as your “fuck this” event. For me, it was a white
Lamborghini—for my mom, a scarred lung; for you, perhaps it’s the boss taking
credit for your work. Whatever it is, allow your emotions to do the shifting.
Second, reinforce and ratify your identity by taking regular action, no matter
how small. If your new identity is someone who’s decisively decided to be
healthy after a stroke, a small action might be “no thanks” to happy-hour pizza.
Unfortunately, unlike my mom’s identity shift causing her to go cold turkey
with immediate 100 percent compliance, such isn’t likely. Instead, aim for the
daily action and improvement found within the process-principle. James Clear,
author of
Transform Your Habits
(recommended read) says “prove your
identity” daily. This happens with small wins and minor improvements.
If your new identity is “I am an author,” write a few paragraphs a day. Build
on your prior effort, where the net effect is an upswing. As I mentioned in the
process-principle, once feedback echoes pour in, congratulations. That’s when
things get easier, habits dig in, and others take notice. A 1 percent daily
evidentiary shift for one year will transform you into a new person, to the point
you wouldn’t recognize your current self.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP LIVES OR DIES IN YOUR HEAD
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of entrepreneurship live and die in your head—
reversing beliefs, unbinding biases, and confronting bullshit. An autopiloted
brain, which isn’t trained to think how it thinks, will find their
UNSCRIPTED
effort likened to an hour at the casino—short and not sweet. Entrepreneurship is
a tough but rewarding sport. But
it must be lived, not tried
. Master the 3(B)s and
congratulations; shift your tassel and graduate into the heart of the
UNSCRIPTED
Entrepreneurial Framework, the first circle (MP) where
happiness is unearthed…
Meaning and purpose.
I am an author, entrepreneur, and an investor. How do you currently identify yourself?
Unemployed college grad? Car salesman? And does it serve your goals?
CHAPTER 28
MEANING-AND-PURPOSE:
THE UNSTOPPABLE WILL TO WIN
There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is
definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a
burning desire to possess it.
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