Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning.

A man with a violin plays six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately two thousand people passed  through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.  

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: A woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. 

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.  

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave  money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a  total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest  musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever  written, with a violin valued at $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold out a theatre in Boston where the price of seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and  people’s priorities.

The questions raised: in a commonplace  environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment?

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made… what else are we missing?

The psychological angle

Humans tend to practice an advanced form of mental deletion. We do this to protect our fragile minds from the sensory overload that the rich experience of waking life offers us.

Simply put, there is just way to much to pay attention to. We have to delete a huge portion of the experience available to us, in order to focus on the task at hand.

Completing such tasks are often necessary for our survival. But…

There is a grand irony concerning the folks at the train station, rushing to work to make a the next buck.

Beyond food and shelter, we work for money that is then exchanged for “experience” – tropical holidays, entertaining diversions and the occasional concert.

Sometimes it’s worth pausing in our journey, if only to enjoy the accidental rewards we encounter along the way.

What do you think? (Reply with a comment below)

I’ve got a fantastic idea for my business. I bet you’ve got a couple too.

My idea is a stroke of marketing genius that could help me have fun connecting with a bunch of new clients… and earn a pile of well-deserved cash, quickly and easily.

… So today I got started on it by checking all my favourite news sites, making a snack and catching up with an old friend on the phone. Then it felt like I deserved to watch a little television.

Suddenly, what’s left of the day has gone. Business hours are over. As I drove home, I told myself I’ll get stuck in tomorrow, after a relaxing evening and a good nights sleep.

The Self Sabotage monster strikes again!

This article uncovers the psychology of self sabotage and gives you practical tips on how best to overcome it…

Does this sound familiar?

If you’ve ever worked for yourself (or, let’s face it, for someone else) you probably know what it feels like to get stuck in a self sabotage cycle.

For me, it always meant coming to the end of the day feeling really fired up and motivated for tomorrow… but waking up only to procrastinate again.

At a psychological level, this kind of self sabotage could also be described as “motivation in hindsight”… since we struggle to take action in the moment, but also regretfully look back on all the wasted hours.

In my experience as a consultant (across different industries), it seems that this particular brand of motivational dysfunction is especially common among biz owners and the self employed.

The lizard brain explains it all

Outside of our conscious awareness, there is a mental program running which makes this illogical sabotage suddenly make sense.

As entrepreneurs, most of the activities we regularly procrastinate (via self sabotage) are the significant, high impact tasks… like my marketing idea… or any sales stuff you’ve been putting off.

The tasks are significant and high impact because they help our businesses grow in leaps and bounds. Successfully achieving these tasks is what makes us entrepreneurs and enables us to remain happily unemployable.

Taking action on these tasks means leaving our comfort zone. It’s scary – and our lizard brain understands this and makes sure we know it.

We ask questions like:

“But what if my attempt fails?”

“What if they laugh at me?”

“What if they hang up the phone in my face?”

It’s really fear that causes entrepreneurs to sabotage themselves with procrastination.

Employees don’t suffer from this as much, simply because the impact of failing is not so huge. Plus, few employees are required to complete tasks far outside their comfort zone.

Want the secret to winning big in business?

Overcoming self sabotage is what separates the mega-successful entrepreneurs from the wannabes.

Growing a business takes bravery and a commitment to action, in the face of fear and anxiety.

If everyone could take game-changing action (make the cold calls, do the presentation, publish the sales-letter etc) then everyone would be an entrepreneur.

Loads of people try to make it big with their own business, but the few who are truly successful (in terms of freedom, wealth and global impact) are the ones who overcome self sabotage by realising what it truly is:

Fear of failure

Here are a few tips for mentally reprogramming your lizard-brain to eliminate crippling fear.

These are all field tested on my real-world clients and are proven winners. Use any or all of these techniques to destroy the hidden fears that cause self sabotage.

1. Outcome clarity (like “The Secret” – only practical)

Create a clear, visual image in your mind of what “success” looks like for your procrastinated task.

Most self-sabotage begins by people unconsciously making images of failure in their mind (this is where the fear comes from).

Counter-act this useless mental habit by taking 5 minutes to visualise a sparkly, colourful image of success. Pick the exact moment in the future you’ll want to celebrate the most, then turn it into a gorgeous poster in your mind.

Feel the feelings and live the experience internally… then take immediate action to turn the vision into a reality.

2. Task chunking (baby steps… even a baby could do!)

Many of my previous clients got hung up trying to do everything perfectly, all at once. A project like launching a new website would quickly dissolve into an enormous, overwhelming mess.

Chunking tasks into minute, manageable steps enables you to commit to taking small actions. Importantly, you can also congratulate yourself for every completed step along the way.

“Build a website” turns into “Meet with a graphic designer, write the home page copy, pick a great hosting company” etc etc.

Less scary – more doable.

3. Disaster planning (know what failure REALLY means)

Ironically, this technique is the total opposite of my first suggestion. The contraction doesn’t bother me though, because I know that it’s possible to do both:

Give yourself a reality check by answering the question “Whats the worst thing that could happen here?”

Even if you’re gambling your children’s college fund on something, the worst case scenario is usually not even close to real apocalypse.

Work out what total failure would mean, then quickly brainstorm ideas to mitigate this.

By shedding light on the real risks involved in business, we destroy our brains ability to turn those risks into enormous bogeymen.

Use this technique once, then quickly move on to positive thinking and action.

What other techniques do you use to overcome self-sabotage? Let’s expand this list (with your help) in the comment section below…

The movie the secret did a fantastic job popularising “the law of attraction” and introducing new people to the entrepreneur’s self-help movement.

One area where the film went wrong is the presupposition that the law of attraction was the number one line in the sand between those who are successful business and those who aren’t.

While utilising the law of attraction (and a $%&*load of action) is important for business & financial results, my experience has taught me that there is another, more important factor, that will determine your success.

The mindset of millionaires

Having been consultant to some exciting (and profitable) businesses, I’ve identified a differentiating belief and attitude that sets the truly successful apart.

Gratitude

When you have gratitude for the cards that life has dealt you, it is possible to tap into the motivation and inspiration that will drive you to extraordinary success.

People who are grateful to their parents, their education, their country of origin, their luck, their networks and friends tend to view “changing the world for the better” (often achieved through business) as an obligation.

Most of us see it as an opportunity – something we can always take advantage of tomorrow, not today.