Our highest potentiality is fulfilled when we realize that we create our own destiny. We cannot expect to achieve our goals through others, instead we achieve our goals through our own actions. In the phenomenal book The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, the protagonist Howard Roark is confronted by Ellsworth Toohey, “Mr. Roark, we’re alone here. Why don’t you tell me what you think of me? In any words you wish. No one will hear us.” for which Roark replied, “But I don’t think of you.”
This is the perfect response in dealing with people who add no value to your life. Once we can grasp this we can achieve greatness – greatness through our own efforts and creation without guilt. We can do this by the construction of a framework that makes us unstoppable. Here are 10 ways to become unstoppable.
1. Be Your Own Creator
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Quantum physics has demonstrated that we have very little understanding of our world. It has also provided us a beautiful playground for our mind. In an experiment that still baffles us today – The Double Slit Experiment – we have found that electrons exist in a state of pure potential when they are not being observed. The act of simply observing is the same as creating. Through our observations and expectations, we literally create our own reality.
2. No Fear
“In times of adversity and change, we really discover who we are and what we’re made up of.” – Howard Schultz
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The moment you quit worrying about what other people think of you is the moment you truly realize what freedom feels like. Elite performers will meet resistance at every turn. People will become jealous and will attack top performers. However, these people play at a lower level and will never confront you, they will always go behind your back. Just remember that these people bring no value to your life and if they are jealous of you then you must be doing something right.
3. Be Crazy and Different
“Your theory is crazy, but it’s not crazy enough to be true.” – Niels Bohr
It takes a vast amount of courage to act on crazy and different ideas. However, the people who move the world forward are those who act on their crazy ideas. Like flashes of lighting swirling around the sky, bold and crazy ideas will make their way into your mind. Just make sure you are crazy enough to act on them before they disappear.
4. Put a Dent in the Universe
“We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?” – Steve Jobs
Top performers truly dream big. If you desire to put a dent in the universe, just as Steve Jobs did, then act as if it were impossible to fail. Quit discussing and just do. Set a goal that is so unbelievably extraordinary that you can’t achieve it until you develop into the person who can. Remember, if you can dream it, you can be the first to achieve it.
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5. Visualization
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale
I came across an intriguing idea regarding visualization in Psycho – Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz. The idea was to create a mind movie where the brain thinks and creates in terms of images. Maltz instructs us that the brain and nervous system are obeying servants of pictures placed in our mind. The key in using the mind movie is to dive deep into the movie and visualize the small details to make it as real as possible.
6. Exercise and Neurogenesis
“Exercise is Miracle-Gro for the brain.” – Dr. John Ratey
In the best-selling book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, Dr. John Ratey discusses the correlation between exercise and intellect. He found that aerobic exercise is the optimal vehicle for the production of a magical substance.
This substance is Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is a nerve growth factor that impacts the development, function and growth of our brain cells. BDNF is the most powerful and active substance stimulating Neurogenesis. By simply exercising, we can literally grow our brain cells and increase our intellect.
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7. Read
“We become the books we read.” – Matthew Kelly
BDNF is a protein that encourages the growth of new neurons and synapses through axon and dendrite sprouting. Continuing our discussion from exercise and neurogenesis; since running increases BDNF production, which increase neuron growth, we must use our brain in order to keep the wiring strong.
Read at every available opportunity – while exercising and driving (audio-books), to your children, and while waiting in line. Never miss an opportunity to read. Reading allows doors to open in your mind; doors that were always present, but previously closed.
8. Focus and Intensity
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
Grant Cardone wrote in his awesome book The 10X Rule that we must take massive action to succeed in life. He commented, “Assume that every project you attempt will take more time, money, energy, effort and people than you can imagine. Multiply every expectation by 10, and you will probably be safe.” Cardone’s bottom line is that once you define what you want, put the intensity and hyper-focus into it and define what 10X activity means then you will achieve your goal.
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9. Map Your Mind
“A bad system will beat a good person every time.” – W.Edwards Demming
As a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, I understand the significant benefits of simply mapping out a process. I also understand the benefits of using a powerful technique in generating unique and creative ideas for sorting your thoughts.
Mind mapping is an impressive tool that allows you to map connections in your mind, brainstorm new ideas, and uncover new relationships between ideas. Simply start by exploring an idea or concept then create branches and sub-branches around the main idea.
10. Discover Your Purpose
“Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know.” – Pema Chodron
In order for us to use each of these powerful hacks to become unstoppable, we must first have a solid foundation. We must discover what drives us, we must discover what our purpose is. In my life, my beautiful wife and daughter provide my purpose, they provide meaning in a world of chaos.
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When my daughter was born, she motivated me to create my own life, to become fearless, to be crazy and different, to put a dent in the universe, to visualize success, to keep my mind and body in peak condition, to adopt a hyper-focus mindset and even to map out my life. But the greatest thing my daughter provided me was the ability to love my wife more than I ever have. This provided me a lifetime of motivation and fuel to become unstoppable.
Featured photo credit: Image by Warner Bros. via warnerbros.com
