CEO Insight: The 5 Cs of Vince Poscente

Last week, I asked where the inspirational speakers were…going through my notes, I found the 5 Cs of Success by Vince Poscente…he was one amazing speaker…he wanted to be an Olympic athlete, so he randomly chose speed skiing where their motto is “Safety Last” and he broke international records in the trials.

*Spoiler alert: He came in last in the actual games, but he was a part of them!*

“Our life is full of defining moments, pivotal choices,” according to Poscente.

The author of the easy read “The Ant & The Elephant,” Poscente, jumped on chairs, yelled, encouraged audience participation and gave the following advice at a talk earlier this year (April 16, 2011 – another archive goodie)…it may not be as exciting in writing as it was in person…but it bears repeating:

C#1 – Clarity of Vision: Pay attention to your subconscious (elephant) not just conscious (ant) mind. “Don’t just see it, but feel your vision and what it means…If a thought gives you a physical reaction – pay attention.”

C#2 – Commitment: Have the courage to decide. “Doubt is loudest at 99-percent commitment, and it goes away at 100 percent.”

C#3 – Consistency: Focus on your goal – use reminders around the house to refocus you and create a consistent strategy to reach your goal. What change do you want to affect?

“The second you own the solution, you innovate.”

Most people look to their competitors and do what they are not doing…they fill a void…not a bad path, but not a bold one either. Poscente says, “You should do what the competition is not willing to do…That way, you can even tell the competition what you are doing and they won’t do it, because it is what they are not willing to do.”

C#4 – Confidence: Results plummet through the gap between “fear” and “confidence,” so don’t go there…be confident…reinforce to your subconscious that your goal is real and true.

C#5 – Control: This is basically creating a routine. You can reinforce your confidence with a controlled routine of consistent steps toward the clear goal to which you are committed. (See, I got all the Cs in there!)

Poscente wraps up by saying that you will have skeptics as you move toward your goals…just make sure your subconscious isn’t one of them…work to marry your ant and your elephant…the rest of the world will follow.

“When skeptics see results, they will become your biggest supporters.”

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As someone who was exclusively an elephant hunter, I am proud to announce that I’ve learned to hunt rabbits…in fact, I’ve even landed a few – so today, I eat!

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Repeat that please…again…

I DEVOUR business books…good, bad and ugly…I review them here (click on “book analysis” button to the right).  However, I haven’t had too many comments on the blog, so I was psyched to find a business book club (2nd Thursday lunch @ A Real Bookstore in Fairview, TX).

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Busy ≠ Cash In Pocket

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She’s busy, but she ain’t gittin’ paid…

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Random Advice: Annoying or Inspirational?

Do you ever feel like ENOUGH ALREADY on the advice? I mean if it’s good advice, I’m all for it – as in the very-specific-fix-my-current-problem-right-now advice. I feel like every time I turn around, someone is giving me advice, but it’s the platitudinous-go-get-’em advice that is supposed to inspire me…you know the kind that re-words what I ALREADY KNOW!

Good thing I’m not bitter, huh?

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Following Your Passion Can Feel Like You Are Just Another Slaughtered Cow

In the acknowledgments of The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry, author Kathleen Flinn thanks Gillian Kent who “eliminated my job in London, and I’d like to thank her for that.  It’s one of the best thing that ever happened to me.” This book is written by Flinn, a journalist who was fired from her job and just decided to go to Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris – she loved cooking and thought Paris was romantic. The book is a not only chock full of cooking tips and recipes, it is a treatise on following your passion…even when sometimes it seems like it might consume you.

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