Leadership starts with the (wo)man in the mirror.
Sustainable success starts with a complete understanding of human beings and yourself.
Have you ever looked in the mirror and asked yourself:
“Is this the life I have imagined?” Then you are not alone!
Sustainable success starts with a complete understanding of human beings and yourself.
- How does reality get into your mind?
- Why do you feel the way you feel?
- Why do you behave the way you behave?
- What would an extraordinary life look like for you?
Insights from neuroscience, evolutionary biology, positive psychology and more than three decades of experience will teach you, what you can learn about human beings and yourself. Our perception depends on “biochemicals“ within our brain. In the case of fear and stress, it is mainly noradrenalin, adrenalin and cortisol. If your brain is flooded with these substances it will automatically switch into the emergency state, with only three possible responses left: freeze, fight or flight. There is no more room left for empathy, creativity, compassion or mindful thinking.
Do you remember how you felt when you were full of anxieties or bad stress? You are simply out of your mind. This reveals humans as feeling machines being able to think, instead of being rational nor thoughtful. Emotions have the first and last word.
Emotions are the motor of reason.
E-motions are energies, that drive us. You can feel it under your skin — there is this physical momentum. Everything has to be emotional in order to have an impact.
“Everything which is not emotional, is worthless for the brain.”
We cannot simply remember. And always keep in mind, we humans are emoting all the time. Unfortunately, negative emotions have a much bigger impact than positive ones. Emotions are a universal language and they are deeply contagious. How much damage and destruction in the business world happens because of this phenomenon?!
We are social animals.
Did you know that our evolutionary heritage has a massive influence on the way we behave today? One of the strongest “evolutionary filters“ is called “belonging“. Belonging to a group, your soccer team, your friends, your family feels good. This is because your body rewards you, when you belong, with the release of serotonin, one of the key “happiness hormones”.
Therefore, loyalty is a biological phenomenon. And I argue that the really successful companies and brands do not sell any products or services, they fulfill exactly this need. They sell their target audiences a belonging. If you are a bit skeptical, watch what happens in an Apple or Nespresso store. “Not belonging“ has the exact opposite effect, it hurts. Not being appreciated is theno.1 complaint of employees around the globe. From evolutionary biology, we can learn that we as human beings share much more similarities than differences. We all have the same basic emotional needs.
We are all one species: homo sapiens. But the logic of life (biology) teaches us uniqueness, everybody is somebody, everybody is unique and this the key challenge in the life of every single one of us.
Every human being is unique — you are unique!
Finding your uniqueness and living accordingly is our biggest dare. Being successful on all levels of life is only possible when you unlock your real potential and contribute with your uniqueness.
Joy is your guide — tells us the science of positive psychology.
Your inner state is the “pre-determinator” of your perception and the results you achieve. Imagine how you experience your world in the moment of being totally in love. And alternatively, feeling extremely desperate. Can you feel the difference? Where are all colors, where is the energy and the confidence, when life knocks you down to the floor? Ask yourself in exactly these moments, whether there were any changes in the outside world, did it even recognize your mood? Is it possible, that our perception of the outside world depends on your inner state and your own neurotransmitters? Is the world we perceive a big self-made illusion?
Make better decisions!
Our life is determined by our decisions. You are exactly where you are because of the decisions you made so far. So…let’s commit to making better decisions, realizing that success in life is always a consequence, a result. Success is what happens if you follow your true inner voice.
We need more responsibility and mainly self-responsibility — being responsive instead of being reactive is the key to a fulfilled professional as well as private life. You need to have responses or even better answers. Why are you doing, what you are doing? Are you happy? What would be an extraordinary life on your terms look like?
Self-responsibility is the equation to self-leadership. Leadership has nothing to do with hierarchy. Leadership is always self-leadership, which is based on values, responsibility, and character. You have to lead yourself in order to lead others — this is leading by example. Others will follow you voluntarily.
What are you waiting for? Stand up and deliver. Start now. Say “No“ to your fear and laziness. Say “Yes“ to the one you see in the mirror. Your relationship with yourself is the foundation of any relation to somebody. Only when you are fulfilled, you can support others in their own way to fulfillment.
“You can’t give away, what you don’t have!“
I wish you lots of success.
I am a human being, husband, father of four, author, keynote speaker, high-performance business coach and a missionary for „the decade of humanity“.
What are your challenges? What is your call?
Tell me your thoughts — bmo@bmo.de
7 Inspirations to take away.
- You need to understand human beings in order to become successful
- Everything which is not emotional has no value for the brain
- Belonging makes us happy
- Your own uniqueness is a gift and purpose at the same time
- Make better decisions
- Joy — truth — happiness
- All you need is love
