Chris Molenaar started from nothing. He was a young kid just out of high school and ran away from home. He didn’t have any employable skills. Chris was so shy he couldn’t talk to people. But now he is one of the most successful retail salesmen in town. While Chris has had to learn everything the hard way, he looks at his struggles as a blessing. Since he has pulled himself up from his bootstraps he can now help others more readily live into their vision.

 

You Cannot Lose

One of Chris’s personal mindsets that prepares him for success is this – I cannot lose. He knows this to a be a truth because he is either winning, or learning. And when you decide to look at the barriers in your life as opportunities to learn and grow, losing falls out of the equation. It’s easy to be envious of those with natural talent that haven’t had to overcome the same hurdles as you have, but Chris doesn’t want you to be. If those people don’t have open minds then there is a clear ceiling to what they can achieve. You need to be coachable, adaptable, and willing to admit that you don’t know everything in order to succeed.

Effort Up Front, Payoff Later

Chris looks at his life’s journey as a clear example of putting in a lot of effort up front for a payoff later. He knows that everyone has different talents and everyone learns differently. However, there are always going to be some facets of your life that require a lot of work at first before things start to fit into your vision for your life. Once success starts to come you need to reflect upon it as well. Checking for “leaks” in your success is critical. You don’t want to sacrifice all your free time and relationships for years on end just to gain monetary success. If you can’t live in the moment and keep holding out for the good years then those times in your life will just pass right on by.

 

Live Your Vision

While it’s impossible to rid yourself of every bias, identifying what you don’t know can help you determine what it is you want to do in your life. And as your learn and grow more, you can more easily identify the gaps in your knowledge. But once your vision is identified you need to find a way to live into that idea. It should be a feeling in your gut that says, “Yes. I am on the right path.” You don’t need to see the whole path at once, you just need to see the first step, and then take it.

Shout Outs

I'd like to give a special thanks to the team that helps make the show the powerhouse it is! First I'd like to thank Tina for helping coach me through the podcast process - you can find her work over at Start Something. And then there's my editing team over at Audio Editing Solutions - if you need any audio work go drop them a line! 

 

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