Merri-jo Hillaker and the Successful Mindset – PTC 471

What we tell ourselves is often more powerful than what actually happens to us. Our mindset is a critical factor when it comes to determining our success. (Get her guide Unlocking the Power of Podcasting to master your mindset at http://merrijohillaker.com/podcasting.) HOCKEY This weekend, the high school hockey team I coach struggled against a team we should have easily beat. It was all because they were focused on the wrong things. Before the game, I encouraged my team to focus on the goal at hand while controlling what they could control. Don't get sidetracked by listening to that little voice in your head that wants revenge for a hard hit or a bad call. During the game, the referees were making questionable calls against our team. Calls against the other team were missed just as I had predicted. Things came to a head when one of my guys took a penalty and got into a skirmish with a player from the other team. Another player on our team came in to defend our guy. The referee stepped in to separate the players. Instead of maintaining composure, my guy yanks himself away from the referee in a motion that looks like he is throwing a punch. That move resulted in a suspension. Rather than keeping our eye on the prize and winning the game, we want to get back at a player for an action nobody will remember in two days. How many times do you get derailed by the voice in your head? When was the last time you started focusing on minor details that don't move the needle rather than the 20% that produces 80% of your results? It's all about mindset. Keep you head in the game to win. MY UNICYCLE MINDSET When I 8, I wanted a unicycle. I really liked unique things. One Christmas, I found one in the Sears catalogue and put it on my list. My unicycle was under the tree that year. Over the next 8 years, I spent hours falling on my butt and cracking my head. I would hold onto the tree branch above my head to get on. Then, I would start pedaling as fast as I could to see how far I could get before I fell. Over and over. I would do it for a few weeks, then pack it away. The next summer, I would do it all over again. It wasn't that I couldn't ride a unicycle. I just had to conquer the voice inside my head to get the mindset right. It was a matter of believing I would eventually learn to ride that unicycle if I just stuck to it. JUGGLING MAGIC MINDSET The same thing happened when I taught myself to juggle. Balls were dropped over and over again. When I was learning magic, I failed time and time again until I perfected a trick. Only then was it ready to show anyone else. If a trick isn't perfect, everyone will know how it's done. It takes plenty of failures before the trick is ready for prime time. And, it takes a strong mindset to work through that valley until you reach success on the other side. FINDING SUCCESS Huge success comes to those that push past the failures until they reach success. Far too many let failures disrupt their progress. Mindset is the secret sauce. Rather than listening to the little voice in your head, tell yourself you just learning how to do it properly. It's all part of the process. We can win or we can learn. There is no room for the failure mindset. Many successful people have taken a position on the failure mindset. "I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying." ― Michael Jordan "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail." ― Confucius "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." ― Thomas Edison "Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly." ― John F. Kennedy "The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure." ― John C. Maxwell "You have to be able to accept failure to get better." ― Lebron James "Failure is success in progress." ― Albert Einstein "You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it." ― Maya Angelou "The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it." ― Rafiki (The Lion King) MERRI-JO HILLAKER Today, we talk mindset with Merri-jo Hillaker. As an attorney, mindset coach, functional nutritionist, author, and member of numerous charitable boards, Merri-jo is committed to impacting as many people as possible through her coaching and educational courses to support personal breakthroughs from limiting beliefs, many of which "they don’t know they don’t know." She is convicted to empower people to truly take back control of their most critical asset… their mind… and step into the life they perhaps have only dreamt of! As successful as she was through her thirties, including being VP and General Counsel of a publicly-traded company at the young age of 28, she was frustrated by some things in her life that just were not working. She refused to accept life as it was so searched to uncover "why life wasn’t working out." Such discovery work took her to an even more incredible level of success, multiple streams of income, deep relationships, and unlimited involvement in charitable endeavors beyond even her expectations. Her #1 core value is contribution. And that's why I'm excited that she is here to share her thoughts on mindset and success with us. MINDSET TAKEAWAYS I have three big takeaways from this conversation. First, choose to be different. We make the facts mean things, and that's why the voice in our head believes it. We are not just born that way; we create it with our mindset. Next, it's not failure. It is just an experience in your life. What did you learn from the event? Search for the learning and you will start to shift your mindset. Finally, choose to respond and be responsible rather than being a victim. Control what you can control. Next week, we will take a look at the year in review. I will bring you my six biggest episodes of the year. If you don't have a mentor who can take your hand and walk you every step of the way, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals.