TIP 92
WRITE IT DOWN 15 TIMES A DAY
The words “I am …” are potent words; be careful what you hitch them to. The thing you’re claiming has a way of reaching back and claiming you.
To shift your thinking from wanting to having, write down what you want 15 times a day. I know this sounds ridiculously simple, but if it worked for Scott Adams, the number-one cartoonist in the world, why can’t it work for you? Adams is the inventor of “Dilbert.” Adams himself was initially skeptical of this method, but he tried it anyway. He started out with small goals—impressing a certain woman and picking a winning stock. When he got those wishes, he decided he needed more empirical evidence. He was about to take the GMAT test to get into business school and wanted the precise score of 94. When the results came in, he had received a 94. He was now convinced of the power of writing his goal down 15 times a day and started to write, “I will be the best cartoonist on the planet.” At the time that Adams was writing this, it seemed pretty impossible. Ahead of him in the rankings were Gary Larson (“The Far Side”) and Bill Watterson (“Calvin and Hobbes”). An astounding thing happened: both of these cartoonists retired, leaving Adams in the number-one slot. It should be noted that Adams was also taking action toward achieving this goal; he was creating cartoons and writing a book.
Although Adams wrote his goal in the future tense, it is even more powerful if you write it down in the present tense and start your sentence with “I am …” Instead of, “I will be a millionaire,” write, “I am a millionaire.” If you are not getting what you want, it may be that it isn’t in your best interest or in the best interest of all concerned. Keep your thoughts completely positive. Negative thoughts boomerang back to you with negative results. Who would you like to be? Write down your biggest “I am” statement 15 times a day, and the genie of the universe will go to work.
Matt, an editor at a major publishing house, was in the process of interviewing with another company. He knew it was going to make an offer and would probably ask him how much he wanted to be paid. After some discussion with his wife, he came up with the figure he wanted. He then wrote down 15 times, “I am earning X thousand and have four weeks of vacation a year.” This number was a significant leap from his current job. When the new company asked him how much he wanted, Matt rattled off the figure without missing a beat. And he got it! He got the four weeks of vacation, too. He called me to thank me. He said that if he hadn’t written it down until he actually believed it, his voice would have wavered, he would have been awkward or embarrassed, and he would have blown his opportunity. The only thing Matt wishes now is that he had asked for even more money!
Joern Kamphuis used a personal variation on this tip to win the Mr. Germany competition. In his own words, he says:
I actually did not write it down 15 times, but what I did that made me feel confident I would become Mr. Germany was the following: I had a picture in my workout book where I wrote down my exercise reps. There you could see me with a Mister Germany banner Photo-shopped in with the headline: “I’m Mister Berlin.” In the beginning, I did not believe that I could be Mr. Germany or even Mr. Berlin, but after looking at this picture and repeating this short sentence as often as I could when I was training (six times a week), after a few weeks it did not feel strange at all and I actually knew that I would become, at least, Mr. Berlin.
The point of writing your wish down 15 times a day is to beat it into your brain until you actually start believing it is true. The first time you write down what you want, that little voice in your head will start screaming, “Who do you think you are? You’ll never get this. Who are you kidding?” Let it scream. Just keep writing. Eventually, you will get to the point where the little voice is saying, “Hey, you can do this. Piece of cake. What’s the big deal?” Then you know you’ve made the necessary mental shift from wanting to having.
So get out your pen and get busy!