Tony Robbins is an American author, coach and creator of the Robbins Success System, a set of principles touted as the “ultimate formula for how to be successful.” Among these principles is adopting the right mindset — and that comes with changing your mindset from “should” to “must.”
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Here’s how to build wealth and success in your life, starting with developing the right mindset.
Change From ‘Should’ to ‘Must’
In a recent YouTube video, Robbins broke down the concept of going from “should” to “must.” This isn’t just for building wealth, but for becoming successful in any area of your life.
When you use the word “should,” you’re giving yourself an out not to do something. Statements like “I should work out” or “I should stop smoking” indicate a desire but lack the strict motivation to change. For anything truly important in life, the word “should” needs to become “must.”
This concept applies to other areas of life, too, including your beliefs. For example, Robbins said, you might say, “I should never earn more than my parents; it’ll humiliate them.” But this is a story you’re telling yourself that gets in the way of your business and life.
With this belief system, and the use of “should” over must,” you’re mainly just hurting yourself. “Every time you get close to doing really well, you’ll sabotage it subconsciously,” said Robbins.
If you want to truly build wealth, you must make a change and stick with it. It might not be easy at first, but your future will be all the better for it.
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Adopting the Mindset for Wealth Building
Robbins’ second principle for becoming successful is to “adopt the right mindset.”
“The art of knowing how to be successful in life pivots on a central fact: where focus goes, energy flows,” he wrote. “By focusing on everything that could go wrong, you’re essentially setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Again, this ties into having self-limiting beliefs. As Robbins pointed out, if you tell yourself things like “I don’t think I can do this” or “Someone much smarter than me is better suited,” you’re going to start to believe it — and your beliefs will get you the very outcome you’re trying to avoid.
As far as wealth building goes, here’s an example of a self-limiting belief.
Say you want to become a millionaire. If you tell yourself, “I could never earn a million dollars” or “There’s no way someone like me could become that rich,” you’ll never do it. It’s not because you’re incapable — it’s because you believe that you are and so are unlikely to ever pursue the path to financial success.
Changing Your Standards
In his video, Robbins also talked about the four standards that can either keep you from financial success or lead you toward it. According to him, these standards are:
- Poor: If you do a poor job in your relationships or at work, you’ll get a poor reward in return.
- Good: Many people are taught to have “good” standards. The problem is that in today’s society, people are generally expected to do more than a good job. If you do a good job, you still have a high chance of getting a poor reward.
- Excellent: This requires much more commitment than the good standard. It means doing what’s necessary, even if you don’t necessarily always want to. You stay when others leave. You continue to strive to do better. And you imagine receiving excellent rewards which, by today’s standards, are actually good rewards.
- Outstanding: With this standard, the pursuit is to truly stand out and to reap the rewards for doing so. To achieve it, you’ll need to do something that motivates you to the point where “superhuman energy comes into your nervous system,” said Robbins.
Any of these standards can reflect back on your financial success, as well. If you set poor or good standards for yourself, you’re more likely to see less-than-average returns. Expect to still be with the same company making the same amount of money, and that’s what you’re likely to get.
On the other hand, setting excellent or outstanding standards for yourself can get you much further ahead. This could mean constantly striving for higher returns on your investments, promotions at work or greater success at your business. Whatever the case, the standards you set directly reflect your rewards — or returns.
Applying Your New Mindset to Building Wealth
Adopting a new mindset is one thing, but you’ll still need to take action if you want true change and long-term success.
“Once you’ve done the inner work, it’s time to take massive action — because true rewards come with action, not discussion. This means shaking up your routines drastically, learning a new skill set and replacing bad habits with beneficial ones,” Robbins wrote.
One way to start is by creating SMART goals. These are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and can be achieved within a set Time.
“Setting goals in this way helps break them down into manageable tasks that you can more easily achieve,” Robbins wrote. “That sense of accomplishment gives you the energy and drive to continue your hard work, creating a cycle of success that propels you toward your dreams.”
In another article, Robbins wrote about becoming a money master and how having these achievable goals can get you there. “Financial freedom isn’t really about a number in your bank account — it’s about empowering yourself to master money and shifting your mindset in a way that becomes a part of your everyday life.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The No. 1 Mindset Change That Will Help You Build Wealth, According to Tony Robbins
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