Culture has taught us to do certain things, such as get a good job and work hard so we can have a nice home, provide for our families, and take vacations. Once you’ve accomplished all that, you will be successful, happy, secure, and content.

This mindset postpones being present until we’ve accomplished everything on the list. In my experience, before everything on the list is accomplished, more things are added to it.

Success, happiness, security, and contentment aren’t things you can become; they are things you embody in the moment. The embodiment of success in the present moment is the backbone of the CEO mindset.

What does a CEO mindset look like in practice?

Having a CEO mindset looks like separating your way of being from results, meaning happiness, success, contentment, and so on, should be inside jobs that make you more successful.

Rather than waiting for happiness to occur after some result, we become happy now, and that same happiness will increase our likelihood of success. 

Who do you want to deal with or be with more? You have choices:

• Someone who is successful, or someone who is waiting to be successful (i.e., unsuccessful)?
• Someone who is happy, or someone who is waiting to be happy (i.e., unhappy)?
• Someone who is secure, or someone who is waiting to be secure (i.e., insecure)?
• Someone who is content, or someone who is waiting to be content (i.e., discontent)?

Which group is more likely to take appropriate risks and actions? Which group is more likely to take care of themselves and others along the way? Which group is more likely to speak their truth in difficult situations?

Who is more likely to prosper? Someone who’s present, successful, happy, secure, and content, or someone who’s waiting to have these things? You now know that you don’t have to wait to be happy, successful, secure, or content if you choose to be those things now.

How do I cultivate a CEO mindset?

Cultivating a CEO mindset is not immediate or easy, but it is a choice you can make. The false belief that we have to do something before we can be secure and successful are buried deep in the mind, so we need to train ourselves to support the choice to feel that we have enough now.

Here are four simple practices you can use daily to foster a CEO mindset:

1. Practice gratitude for all you already have.
2. Visualize being happy right now, as we hope to be when we fulfill our vision.
3. Write affirmations that support these positive feelings, such as “I am successful,” “I am happy,” “I am secure,” or “I am content.”
4. Look into the mirror and say, “I accept myself” and “I am enough” until that little voice in your head doesn’t offer resistance by saying, “No, you’re not.”

Do whatever it takes, because if you don’t feel successful, happy, secure, or content now, chances are you’ll never achieve these feelings. In all likelihood, your conditioning will cause you to desire more, like buying a sports car or taking a trip into space. Maybe that will do it? Maybe then you’ll be satisfied?

You have everything you need to be happy right here, right now. What’s the downside to having these positive feelings now? Do you believe you’ll just stop generating results or being productive at work if you are happy, satisfied, and content?

What will I get out of a CEO mindset?

My experience is that you’ll generate more and make a more significant difference along the way by being present, generating a powerful vision for the future, and focusing on the process rather than the results.

And if I’m wrong, you still end up feeling successful, happy, secure, and content because they are mindsets. If that’s the downside, I’m okay with being wrong.

Adopt daily practices that train yourself to believe and trust you are successful, happy, secure, and content. Practice mindfulness and these supporting practices as if your life depends on it, and you can achieve a CEO mindset.

I wrote a book, Profit with Presence: The 12 Pillars of Mindful Leadership, which goes in to further detail about this topic and more.

Although the world is currently abuzz with the term “mindfulness,” some believe mindfulness is a fringe activity to be practiced before or after the workday, if at all. Too few business professionals take the time needed to be present and aware throughout the workday, which is counterproductive. Mindfulness is not only a path to personal success, but a sound business strategy.  

My hope is to positively impact the world through infusing more mindfulness into business -- and it starts with each of us individually. Together, we can create a future where mindfulness is deeply embedded in our work culture, leading to greater well-being, productivity, and meaningful success for all.

- Dr Eric Holsapple

 

 

Get my free mindfulness resources here

Learn more about my book, Profit with Presence: The 12 Pillars of Mindful Leadership here

Check out the Profit with Presence Podcast Miniseries here

Watch videos on YouTube here

Learn more about my nonprofit, Living in the Gap, here

 

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