The Writing On The Wall

Writing on the wall
If you ever visited any of my offices (old and current ones) you would find cork boards full of pictures, post its, and torn sheets of paper with phrases like “Never Hide”, “Be Wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove” “Give a Damn” “Nike it” “Writer” “Phreedum” “Dream” “Bold Radiant Glamorous” and the list goes on. It’s truly extensive. The words have been taken from cards, conversations, and magazines. In fact I bought an entire magazine before for one ad, that if I could have ripped the one page out of the 200 plus paged magazine and not felt guilty about it, I would have. Oh, you’re probably wondering what the ad was for and said. It was for a super cute out from Banana Republic with the black curly haired model leaping and captured midair with a caption that says “Exceed Expectations”. Oh and that ad was in Vougue’s September 2010, so that was a little over 900 pages.
But before I go off on a tangent about magazines, super cute outfits and the like, let me remind you that the purpose of this post is the power of words, and how what you tell yourself regarding your purpose and passion in this life truly will determine the fruition of your vision.
I keep the aforementioned words and phrases in my line of vision at all times. That way I am constantly coaching myself regarding who I am, what I believe, and where I am going. The road to your destiny is so full of distractions. Sometimes the roads are smooth and have clearly just been paved and painted, other times it’s potholes and dirt roads chock full of different sized rocks.
During my 9-5 gig I work as a clinical counselor for individuals who have been sexually abused and assaulted. Often times there are three theoretical paradigms I work from. The first is systems theory. In a nutshell this theory says people are impacted by the systems (family, community, work, religion, time, etc.) to which they are a part. As an entrepreneur systems are super important, that’s why we network all of the time.
The second theory I work with is humanistic. This theory suggests that ultimately the client has the answer to achieving treatment goals and they usually just need help with finding the answers. As entrepreneurs we utilize a lot of resources to get to our goals, but the biggest ones are things we posses, such as our craft, creativity, and determination to succeed.
The third theory I typically use is Cognitive Behavioral Theory (CBT). This model maintains that if you want to change behavior you have to change your thoughts. Changing thoughts usually means changing the messages one is saying to oneself. As entrepreneurs, dreamers, people with purpose, what we say to ourselves effects what we believe bout ourselves which affects our behaviors.
I’m sure if you are reading this and you are an entrepreneur you have a vision and a mission. I’m sure if you are reading this and are employed you know your company’s vision and mission. But beyond visions and missions which can be a little wordy, there are mantra’s. These are the “Just do its” of Nike and the “Rebel with a cause” of Phreedum. These are the snippets of words that have to be before you at all times so that as your thoughts reflect on these words and you believe them your actions follow suit and you continue to move forward.
Put the writing on the wall if you haven’t already. You are what you think, so choose the words that create your thoughts wisely and act accordingly, triumphantly, and phreely.