Transcription
Economic uncertainty, layoffs, budget cuts, tariffs, shrinkflation, inflation. It seems like everywhere we turn, there are headlines that continue to remind us about how tough things are right now. And just because things are tough around you, it doesn't mean that it needs to affect your personal stability.
So, in this video, what I want to show you is how you can rise above economic uncertainty and unlock what I call vocational confidence right here and right now in your current role. And I'm going to be talking about how you are playing small right now and how that's costing you big time, but also providing you with six action steps on how you can unlock your vocational confidence. So, let's go.
One of the first and most common things of playing small is having what I call a scarcity mindset. And the scarcity mindset is like this: there's a widespread belief that modesty and frugruality equates to humility, and the reverse, the pursuit of wealth, equates to greed or selfishness. And you see, in our world today, in society today, modesty is so glorified. We have been taught by society, by our friends and family, by people all around us, and by institutions as well. We've been taught to be comfortable. We've been taught to just earn just enough to be comfortable, to earn just enough.
But here's the thing. If you desire to make a greater contribution, if you desire to support yourself and your family, and maybe some of you who are listening to this, you desire to support your aging parents, then it is important that you realize that if you're making just enough, or just enough to keep the lights on, if that's your goal, then it becomes really difficult to support aging parents, the causes you care about, make contributions to charities. It's going to be very difficult to do that. So, modesty has been so glorified. We believe, to the point where we believe that it's better to be, and it is selfish to pursue wealth. And that's exactly what's happened. This whole belief system with the scarcity mindset that those who pursue financial profit or financial gain or financial wealth are exploitative, or they're morally unacceptable.
And if that has been your motto, whether you're aware of it or not, if that's consciously or subconsciously or unconsciously what you've been doing, what ends up happening is that you're going to have naturally a very strong resistance to people who try to sell you things or who try to tell you about an opportunity. And you have such a strong resistance to that because there's a negative association with sales and selling because it's tied to financial profit and financial wealth again. And if that's your modality of operation, can you see how it's going to be very difficult for you to gain the business acumen which is necessary to advance in your career? Because you work in a business, for a business, and a business needs to be profitable. And if that's exactly what you're resisting because of the scarcity mindset, that type of playing small is going to cost you big.
And this leads to the second way that people play small. And it's what I'm going to call economic infidelity. Now, I understand this sounds like a really strong word, but let me share with you what this means. Now, I mentioned earlier that some of you have responsibilities. You have responsibilities to yourself. You have responsibilities to provide for your children, your families, your aging parents, and sometimes extended relatives as well. So, what economic infidelity means is neglecting financial stewardship and neglecting financial responsibility. You see, here's the thing. The fact is, you cannot be responsible for provision for your family, your extended family, your immediate family. You can't uphold those responsibilities by wanting just enough to be comfortable. And that is a form of economic infidelity. So, this comes from the scarcity mindset. A lot of times when we have a scarcity mindset, which I described earlier, it leads to economic infidelity.
The third way that people play small is with anxiety-driven fear. You notice how I didn't just say fear? I said anxiety-driven fear, and there's a very important distinction. And the distinction is that there's a difference between anxiety and fear. Anxiety is the feeling you experience when you imagine a future that is dangerous, that is harmful or undesirable. So, it's future imagined dangers that produce a feeling in the present of anxiety. But the thing is, the future hasn't even happened yet. You're just thinking it's all going to go pear-shaped. You're just imagining it's all going to be dangerous and unbeneficial. You're just thinking about disadvantages and you're thinking about things going into failure, and that produces your present experience of anxiety. So, that is anxiety.
Fear is different. Fear is an actual and current and present danger. So, for example, if you're walking on the street, someone comes up to you and holds you at gunpoint and says, "Give me your wallet." Now, you didn't imagine that. That is actually happening to you right now. So, it creates a present feeling called fear. Now, your brain does not know the difference between something you imagined or something that you are living and experiencing right now. Your brain itself, the organ itself, does not know the difference because it produces the same chemistry. It produces the same biological and physiological chemicals that get released into your bloodstream. So, your brain does not know the difference. And that's why in our English language, oftentimes we're very lazy with our language and we say we feel fear when actually what we're feeling is anxiety.
So, that's what I mean. This third way that people play small is they are driven by anxiety-based fear. Fear that they experience is fear. Their brain mistakenly believes is fear, but it's really the content of our minds when all we focus on is the negatives, the failures, the things turning out not the way we want them to. And the future hasn't even happened yet. We just see it in our minds so clearly. And that causes us, in the moment when we feel anxiety, it causes us in the moment not to take action, or it causes us to pull back or pull our punches, or it causes us not to want to take any risks.
So, what happens when you don't take risk? When you don't take risk, it necessarily means I need to do what is familiar to me. If I don't want to take any risk, that means I need to do what's tried and true. Doesn't that sound a lot like the status quo? Doesn't that sound a lot like fighting for deemed comfort? Fighting for your comfort, fighting for your comfort zone is going to produce all the same things you've always had. So, if your desire, if your true heart's desire and inspiration is to grow, is to thrive, is to advance or to be in momentum, if that's truly what you say you want, check in with your inner world, check in with yourself, whether or not there is your internal operating system or your internal way of being that is contradicting to the goals you say you want to have.
So, now you understand the three ways that a lot of people play small and exactly where and how playing small is costing you big. So, now let's transition into six action steps on how you can achieve vocational confidence from where you're at. And each of these six action steps begins with the letter L, just to make it easier to remember.
So, the first action step is this: Lean into transparency and communication. When the economy is tough, when it's rough times all around, when the headlines are going all over the place, when it feels like everything is outside of control, lean into transparency. You know, a lot of people are lying to themselves. A lot of people are lying to themselves either in an act of omission or an act of commission. So, what do I mean by that? I know I just threw a lot of words at you. Some people lie to themselves by actively telling themselves that they're going to be okay, that, "Hey, I don't feel upset," or that, "Hey, I got this," or "Hey, I understand the times," or "I know exactly what's going on here." So, they're actively telling themselves. Or, some people lie to themselves by minimizing or numbing exactly what they're experiencing. Minimizing or numbing exactly what they're feeling. And they minimize and then numb it over time so much that they're out of touch. They're completely dissociated with their inner world, with their internal milieu. And that's a problem too.
And with transparency, you understand that in leadership, one characteristic of great leaders is transparency. And the reason why transparency is important in a team is because transparency creates accountability. Transparency and communication creates inspiration. It motivates your teams. It helps your team to understand what's really going on. And they feel heard and understood and appreciated. And they will go the extra mile. Transparency creates that level of trust and accountability. But how are you transparent? How are you going to be transparent with your team members or with other people if you're not first transparent with yourself? Transparency starts with you. So, lean into a level of transparency. Stop minimizing what's going on. Stop minimizing what's happening in your situation. Stop minimizing how you're feeling. Stop minimizing your assessment, your self-assessment into how you're really doing. Stop minimizing it and stop numbing it. It's time to address it head-on. And this is the most important first action step to developing vocational confidence. And then when you have transparency with yourself first, then lean into that transparency with others in all of your communications.
Action step number two to achieve vocational confidence is leverage wealth in action. Money is a tool. And money in and of itself is not harmless. It's not harmful. It does not cause others or self-harm. It is not selfish. Money by itself is not evil. It depends how it's used. And this is my belief. You can take it or leave it. Money is best used when it is put into action in serving other people. So, here's the thing. In financial tough times, in economic uncertainties, layoffs, tariffs, and all of these things, what we really feel a sense of urgency for is to have financial stability. But here's the truth. You cannot create financial stability by trying to create financial stability. I know it sounds paradoxical, but hear me out. In the world, money, which is required for financial stability, money is a byproduct of value created. So, focus and leverage wealth in action, which means that come up with solutions to important problems that other people have and be of service to them. And that's exactly why it was Zig Ziglar who said, "You can have everything you want in life if you will help enough other people to get what they want."
So, what does this mean? Is that here's a two-sentence, a very two simple sentence for creating financial stability for yourself and for your family. Number one, create more value for more people. Number two, create a higher level of value for fewer people. And that's it. Money is a byproduct of value created. How can you make your presence more valuable? What is the highest level of service you can provide to enough others? And that, in turn, will help you to get the things that you desire as well. And I'm not promising that you're going to get rich doing that. I'm not saying that as soon as you do that, you can get rich. But what I am saying is that it will help you to be more financially empowered. And that's really what we're trying to achieve in vocational confidence is empowerment in the financial aspect of your life.
Action step number three follows very closely from action step number two: Learn to invest in your personal growth. It's wise to invest in yourself. And so many people hesitate to invest in themselves because they're so afraid of not getting an ROI after investing in themselves. If that's you, if you are, if you know that intellectually that, "Hey, I got to invest in my skills. I got to hire some coaches. I need to get into some, some mentorship programs." If you know that intellectually, but you hesitate because you're so scared that, "Hey, that coaching program is not going to be all it's cracked up to be," or "I might not get the return on my investment." If you're so scared of that, what you're actually saying is you don't trust yourself. You don't trust yourself. How is it that if someone has helped a bunch of other people to elevate, to learn skills, to achieve their desired goals, how is it that you see yourself as different? How is it that you are looking at yourself and you're saying, "I might not get the ROI"? So, I'm just going to, I'm just going to wait on that decision. It means that you don't trust yourself to be able to take what you learn, apply it effectively, and turn your life around and turn your career trajectory around. That's what you're really saying.
And so, what does that do for you in terms of your mindset, in terms of your attitude, in terms of your outlook, in terms of the actions, your resilience, what does that do for you? And during good times, it's already wise to invest in yourself. And it's even more important in tough times. And if you're saying to yourself, "Well, I'll wait to do it when the need for it is great enough, then I'll invest in myself." Well, here's the thing. If you didn't invest yourself during good times, what makes you think that you're going to do it during tough times when economic and financial resources seem even more scarce? You see, you're less likely to invest yourself if you wait for things to go really bad. I mean, during COVID times, when we were all locked up and we were not allowed to go out and we were all locked up, cooped up in our apartments and inside of our homes, you know how many dollars were invested on entertainment? How many dollars people were investing in fun and recreation and just to entertain themselves? It was crazy the amount of dollars that was done for that. And you see, why is the focus on entertainment? And that is the tendency of human psychology to first look for things to entertain themselves. So, that is more likely. That's the default in tough times is, "Well, I need to entertain myself." You see, successful people, their priorities are not to entertain themselves. Their priorities are to advance themselves because they understand that they're the best investment they can make.
So, if you will lean into investing in yourself, the first place to look in terms of your inner operating system is your bank account. I always say that your bank account is a reflection of your priorities, and your life will always reflect your priorities. So, look at and look, don't just assume, don't just guess, and don't just lean into what you feel is true, but actually look at your bank statements, look at your bank account, your credit card statements. Where have you been spending your money? Where has it been going? And it might be a really tough call. It might be a really hard truth to see it, but it's important to see it. That's going to reflect your priorities, the bank account. So, then your priority, your life also in turn reflects your priorities. So, if the state of your life, if the circumstances of your life is something that you're unhappy with, is something that you're inspired by, the place to look first is in your priorities. Change your priorities. That's something you are 100% in control of, even in economic uncertainties. And that is the third action step towards vocational confidence.
Hey, this is Dr. Grace. Let me take a moment to tell you about my Mastery Accelerator Mentorship Program. This is the program where I help experts and executives to achieve vocational confidence. And it's by equipping them with the skills and the right tool sets and the right mindset to be able to achieve the goals that they have in their career trajectory. So, if you want to learn more about that, then click the link below this video, and it'll take you to a page where you can read and learn all about Mastery Accelerator. And if you're serious about getting help to help you achieve your career goals, then follow the button, click the link to book a call to talk to a member of my team. And they will be able to answer any question you might have and to be able to create an action plan for you inside the program and how you can get started. And if you get started with me, then I look forward to serving you and to helping you on the inside.
Action step number four to achieve vocational confidence is learn to manage your money. Money management. Money management is a bigger umbrella that includes money accounting and money bookkeeping. It's management. And it really has to do with managing the flow of your money. Remember I mentioned earlier that your bank account is a reflection of your priorities? Most people, their priorities were their priorities by default and by accident, not by deliberate choice and deliberation. So, this is an opportunity to understand this truth. The truth that's wise to understand is that your financial health and your financial longevity is a reflection of you. Now, if you are offended by that statement, it has, it says a lot about your mindset and perspectives in life and in your areas of life. It says a lot about that. It doesn't say anything about the way I deliver my message. And it's important to understand that the things that we are offended by when we hear it are most of the time, the things we really need to lean into because on the other side of that offense is clearing all the emotions that get in the way of the decisions we need to make to change our life for the better.
So, learn to manage your money, which means that your financial wealth is a reflection of you and your priorities. And if you will set and deliberate, if you will intentionally set your priority to focus on your finances, to grow the finances, and to understand that your financial health has more to do with how you manage your money than by necessarily how much money you make, then you start to recognize that the choices you make also reflect how you end up financially. So, this involves, yes, it involves delayed gratification. It involves allocating money to spend on the right things. By the way, my message about learning to manage your money, I'm not saying you need to be frugal. You notice I never said that. It's not about needing to be frugal. It's not about modesty. It's not about saving your pennies. Nothing about that because you cannot save your way to financial health. You cannot save your way to financial stability. It's not about that. It's about investing your money and spending your money on the right things. And case in point, the example I gave earlier on COVID when we were all locked up in our houses, most people spent their money on entertainment, video games, having fun. So, spend your money on the right things. Spend your money on the things that will produce for you the outcomes you say you desire and really take an inventory of your bank account because it reflects your priorities.
Action step number five to achieve vocational confidence is let go of balance. If you hear the concept of work-life balance, we have been programmed and taught decades and decades to aim to achieve work-life balance. In fact, I have worked with so many clients who quit companies, who left industries because they said there was no work-life balance. What if I told you that work-life balance is a myth? It was created, a concept that was created by people to get people stuck, to get people feeling stuck and broke and out of control of their circumstances. Here's the thing, life does not and cannot be balanced all the time. Think about what does the word balance mean? Balance, picture a scale, one, the other. Balance means this, when one scale is balanced with the other. When in life will you achieve that? It means you spend the same amount of time at work, same amount of time with your kids, same amount of time entertaining yourself, same amount of time traveling, same amount of time eating, same amount of time taking care of yourself. When does that even happen? Stop pursuing goals that are unattainable because that's exactly what's causing you stress.
The fact is, life is very much like the universe. It happens in seasons. You have summer, fall, winter, and spring. Life has seasons that are analogous to that. Sometimes we are not in a season of having fun and relaxing and enjoying ourselves. Sometimes we need to be in a season of focus. Sometimes we need to be in a season of working hard and discipline, which might mean we miss our chosen recitals. It might mean that we have to delay gratification, we can't go on that vacation this month. It might mean that, well, I can't buy that thing I've always wanted to buy. I had my eye on it. But because right now what's required of you is a season of focus and discipline. And this is where it's important. Instead of trying so hard to fight for work-life balance, why not develop the wisdom to discern what season is being required of you right now? And here's the thing about seasons. Seasons don't last forever. As long as winters are, maybe you're living in countries where the winters are 10 months. Maybe you live in a hot country where you don't have winters and it gets really hot. Seasons don't last forever. Seasons come and go. Get good at recognizing the patterns so that you can make better decisions and so that you can achieve vocational confidence at this step.
And action step number six for achieving vocational confidence is lean into your powerful four P roles. Now, you have four very important roles to step into, to embrace, and to carry out if you desire to achieve vocational confidence during economic tough times. And this is especially important during tough times to take on these four roles. And these four roles begin with the letter P. They are progenitor, provider, protector, and promoter. So, what is each?
Number one, progenitor. Progenitor is somebody who creates opportunities. Don't wait for other people to give you opportunities. Don't wait for your bosses, your higher ups, your institutions. Don't wait for anybody to give you opportunities. Be in your creative space to create the opportunity that you desire by focusing on your purpose, your mission, your wisdom, and your understanding. The only way, the best way to navigate tough times is through your wisdom, your intellect, and your understanding. So, that's being a progenitor.
The second one is a provider. And this is providing for the people you care about, the causes you care about, providing for yourself, and in the context of the team, providing for your team members, the direct reports, and your colleagues, people that are under your direct care. Be a provider. And this goes back to Zig Ziglar, what he said about "You can have anything you want in life if you will help enough other people to get what they want." Be a provider. Provide for them. And you have the things you, you have the life you want to have, not by trying to have the life you want to have. And remember, that's the paradoxical part that is by being of service, being a provider.
The second one is a protector. Safeguard your family. Having safeguards in place to protect them from things that they, that are coming down the pipeline. Be safeguard, have safeguards in place to protect yourself from thoughts that come up, to protect yourself from messages that don't serve you, to be a safeguard of your mind, to be a safeguard so that you can be the gatekeeper to not let messages into your mind that are myths, that are not serving, that superimpose victim mentality. Be a safeguard. That is the protector.
And the final road rule is to be a promoter. Promote the people you care about. Promote your team members. Be a promoter of the people that are within your care so that they can step up to become leaders and independent in their own lives. So, you can call this paying forward. You can call it to pay back and call it anything you want, but it really is the focus and service.
You see, here's the thing. Uncertainty can happen in the world of all, in the world all around us, but it doesn't have to define you. And it definitely does not have to define your career trajectory. So, if you will understand, if there's anything that you get from today's message, understand that there are only a few things you have control over, but you have 100% of control over them. And they are your own perceptions in your mind, the way you see things, that's a choice, your actions and your behaviors, and the decisions you make. The decisions you make in your priorities are going to be so fundamental if you want to navigate these tough times.