One of the exercises that I have many clients do is list out all the successes theyve had in life. I ask them to start with early childhood and list everything they can remember being successful at. One of my clients recently gave the assignment to his girlfriend. She asked me afterwards what the point was. She hadnt found it very useful.
What I told her is that that Ive found that this exercise serves two important services. First, its a self esteem booster. Most people dont realize how many successes theyve had in their lives until they write them down. Some express surprise and sometimes some modesty when sharing their successes. Id recommend this exercise just for this boost alone, but the second reason for doing this is even more valuable. Success leaves clues behind.
When I ask a client to list their successes, its usually because they are stuck in some area of their business. Theyve tried several strategies to get unstuck and nothing has worked. When we take some of their major successes and analyze them, we find patterns. I ask them how they accomplished major tasks. What methodology did they use?
What we typically find is that they have a natural...