Powerful Tips on How Your Story, Your State, and Your Strategy Leads to Breakthrough Success

As a personal development teacher and self-help author, I have found in my personal life, research, and in the lives of those I’ve had the privilege of interviewing and serving in some capacity that creating breakthrough success in any area of our life comes down to three fundamental elements: our story, our state, and our strategy.

Our Story 

The stories we make up in our mind about ourselves, referred to as our self-talk, defines in a large part what we believe about who we are, who we can become, s and what we can accomplish in our lives. Until we begin our personal development journey, we often believe that life is happening ‘to us’. Without spiritual growth and self-awareness, we can spend many years living our lives based on unconscious beliefs created during our childhood to make meaning of who we are, our sense of worthiness and sense of safety in the world.

It is possible for adults to live their entire lives being unaware of the unconscious beliefs holding them back. It is not until we begin to do the inner-work involved in ou spiritual growth and personal development that we develop the self-awareness to ask ourselves, “What is the underlying beliefs that cause me to feel and believe that the path to what I seek has to be difficult, hard and painful for me to be worthy of having that which I desire?”

When you begin to embrace your spiritual authority and challenge the limiting assumptions in the stories you make up in your mind about who you are, who you can become and what you’re worthy of experiencing in life, you’ll begin to rise above the fears of the world.

In the beginning, this process of personal liberation requires us to maintain focused, directed thought and action on a daily basis to override the gravitational pull of our unconscious beliefs and dysfunctional habits. As we put forth this effort, we begin to experience conscious raising experiences that create shifts in the stories we tell ourselves. We begin to see ourselves with new eyes which help to expand our perception of who we believe we can become and what we’re capable of accomplishing in life. 

This is crucial because we ALWAYS behave in a manner that reflects our self-identity. The stories we make up in our mind about our potential and possibilities in life shapes who we become, what we do and the quality of life we live.

Our State 

Our dominant thoughts influence our beliefs. Our beliefs influence our emotions. Our emotions influence our actions. Our actions influence what we experience in life. This perpetual cycle influences our state of consciousness. This is true for every living soul on this earth. Our state of consciousness determines our approach to life.

Einstein stated, “We cannot solve a problem with the same level of consciousness that created it.”

This means that in order for us to build systems of living that enables us to co-exist and thrive on the earth, you and I should be focused on making efforts to elevate our consciousness to solve problems that will help us align with the infinite intelligence that created the universe. For me, this means God/Spirit. Regardless of our religious, political beliefs, etc., the disruption taking place in our communities and on the global stage should be enough for each of us to take a PAUSE and consider if the actions we are taking today beneficial to all of us living harmoniously on this planet.

Unfortunately, as humans, we have a collective record of wanting change to happen as quickly as we receive a food order at a drive-thru window. We are failing to recognize that positive change, whether it’s in our life, business, community or the world will only come about as we elevate our consciousness.

According to Michael Beckwith, one of the teachers of the Secret, there are four stages of human consciousness.

Stage One: We see the series of events and circumstances of life as happening ‘To Me’ which is also referred to as the victim-stage. In this stage of consciousness, we react, resist and blame others or LIFE for dealing us a crappy hand. It is not until we make a choice or by necessity do we begin to recognize that we must let go of blame and the unforgiveness in our hearts to create the shift that needs to take place within us to take responsibility for our life.

Stage Two: In this level of consciousness, we begin to recognize that as long as we don’t take responsibility for our life, we are giving away our power and limiting ourselves to live a life below our potential. As we begin to let go of blame and the unforgiveness in our heart and take responsibility for our lives we begin to see that life is happening ‘By Me’. We make strides toward improving the quality of our relationships, our community, and our planet. These efforts begin to stretch us in such a way that we discover that we are much more capable than we thought. We become active manifestors of the experiences we desire and the change we want to see in our world. We let go of our need to control every outcome as we develop and deepen our trust and connection with God/Spirit.

Stage Three: We claim our role as a creative force that influences the circumstances of our life. As we work to manifest the better life experiences we desire, we deepen our trust and connection with God/Spirit. In this stage of consciousness, the effort we demonstrate increases our ability to experience the grace of flow in what we are doing. The more flow states we experience, the more we are humbled by the realization of the energetic force of God/Spirit working ‘Through Me’ to help us accomplish what we set out to achieve. We begin to sense that the energy within us is the same source from which we were created which humbles us. The motivation for our efforts shifts from achievement to significance as we embrace the energetic force working within us to improve the lives of others, and the challenging conditions on our planet. We become willing to let go of our own sense of separation to align with the energetic force of God/Spirit.

Stage Four: In this stage, we open ourselves up to experience genuine unity with life. Our perception of the infinite nature of God/Spirit begins to expand in ways beyond our own imagination as we embrace the awareness that we are one with all of life. We embrace the truth of our divine enoughness as we acknowledge that our power, intelligence and faculties are unique for specific purposes. They are instruments that can be used for unique expressions of love and the healing of people and our planet. We embrace ONENESS with God/Spirit. Life is happening ‘As Me.’

When we are not aligned with our spiritual authority, we are more apt to believe the erroneous assumption that we are victims in life. This mental state leads many of us to believe that we have no power to change the circumstances of our life. If we remain in this state for a period of time, we begin to exhibit behavior referred to by psychologists as learned helplessness. In this state of mind, we blame others for the condition of our lives.

It is only when we begin to embrace our spiritual authority and embark on a personal development journey that our eyes begin to open to the truth of our reality. The truth is we always have the power within us to take actions that will enable us to create more of the life experiences we desire.

As humans, we will fluctuate between these stages of consciousness at different times during our lives. It is powerful to know that by letting go blame, unforgiveness, the need to control every outcome and separation from others and life, we are able to create life-changing shifts in our state of consciousness. By doing so, we elevate our ability to solve the pressing problems we face in our personal and professional life, and as citizens of Earth.

Our Strategy

In our quest to become more of who we were born to be, we must not lose sight of the fact that without clarity about what we want and how we are going to go about manifesting it in our lives, we could spend years spinning our wheels like a hamster in its cage. Yes, it is important to dream and have a vision of what we want. Nevertheless, if we just dream about what we want and never devise a plan of action that aligns our state of BEingness with what we desire, we are less likely to succeed at creating the better life experiences we want. Implementing and executing an effective strategy is where the rubber meets the road.

Regardless of the goal, the following three practices can help you define or refine your strategic approach to reaching a better life experience goal.

Practice One: Get Clear About Where You Going

It is true. You can’t hit a target you can’t see. You can hope as if you were blindfolded and asked to swing a bat at a pinata.

So, the first thing you have to identify in your strategy is: where are you going and what do you want to achieve as a result of the journey.

Practice Two: Gather Support

 Create your own success squad. Gather support from individuals who have demonstrated that they support your success. Schedule success check-ins with them to help you maintain the morale, motivation, and momentum to achieve your goals. When you prefer to get an outsider perspective on a situation, hire a coach.

You may be a go-getter that is always knocking it out of the park when it comes to achieving your goals. Nevertheless, like most of us, you need support from others. The most effective support from others will hold you accountable for doing what you say you’ll do while challenging you to stretch yourself beyond your preconceived limits.

Practice Three: Schedule Quarterly Training

If you have the opportunity to participate in company-sponsored training, you should take advantage of it. Whether you do or you don’t have this opportunity, you are the CEO of your life. Create a professional development plan and take responsibility for executing it with success.

At a minimum, schedule training once per quarter to sharpen your present skills or develop new skills that will help you reach a better life experience goal. In addition to leadership and business skills, identify personal development skills that you need to improve upon.

Do not leave your training and development in the hands of others. Your success will be defined by the actions you take on a consistent basis to achieve it.

In Conclusion

In our quest to create better life experiences and become more of who we already are at our best, in some instances, we tend to make the achievement of success more difficult than it has to be because of our tendency of overthinking.  

Think about any goal that you have achieved where this three-part framework did not play a pivotal role in its achievement. Its simplicity is why it is overlooked. That’s in part because most of us have been conditioned to believe that success has to be hard and difficult.

When we first start out on a new journey, that which we consider to be difficult in many cases reflect the inner-resistance we have toward the inner-work we must undergo to become the person capable of achieving a particular goal. Private victories always proceed public victories.

I’m not downplaying the real challenges we have to contend with. God only knows the number of challenges I had to overcome during my corporate career, and those I’m faced with after making the leap to become a full-time business owner last year.

I encourage you to align with the truth of your spiritual authority, ground yourself with principles, rituals, and routines that enable you to show up consistently as your best self. When you are firing on all cylinders in a healthy manner and you have opportunities to expand the horizons of your life…your best self will inspire you to embrace them with all you got! 

Slay Your Greatness,

Jackie

P.S. If you are a woman of color who is interested in elevating your personal development and leadership skills to grow forward and flourish, I’m inviting you to join me at the 1st annual Level Up HER Leadership Master Class which is being held at the Midlands Technical College Harbison Campus in Irmo, SC on Saturday, June 29, 2019 from 10: 00am - 5:00pm. Women of color ages 16 and older are welcome to attend.

Not only will you experience insights and breakthroughs as a result of your own thinking, but the conversations you’ll have with diverse women of color from other industries can also be mind-opening. It’s going to be an inspiring and exhilarating day!

Learn more and register at www.jackiecapersbrown.com.