One of Tony Dungy’s sons has a genetic condition that prevents him from feeling pain. In his book, Quiet Strength, Tony tells stories about his son running into walls, falling down, and getting right back up as if nothing ever happened.
What would you do as a business leader if you knew that no matter what you did, you would not feel pain from it?
The fear of pain has prevented me from doing a ton of fun and potentially successful things. My parents call me an adrenaline junkie (check out my adventures on www.goreachmore.com), but I beg to differ. I still have not gone hang gliding, mountain climbing, or bungee jumping, mainly because I am afraid of how much it is going to hurt. I have also held back business investment, personal investment, and giving my “all” because I know that one of the costs of doing each of those things is pain.
My friend Annie just got back from a one year trip around the world, and came back with this picture:
This is a picture of a man celebrating during the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, Thailand (do NOT ask me how to pronounce that city… ). The Buddhists become vegetarians for 9 days each year, and the Monks go into a trance that allows them to feel no pain when they stick stuff in their cheeks, walk on coals, and climb up ladders made of knives. Annie almost lost it when she turned around and saw that the guy next to her was sharpening his axe on his tongue, while blood dripped down his chest.
Now, don’t go getting extreme on me, but there are a couple of great points for business leadership that we can glean from Annie’s adventure:
1 – Focus on the Big Picture – When facing a potentially painful situation that stands in the way of you hitting your goal, focus on why you are doing what you are doing, and not on the obstacle. When I walked on fire with Tony Robbins, he taught us to keep our eyes forward and our brains thinking ‘cool moss’. What are you focused on?
2 – Meditate, Visualize, and Journal Regularly – The Monks who were in trance got that way through extensive meditation and visualization. They set their R.A.S. (for more on this, come to a Launch class…), so that they weren’t focused on the pain – they were focused on the outcome.
3 – Think Bigger – What would you do if you knew that you were able to withstand the negative consequences of getting there? Don’t allow yourself to be limited by your beliefs of what is possible. You can do anything!
Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for Reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives. Email Jamar at jamar@goreachmore.com for the latest on Reachmore’s newest seminar, Launch.
Tags: achieve, commitment, discipline, Phuket