Although many can have every intention of carrying through a plan or working towards fulfilling a long-held dream, for most people it doesn’t quite end up playing out like that. 

More often than not the thought process of the vast majority of people goes something like this: 

1) STEP ONE - A brilliant idea comes along, often spontaneously popping into their mind and naturally they are excited at this point 

2) STEP TWO – Okay so next to do something about this amazing inspiration, now for a short while their mind works on different positive ways this idea can happen for real 

3) STEP THREE – They start to work out ways to not have it happen after all and their mind now starts to convince them to stay in their safe Comfort Zone because it’s easier. I call this The Third Thought and this alone, single-handedly stops more potential winners from achieving their dreams than anything else!  

You have always had the freedom to overcome The Third Thought and take control of your own destiny. It has been there waiting for you and action is the key, as we will see later. 

For now, though, be aware that the difference between the high-flying entrepreneur and the vast majority of others, is they ignore The Third Thought and continue on with developing STEP TWO to make their idea happen!  

I joined a publishing company in the contracts department at the tender age of sixteen years old (my degree I obtained many years later, earlier in life I just left school and went straight to work). My first boss threw me in at the deep end and had me pitching on the phone to get him appointments on my first day on the job. He said it’s okay to make a mess of the first few calls, telling me it’s the only way to learn and he was absolutely correct. Within a week or two I had gained in confidence and started to look forward to coming into work. 

What happened next is that shortly before my eighteenth birthday my boss left to go set up a company in Miami and before he went he recommended me to fill his shoes, rather than taking on a new manager for the department. Thankfully the managing director followed his gut and gave me a three-month probation period to see how it might go.  

Thrilled at being given a chance I grabbed the opportunity!  

A comparative newcomer to the business world I had no idea about the supposed limits on what is feasible or limitation in terms of The Third Thought. I simply went for it and thought big! 

I had the time of my life, although still a teenager, I brought an unprecedented one million pounds worth of signed contracts for new business into the company in a little less than eighteen months. Without giving too much thought to the actual amounts of business I was achieving (I had doubled the previous record set by my predecessor), I instead loved the travelling, seeing new people and places; and especially pitching to rooms full of potential clients! 

Had I been more experienced I doubt I would have achieved anything like those results, my own self-imposed limitations in terms of what I thought possible instead would have brought about The Third Thought. Although I may have been moderately successful, I would have listened to my own inner voice of limitation and aimed lower. 

All throughout my career, since those early slightly precocious halcyon days, if I ever find myself falling into the trap of self-limitation, I think of my teenage self and remember to aim waaaay higher! 

The Third Thought kills progress like nothing else and lowers expectations. If you have had successes in your life take the time to use them to personally empower yourself or, if the concept of personal growth is new and you have yet to take those first steps, read of others unprecedented successes and know that if they can make it…so can you!  

(taken from forthcoming book The Third Thought, due in October)