If there’s one thing that may be universally true when it comes to all the business owners Hanneke Antonelli has worked with over the years, it is that they are constantly looking to uplevel. There’s an almost neverending drive among most entrepreneurs to always do better, do more, and reach new levels of success– whatever that may look like for them. The thing that is harder to determine is a guaranteed way to make sure they reach it. There are myriad obstacles that can get in the way of the next big thing, and that can make it harder to reach your goal. But at the end of the day, most entrepreneurs realize that success actually comes from within. They are ultimately able to create the success they want, and they are in charge of making it happen. That doesn’t necessarily make it any easier though, as anyone who has come up against mindset blocks knows. But what if there was a way to rewire your brain to create success? Hanneke says that you can, and she can show you how.
You have to understand how your mind works
In order to rewire your brain for success, you have to first understand how the mind works and how that influences your actions. As Hanneke says, you can cultivate the strategic mindset you need for success, you just have to know how. This is what she lays out in her Up Level Formula that she uses with clients, and outlines in her new book The Up Level Project. The formula goes like this: Beliefs + Thoughts + Language + Feelings + Actions = Results.
So what does this mean exactly? To start, it’s important to remember that these factors all work together and also affect each other. You must strengthen them all to achieve the results you desire. You can say you want to make something happen, and even think you’re taking the action to make it happen, but if you really dig deep and find that for whatever reason you don’t actually believe it can happen for you, that holds you back. Your thoughts and beliefs affect your actions and reactions, and if you don’t truly believe you can do something, or aren’t thinking thoughts that align with what you want, you won’t likely get where you want to go.
Step Back from Action
What Hanneke advises clients and readers to do if they are having trouble reaching a goal and want to rewire their brain for success is to first step back from action, and take a look at their belief, thoughts, and language, before moving on to the actions that they think will bring success. As she explains, if you believe that it’s impossible to achieve something or it’s too late to fix a problem in your life or business, then you will have thoughts that line up with that belief. Thoughts will come up like “oh this will never work”, or “we’ll never figure this out.” If you have those kinds of beliefs, then you use language like “well, we can try to do…”, or “I guess I can…” If you are in a place where you have these kinds of beliefs about what you’re doing, and you’re using this kind of language, your actions will be in that same type of energy. When you believe deep down that something isn’t going to work, you act in a way that isn’t giving it your all. Are you going to show up 100% if you already think it isn’t going to work? No. Even if you think you still will, you just don’t. And putting in half hearted effort will never achieve the results you want, because as all entrepreneurs know, you’re only going to be happy with the results, and consider it a success, if you’ve given it your all and done the absolute best that you can. And not the best that you could in the moment– but the actual best of your full ability.
So how do you use this formula to rewire your brain for success?
The secret sauce, as Hanneke says, is in stepping back to evaluate which section of the formula you specifically need to work on at this time. Stepping back will allow you to be more strategic and see which areas you’re struggling with. Is it your belief that’s the problem, and you need to find ways to stop doubting that it is possible for you to achieve what you want? Is it in the language, and even though you believe you can make something happen you downplay it vocally because you don’t want to sound boastful or even jinx it? Or if you’re being really honest are you not taking the best confident actions to create the results you want? Are you just going through the motions to check things off the list and procrastinating on the stuff you know will absolutely move the needle? You may need to work on one of the components, or you may need to work on several. But taking the time to assess where you’re out of alignment and review this in a truly honest way is key. Figure out what needs to change and how. Once you implement tweaks to this formula, you’ll quickly start to see results. The beauty is that the formula is more of a cycle than a linear progression. Once you achieve the results you’ve been working toward you’ll inevitably need to revisit the Up Level Formula. As you get ready to level up to the next stage of success you’ll re-evaluate your beliefs, thoughts, language, feelings and actions again.
The exciting part is that once you’ve done it one time it’s so much easier to recognize these components of the formula in yourself, and even without consciously taking the time and effort to think about it, you may catch yourself using language that doesn’t align with your goals, or experiencing feelings that you recognize might trip you up and need to be addressed. You get better and better at being able to notice the factors that are keeping you stuck and naturally fix them before it becomes a frustrating block in your progress. Like with most things, the more you practice it, the better you get. Soon you’ll be rewiring your brain every time you are ready to uplevel in your business or life, and you’ll be constantly amazed at this power you have over yourself and your success.
About the Author
Born in South Africa, Hanneke Antonelli is an author and award-winning certified life coach with 16 years of experience growing businesses in various industries. Now based in Boston, MA, Hanneke draws on her business degree, Wall Street sales experience, and her decade as an entrepreneur to help business owners upgrade their leadership skills. With her help, they are able to focus on the path to sustainable growth that will reap higher profits and more freedom. You can buy her book The Up Level Project by visiting: TheUpLevelProjectBook.com or on Amazon.
Find Hanneke at www.hannekeantonelli.com, or on instagram or facebook.
