Steve Johnsen

Personal and corporate growth for business owners, executives, coaches & entrepreneurs

  • Home
  • Coaching
  • Consulting
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact

Three words that guarantee failure

by Steve Johnsen Leave a Comment

Share this:


There are three words you can use that guarantee failure in just about any endeavor, including both business and personal life.

My friend Gary Barnes (who happens to be one of America’s leading business coaches) does an exercise in his boot camps. He asks everyone in the audience to put their pen on the table, and then instructs them to try to pick it up. Most people figure out after 2-3 times how to follow the instructions correctly—“Trying” to pick up the pen is not the same as actually picking it up!

Darren Brown, the English stage hypnotist and magician, mystifies audiences using the same words. He explained in a rare behind-the-scenes documentary interview that when he gets people in a hypnotic state and tells them, “Try to stand up,” or “Try to lift your hand,” or, “Try to remember your name,” they cannot stand or move their hand or say their name. The reason is that the subconscious mind knows that the word, “Try,” is a command to fail. This seems amazing to the audience looking on, because they generally do not make that connection.

The words, “I will try,” sound very positive, but in fact are a code for, “I am not committed to seeing this happen.” If I ask a client to send over the headshots for their new website and they say “I will try,” I know that it will never really happen. Remember when Luke Skywalker’s spaceship was stuck in the swamp? Luke thought it would be too hard, so when Yoda told him to get it out of the swamp, he said “I will try.” In the immortal words of Yoda, “Do or do not. There is no try.” Gary Barnes has created a new icon:

Try Zone

I have almost no sense of balance and even less grace on my feet. (If you see me on the ski slopes, get far, far out of the way!) When I was a freshman in college, I took an ice skating class. I was determined that I was going to learn to skate, or else break some bones in the attempt. At the end of the course my teacher told me, “Steve, I’ve been teaching ice skating for 18 years, and I have never had another student who fell down as much as you.” But despite all the falls during the learning process, I was skating, and enjoying it immensely!

To your success!

Byte to Byte with Steve Johnsen
Three words that guarantee failure

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Filed Under: Business coaching, Key distinctions, Personal development, Podcasts

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Having a clear goal is not the same as having a strategy.
***
Steve Johnsen

Get Steve in your inbox

First name:
Email address:



Follow Steve on Facebook

What people
are saying


“I have benefited so much from my work with Steve. He is such a mixture of heart, talent, and incredible intelligence, that he gets you clarity with such rapidity and ease. On one particular session where I was rather down, I opened up to a rather personal and very raw space with him. He made me perfectly comfortable to share what I was thinking and feeling. And at the perfect time, using my experiences shared on previous sessions, he asked the perfect question that shifted everything. I would recommend Steve's coaching to help you with whatever you want to accomplish. Steve is the real deal! I would recommend him to anyone committed to improving their business, themselves and their lives.”

– Carla O'Brien
Founder, Coach Carla LLC

“Steve is an excellent coach. He has the ability to listen deeply, reflect honestly, ask challenging questions, and help clients view life from a new perspective....[Steve] helped me unwrap some unconscious limiting beliefs from long ago about money. For the first time I was able to see how I’d been limiting my business growth because of my discomfort with growing wealthy. Once I became aware of that belief I was free to make new choices. On to prosperity!...[Steve] is simply a great coach with outstanding listening skills.”

– Joan Hoedel, MA, RN, CPC
Blue Dragonfly Coaching, Missoula MT

“I’ve been working with Steve for the past four months, and on a scale from 1 to 10, his integrity is a 12. His professionalism and dedication are at the same level also.”

– David Talon
Chief Strategy Officer & Partner, iGrowth Strategies

More...

Check out Steve’s recent posts!

Growing Your Business with Online Reviews

 There is a huge opportunity to use online reviews to grow your business, … [Read More...]

The Impact of Online Reviews

The impact of online reviews on your business This is the first of a two-part … [Read More...]

Buying leads – is it worth it? (and how to make it more profitable)

Buying leads can be a great way to get some sales in the door quickly, but there … [Read More...]

© 2023 Steve Johnsen. All rights reserved. · Steve Johnsen theme by Cloud Mountain Marketing.