Success doesn't equal positivity, positivity equals success.
Tom Gimpel, founder and managing director at Bolt Promotions, gives us a glimpse into his mindset and how he keeps focused through tough times in business. Tom uses The Black Dot Impact to build a positive mindset in his employees.
“If you have so many positive things that you love or that you’re excited about, that you want to do, that you’re striving to achieve, or have, or do, or experience. It kind of drowns out the negative stuff in life”, says Tom Gimpel.
How can you do it?
“The Black Dot Impact is a simple activity to help build the positive mindset which will take you to success,” says Tom.
All you need to create one is a blank sheet of paper and a handful of pens. You start by drawing a black dot in the middle of the page, about 10cm in diameter.
Up next is the fun part, draw all your goals, hopes, and dreams around the black dot.
Take as much time as you need with this section to build a full image of what success looks like to you.
Tom's Tips:
“We’re going to fill [the white space] with goals or things that you love. Things that you are passionate about”, says Tom.
“Success looks different to each person, creating images that inspire and build motivation for you is the key to success. The ability to focus and visualise your goals is what will give you the motivation on the days where things aren’t going the way you want.”
"If you can dream it, you can do it" - Walt Disney
The black dot in the middle of the page represents all the negative things in life and all of the difficult times everyone goes through. When it’s alone on a page it’s obvious and all-encompassing, but when it is surrounded by positive goals it becomes just a small part of the whole.
So why do we draw this out Tom?
“If I focus too much on the negative dot it will grow and it will cover the good stuff. But I want the good stuff too much to let it take over”, says Tom.
The power of a positive mindset gives you the skill to move past difficult days. Building a focus on goals and dreams allows you to look past the now and build towards your future a little bit every day.
Science agrees with Tom on this one.
In two published studies, scientists concluded that positive and happy thoughts lead to reduced stress and more success. In the first study published in March 2016 in the Journal of Behavior Research and Therapy, researchers found that when they asked people who suffer from anxiety to visualise or verbalise positive thoughts and images, they reported greater happiness than those who didn’t.
Another group of scientists who published a study in 2005 in Psychology Bulletin identified that people who focused on their own positivity Another group of scientists who published a study in 2005 in Psychology Bulletin identified that people who focused on their own positivity demonstrated more characteristics associated with success. These characteristics were; more fulfilling relationships, higher incomes, superior work performance, more community involvement, robust health, and a longer life. This led the researchers to conclude that positivity can lead to success! more characteristics associated with success, leading them to conclude that positivity can lead to success!
As you can see, the power of a positive mindset is paramount for building success in life, both in reducing anxiety and stress but also in building positive characteristics in yourself. Tom’s focus on building a positive mindset in his team will create sales reps who will experience even more success than just their initial training.