How to Become a Number 1 in What You Do (Part 1)
Around a year and a half ago I read a book written by one of the most famous and successful business coaches in Russia – Igor Mann – “NUMBER 1! How to become number 1 in what you do”. This book is the ultimate manual, the Mindmap that will help you to understand yourself. It gives you all the information you need for your personal and career growth.
I have summarized, translated, and elaborated it for you, so you can use this guide at home. I use it with my clients, and they said it helps them to see what’s missing in their personal development plan.
What is it?
I love practice way more than theory, so let’s dive into things you should do straight away!
STEP 1
Well, step 1 is to set your target correctly. Cuz if you set the wrong vector you’ll arrive far away from the desired destination: imagine that you wanted to arrive from London to New York but took a direct flight to Sidney instead (I wish they existed, yeah). As a result, you are going to waste a lot of your time, effort, and money. We don’t want it, do we?
Right, so now think of your Ultimate goal, your Target. Think ambitious yet achievable. It’s better if you write it down. Don’t let it slip away, just focus on it.
To effectively guide your actions, your goal must be SMART, that is:
- Specific. Goals should clearly define what you are going to accomplish.
- Measurable. You must be able to measure progress toward your goals.
- Action-oriented. Your goals identify concrete behaviors or processes.
- Realistic. Goals can be achieved given existing constraints, such as time and resources.
- Time-limited. Each goal should have a deadline by which it needs to be accomplished.
It is important here not to confuse REAL IDEAL self with the ought self. It’s not about what you ought to do or ought to become now, it’s about the person you really want to become!
Your Personal Vision
I would recommend creating a Vision along with your SMART Goal. To do this, just imagine your Ideal Self in 5 years from now, think through and make sure you cover:
- Responsibilities to community and career
- Emotional health
- Spiritual health
- Physical health
- Intimate family relationships
To be really effective, a personal vision has to be comprehensive
Think about what you want to create! Think big: imagine that someone invented the time machine and went into your future life. Imagine then, that they recorded one miracle day of your life and after that, they sent you the tape. Describe in details, what would you see on this tape. Where are you geographically, what do you do, when do you wake up, etc. Don’t miss anything out, this is what you want to create for yourself, remember it.
To become Number 1 in something is courageous and it feels right. Maybe your goal is to become number one in sales in your Company. Or an Expert Number 1 in your field?
There’s no reason to read further unless you have written down your Goal.
STEP 2
Mann has created some sort of roadmap that starts at your current state and brings you to becoming a N#1.
How to work with the map? Great question!
Please take a pen and a notebook before you started; You can also print this map and keep it with you as you make your progress while working with me through this website. I have three copies printed and I keep them on my table at work, at home, and on the wall.
I suggest to read it clockwise starting from the upper left corner. The first thing you have to do is a Self-Audit or a Revision. You are required to perform a self-assessment about your current situation. in the Inspired Leadership specialization from Case Western Reserve University Self-Audit is mentioned as the second part of Intentional Change Process and they call it the Second Discovery.
Second Discovery
Here, I am going to ask you to describe your Real Self. It is similar to a SWOT analysis. Answer the following questions:
- Who you are today? (Relative to what you have set you want to be).Strengths (areas and points where your Ideal Self and your Real Self intersect)
- Gaps (areas of your life where your are not quite there yet, you’re not quite who you want to be in that area of your life, areas where your Ideal Self and Real Self are not currently in sync).
You define your starting point, forming the space you are going to be working in, setting up the scene and defining a deadline. All of this is to help you to feel more comfortable moving forward.
I don’t want to overwhelm you with a number of steps and homework to do, so we are going to stop here for today. Let me know if I missed anything in comments or via a private message. I would love to discuss it with you.
See you in the 2nd part of the article,
Love,
~NJ