Seeking Success? Conviction Is Crucial

Key Takeaways:

• Conviction results from having determination and self-efficacy.
• Being well-prepared is also important—you need a strategy for success.
• Conviction builds on itself—develop a little, and it will grow from there.

When it comes to achieving significant business success, few traits are more important than conviction—a mental attitude that sends out a message of true leadership and expertise to everyone in an entrepreneur’s orbit.?

Conviction is a key reason why the most talented businesspeople seem to always be able to:

• Radiate a strong sense of purpose
• Take command of a situation when they want to
• Convey the impression they know exactly what is going on and what needs to be done next
• Be calm and collected, even in very tense situations
• Project fearlessness
• It makes sense, therefore, to take a closer look at what it takes to have the type and amount of conviction that drives such success.?
• Conviction is self-reinforcing

Conviction embodies dynamism, vitality and even enthusiasm. It plays a prominent role in a person’s ability to convey a sense of purpose and inspire trust that he or she can adroitly handle difficult situations. When entrepreneurs are on top of their game, they have an air of sureness—utter control—in business situations (and many times in other aspects of their lives). While many factors support this sense of control, conviction is a major component.?

What’s more, conviction creates a positive loop. Entrepreneurs’ sense of conviction helps facilitates success, which in turn reinforces their sense of conviction (see Exhibit 2). For example, their complete confidence in themselves and what they are saying goes a long way toward dominating a meeting or other important situation. And by skillfully managing the meeting, they boost the probability of greater success.

The three building blocks of conviction

There are three essential components of conviction (see Exhibit 3).?

Building block #1: Determination

This is the foundation of having conviction. Your determination—your resolve—is your motivation to excel, often predicated on your psychological commitment to yourself and others. It is your fervent desire to achieve the goals you have set for yourself. Therefore, it is fundamental to conviction—and substantially enhances the other two components.

Example: Accomplished entrepreneurs tend to want to be wealthier—not purely for the sake of having more money, but for what they can do with greater wealth. In a study of 262 successful business owners, more than nine out of ten reported they want to be wealthier in order to take better care of loved ones (see Exhibit 4). More than 70 percent said being wealthier would enable them to be more supportive of charitable causes. One-sixth said that greater wealth would enable them to change the world for the better.

This determination to help loved ones, to support the causes they care about and even to change the world is essential to keeping business owners on track and moving forward. Determination can be said to fuel conviction.?

Building block #2: Self-efficacy

This is a person’s belief that he or she can achieve and be very successful in specific situations. Self-efficacy impacts everyone’s business activities—from the effort exerted to the commitment to finish when confronted with obstacles to what commercial and even personal goals people set for themselves.?

Simply put: Self-efficacy is the “I can” or “I cannot” belief. High self-efficacy is “I can.”

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of the self-made Super Rich tend to have a high degree of self-efficacy when it comes to their business lives. They generally understand that high-reward business situations are frequently difficult, presenting challenges that need to be—and can be—mastered.?

Many times these situations can prove personally draining and discouraging. High self-efficacy gives people the conviction to persevere; they know that if they don’t give up, there is an excellent chance they will end up successful. Many of the most successful self-made Super Rich even believe it is a given that they will succeed—so they work manically, if necessary, to get their desired results.

Another benefit of high self-efficacy: being able to relatively quickly bounce back from hindrances and more serious setbacks.?

Important: Self-efficacy is often situation-specific. A self-made billionaire may have high self-efficacy concerning one aspect of his business but not another. Because top entrepreneurs realize that they are good at certain tasks and functions but not others, they choose to concentrate their efforts on those activities at which they are especially proficient—the ones where they can have the biggest impact. Then, they delegate as much as possible in those areas where they are not as confident or skilled. In short, they do what they do well and outsource the rest.

Building block #3: Preparation

Having a deep understanding about a particular situation and the people involved can generate a high level of confidence and conviction. There are many ways to prepare for a situation or moment, and the “best” way will depend on the nature of the situation. That said, the self-made Super Rich generally take three steps as part of their preparation efforts:

• Manage stress through extensive planning. When the stakes are high—during a vital business negotiation, for example—you might feel your heart pumping fast or get sick to your stomach. Those conditions are likely to diminish the chances that you will be successful (and they’re just plain bad for your health).?Preparation can reduce that stress significantly. The self-made Super Rich are usually extremely well-prepared as they go into important negotiations. Moreover, their preparations go beyond the dynamics of the argument to include a calculated assessment of the people they are negotiating with.
• Lay the groundwork to build a strategy on. This step encompasses all the assessments and evaluations you make based on the intelligence you have gathered. It is the work you do to assemble the pieces of the puzzle and know what each piece represents. Groundwork falls into two categories—the characteristics of the deal or situation, and the people you are dealing with. Self-made billionaires often heavily invest in doing their homework—getting as organized as possible and taking steps to build strong, persuasive arguments. By accumulating facts and insights that can translate into success, they feed and foster their own sense of conviction.
• Develop a strategy to get started. By going into a negotiation or other situation with a well-thought-through strategy for getting the desired results, the self-made Super Rich become more self-confident, and they project that self-confidence more strongly. The result is greater conviction that, in turn, produces bigger accomplishments.

Conclusion

Having conviction in what you’re doing can take you incredibly far in your journey toward tremendous success—in business and in life. What’s more, you can build your “conviction muscles” by cultivating within yourself the key components that make up conviction.?

VFO Inner Circle Special Report?

By Russ Alan Prince and John J. Bowen Jr.

? Copyright 2019 by AES Nation, LLC. All rights reserved.

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