According to the mountaintop gurus of the business world,
boosting one’s bottom line, getting ahead, selling yourself better
… it all boils down to attitude, approach and planning — all of
which are products of those things we call thoughts.
Whether you relate more to Buddha or Bill Gates, it’s hard to
argue the power of the mind. It is the creator of mighty deeds, good
and bad, author of peace and profit.
Former Black Cap cricketing all-rounder Richard Petrie, now a
business coach for small businesses, is a firm believer that our
worst enemy and our best friend is the mind. Personal experience
convinced him so.
Before Petrie made it big in cricket, he was just an average club
player who was keen to get ahead.
Schooled in a brand of sports psychology that encourages athletes
to imagine themselves on the podium in order to get there, Petrie
embarked on a self-imposed mental-conditioning program where he
meditated daily for five minutes, envisioning himself as a Black
Cap.
Eighteen months later, Petrie was part of the team. “I reckon I
knew for a long time before I played for New Zealand that I was
going to because I’d convinced myself mentally that’s where I was at
and that’s what I was going to do.”
Petrie’s career in cricket was cut short after he tore his
Achilles’ heel and he ended up, as many of the sports pros often do,
in sales.
Unsatisfied with being a mid-level salesman, Petrie says he
brushed up on his sports psychology, supplemented it with business
gurus’ advice, and began powering up his mind.
Again, he took five minutes out of his day to focus on his new
goal of boosting his sales from $50,000 a month to $100,000. For an
added challenge, he set a goal of $200,000, just in case he got to
$100,000 by coincidence, or luck.
Three out of four months he reached his target…