35faster than we believe false affirmations. To believe that
you are a good finisher, you must begin by building a
track record of finished tasks.”
He followed my suggestions with great enthusiasm.
He bought a notebook and at the top of the first page he
wrote, “Things I’ve Finished.” Each day, he made a point
of setting small goals and finishing them. Whereas in
the past he would be sweeping his front walk and leave
it unfinished when the phone rang, now he’d let the
phone ring so he could finish the job and record it in his
notebook. The more things he wrote down, the more
confident he became that he was truly becoming a fin-
isher. And he had a notebook to prove it.
Consider how much more permanent his new belief
was than if he had tried to do it with affirmations. He
could have whispered to himself all night long, “I am a
great finisher,” but the right side of his brain would have
known better. It would have said to him, “No you’re not.”
Stop worrying about what you think of yourself and
start building a track record that proves that you can
motivate yourself to do whatever you want to do.
10. Welcome the unexpected
Most people do not see themselves as being creative,
but we all are. Most people say, “My sister’s creative,
she paints,” or “My father’s creative, he sings and writes
music.” We miss the point that we are all creative.
One of the reasons we don’t see ourselves that way
is that we normally associate being “creative” with be-
ing “original.” But in reality, creativity has nothing to
do with originality—it has everything to do with being
unexpected.
You don’t have to be original to be creative. In fact,
it sometimes helps to realize that no one is original.
Welcome the unexpected