TECH, BUSINESS AND CAREER INSIGHTS

The Building Blocks of Growth

TSP • @myTSPnet

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Have you ever felt stuck in your job? Do you feel like others are winning medals while you’re still on the starting block?

The 4 C’s Formula is a universal process that can be used by anyone looking to achieve greater success in any aspect of life. The popular formula, widely utilized by high-achieving entrepreneurs, was created by strategic coach Dan Sullivan. Its illustrated by a four-stage clockwise progression with Commitment as stage one, Courage as stage two, Capability as stage three and Confidence as stage four.

COMMITMENT CREATES COURAGE
Are you committed to growing in your job and personal life? If you’re not committed, you’ll have a hard time reaching your goals and feeling satisfied in your work. Commitment is the first stage in the 4 C’s process — without a strong, specific commitment, you won’t have the motivation to start. According to Sullivan, it begins by selling yourself on something you haven’t yet achieved.

After committing to a goal, you might face feelings of fear and uncertainty. This is where courage comes into play — courage is your response to those feelings of doubt. It’s important to continue moving forward with your end goal in mind — avoid the temptations to procrastinate or quit. In order to create breakthrough results, you’ll may go through a period of fear and anxiety, but this struggle is necessary to grow as an individual. When you accept courage as a necessary part of the process, you’ll be more willing to go through this stage with faith and confidence.

COURAGE CREATES CAPABILITY
Courage puts you at risk of failure. You get a big rush of adrenaline and your mind begins to simplify your priorities and decisions. Now, all alternatives (except success) are eliminated and you’re highly energized to make the break through. What if you skip the courage step? It might seem too intimidating, but you won’t get an improved result without using courage to step outside of your comfort zone.

Sullivan believes that all innovation starts when people are thrown into situations in which they must commit to getting a bigger and better result. Whether you lost your job, your business failed, or the market changed, you’ll have entirely new ideas and see new possibilities and solutions you have never been exposed to before. This is where the capability step starts.

CAPABILITY CREATES CONFIDENCE
The moment you gain your new-found capability, your confidence skyrockets. Sullivan says that confidence is the by-product of gaining a new skill. When you’re looking at having a successful future, you’re really looking to gain the ability to do something better and produce bigger results. Learning a new skill means you can get something done in the future in a better way than you’re doing it now.

Sullivan believes that confidence is the feeling you acquire because of the capability. This feeling in turn creates the ability to make a bigger commitment. Confidence is its own reward. Everyone is striving for greater confidence in everything they do. The biggest payoff is the ability to continue achieving your goals over and over again — you’ve mastered the process. There may be pitfalls and crises along the way, but the 4 C’s formula stays the same.

CONFIDENCE CREATES COMMITMENT
According to Sullivan, confident people can make bigger commitments which lead to bigger breakthroughs. However, confidence can also create complacency. The only way to continue the current level of confidence is by making a bigger commitment that puts your confidence at risk. Sullivan believes that once you master one level, you naturally test yourself to see if you can go even higher. This helps you push the envelope in terms of commitment which leads to being more courageous.

The 4 C’s Formula is a closed loop system that gives you the extra motivation to raise the bar the next time you begin the cycle. Sullivan says as you grow through the process, you’ll develop different kinds of capabilities that allow you to live and enjoy a more balanced lifestyle. Commitment, courage, capability and confidence — if everything you do is based on these four strengths, you’ll produce the best possible performance, results and reputation.

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