A few weeks ago, as I was recording the video for The Magic of Being web page, I talked briefly about the two components of success (being and doing), and why you’ve got to be aware of, and work with both, if you want to achieve your biggest goals and dreams in life.

In my own experience, I’ve found that when I fail to give adequate time, energy, and attention to both components, my process simply stalls out, and I stop making forward progress toward my goal. When this happens, it can be really frustrating.

To solve this problem, I’ve been using a simple, yet highly effective mantra that I want to share with you.

I find it to be magical, quite frankly, in terms of how it affects my mental state, and I think you will too. You can use it to help yourself become more effective in anything you do. Just tailor it to suit your specific situation and you’re ready to go.

When I say mantra, I’m referring to:

A statement or slogan repeated frequently. (source: Oxford Dictionary)

Here it is:

“I am and I can.”

Pretty simple right? Well, like most things in life, the simplest solutions are also the most effective.

The power of this mantra, is that it actually helps you realign your consciousness, and tune in to your realized goal, and it does so in a dramatic way. Because words (whether we speak them out loud, or think them) have tremendous creative power. All manifestation gurus talk about this phenomenon.

Words are especially powerful when we allow ourselves to deeply feel, and embody their meaning.

This mantra helps you bring into play what you are; your state of being (your I am), and what you do; your state of activity (your I can). These are the two components of success I mentioned earlier.

Let’s take a look at both components..

I am, is what you believe yourself to be. This is your self-concept. It’s the story you tell yourself about who and what you are. To be effective, it’s important that you align your self-concept with the goal you want to achieve. If you want to realize more sales in your business, then start developing your self-concept as being a top-notch salesperson.

If you find this difficult, that’s because it is. Changing your self-concept, and cultivating a new one, especially after years and years of conditioning, is one of the most challenging mental activities we will ever engage in. But it’s vital if we want to grow, develop, and realize new and exciting goals.

I can, is what you believe you can do. This is mostly rooted in the physical world, in the actions you take. But like the I am component, it begins in your mind, with your thoughts and beliefs. Again, to be effective you’ve got to believe you can do what’s necessary to move toward your goal and succeed. If you don’t believe you can do something, you’ll never be able to do it.

Those are the two components of success.

The thing is, most people fail to give much thought to the “I am” component. It’s just not as talked about, or as well know as the “I can” component.

By neglecting this part of the success equation, most people are 50 percent less effective right out of the gate. That’s a lot.

So, when you acknowledge the “I am” component of success, and give it some time, energy, and attention, you’ll become 50 percent more effective instantly.

To tailor this mantra to suit your specific situation, just plug in what you need to be (after you say “I am”, and what you need to do (after you say “I can”), in order to get the results you want. It’s that simple.

Keep the following ideas in mind as you engage in this practice:

Consistency is king. Like everything else in life, results come from being consistent. Speak, or think the mantra silently to yourself at frequent intervals throughout the day, especially right before falling asleep.
Be patient. It can take time for the mantra to begin working at the deepest level. I usually begin to see some initial results pretty quickly. The real payoff, however, comes from continued use of your mantra. You might notice, as I have, that your degree of effectiveness spikes soon after you begin using the mantra. This shows you just how powerful it is. But keep it up. Give the mantra time to work. It can take time to push the message you’ve designed deep into the your consciousness.
Keep it up. If you stop performing the mantra, the positive effects will stop too. It’s like heating water to a boil. If you remove the heat, the water will return to room temperature. So keep the processes going. Make it a part of your daily ritual.
The mantra is only a means to an end. The end being to help you take effective action that moves you progressively closer to your goal. So don’t get hung up on the mantra. It’s simply a tool.

That’s it! Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Until next time, all the best,

Mark