Barry came across this new blog post written by John Mylant, a trading coach that he follows. When we both read it, we felt that it highly resonated with the way we think, and what we teach (or, some would say, preach).

Yes, we’re big on congruency. We’ve dissolved business partnerships, and personal partnerships, based almost solely on this concept.

Why is it so important? Read on for John’s take… and our commentary.

One Bite At A Time
by John Mylant, Private Stock Trader and Options Trading Coach

When with your friends, you often hear yourself saying stuff like, “Of course I care about my health!  I take good care of myself!” Yet alone, in the middle of temptation, you convince yourself that just one more bacon-double-cheeseburger (with fries) won’t hurt. After all, it’s not like you do it EVERY day!

Look, we admit to eating junk every now and then too. But we don’t label ourselves “health nuts”. We just say that we eat “pretty good” most of the time, and we work out as often as we can.

The lesson here is, don’t apply labels or give attributes to yourself — whether that be “health coach” or “light worker” — unless you truly keep up the lifestyle all, or nearly all, of the time (in our experience, most don’t).

You are diligent in telling your eleven-year-old daughter not to ever tell lies… not ever.  The phone rings…she answers.  It’s ANOTHER telemarketer.  “Tell them I’m not here!” you silently mouth from the other room.

We all know that telling little white lies every now and then is okay — for instance, if you’re complimenting someone to make them feel good, even though you don’t think they look quite as “ravishing” as you say. After all, you don’t want your 11-year-old daughter telling her friend that a scar on her face makes her look ugly, either, even if that’s what automatically pops into her mind at first.

But the core of what you say needs to be honest. Teach your kids to look for the good in everyone, and that way they’ll always be able to give an honest compliment.

And for yourself… “not here” is an obvious lie, but you can certainly say you’re “not available” to speak to a telemarketer if you’re busy. Even better, how about being completely honest here?… “not interested!”

“It’s only twenty minutes!” you convincingly encourage yourself as you round your time sheet up to the next even hour.  After all, why do they make you fill these silly things out, anyway?

Ever find yourself in a similar scenario?  You know… where your actions and your words don’t exactly jive?  Where you tell yourself, your family, your friends or your boss one thing, but inside you know something different?  Ever?

Have you ever heard the term “congruence?”  It’s been a big deal in management training circles for some time now.  Indeed, it is a very important idea.  Defined by Webster, it means, “an exact coinciding.”  To use a (very) worn out phrase, it means, “walking your talk”.  My definition?  Do what you say… say what you do.

We like this definition. We truly didn’t know that the corporate world was as big on the concept as we are, but it makes sense… and the world would be a lot better off if more people did what they said, and said what they do.

Out of the grey…

There’s no grey here.  It’s actually quite a simple concept. And you know what?  Such virtue paves the difference between excellence and something much less in every one of your relationships.  With your employer, customers, co-workers, friends, children, significant other, and even… with yourself. Such uprightness creates the quantity of respect you’re given, and in reality, the quantity of respect you deserve.

On a very personal level, it’s called… integrity.

You’ve most likely heard the phrase, “Your actions are shouting so loudly, I can’t hear a word you’re saying!”  You can probably think of someone to whom this phrase fits… perfectly.  But, have you ever considered how it might apply to you?  Sure, most of us are pretty honest when it comes to the big stuff.  We don’t steal.  We don’t blatantly lie.  We don’t cheat our friends. But what about those “little” things?  It’s been said that the way to eat an elephant is… one bite at a time!

We encourage you to take a look at the little things in your life that might not be so congruent. Figure out where you can better practice (live) what you preach (know)… and then do it. Why wait for a New Year’s resolution? The road to improvement can start any time you want to take that first step.

Your Partners In The Quest For
Living a Life Without Limits,

  

 

P.S. By the way… we’re opening the doors back up to our private “alternative investments” club on December 15th. The Wealth Vault is an ONLINE members-only club whose focus is to sift-out some of the most unconventional, and super-fast, cash-flow and wealth-generation programs available.

We’ve ADDED many new IV’s (Investment Vehicles) since we first lauched at the end of September and it’s, without question, one of the most instantly-usable and valuable products under our LWL umbrella.

If you’re not yet a member, get on the R.S.V.P List here.

Filed under: Personal Achievement, Personal Responsibility