When I was 15, I walked into a video arcade and stepped up to a game where I scored 10,000 points the first time I played it.

The second time I played, I jumped up to 15,000 points — a 50% increase!

By the third time, I only got 17,000 points. My assumption was that I was reaching a diminishing point of return. In other words, in my mind, I realized that I was within spitting distance of the maximum I could score.

But then something incredible happened. A young girl who couldn’t have been more than 13 years old stepped in front of me and played the game.

What was her final score? It wasn’t 10,000 or 15,000 or 17,000 — she scored 50,000 points. Yes, 50,000!

I couldn’t believe my eyes. A few minutes before, I made the assumption that I was approaching the limit for scoring points on the game. And then, in the blink of an eye, a young girl came in and blew the ceiling off of what I thought was possible.

What did I do next? As soon as she stepped aside, I gave the arcade game another go. Only this time, my mindset had shifted. This time, I realized that I could score well above my personal best of 17,000 points.

Because my mind had opened up to the real possibility of scoring two or three times my previous score, my performance improved exponentially.

In other words, my mind saw new possibilities for my intended outcome.

As soon as I’d finished playing the game, I looked up at the score — 45,000 points! I had almost tripled my previous record and the only thing I’d done differently was open my mind up to the possibility that 17,000 points was not my maximum.

How this applies to you. All of us are guilty of having self-limiting thoughts occasionally. What self-limiting thoughts are holding you back right now? Have you convinced yourself that a 1% conversion rate is as good as you’re going to get?

Have you grown to accept a sluggish 4% growth in sales year-after-year?

Or is your career stuck because you’ve convinced yourself that this is as good as it’s going to get?

Action steps to help you kick-start your business: Here are some techniques you can use to get yourself un-stuck and open your mind up to new possibilities:

• Change your environment. Spend half a day working at Starbucks or on the public library. Studies show that when you change your environment, new neural pathways in your brain are created. New neural pathways often lead to fresh, new ideas.
• Change your connections. Each week, I meet with a group of authors/speakers for a regular co-marketing and coaching session. By opening myself up to the new thoughts and ideas in the group, I’ve been able to expand my business into new and interesting areas.
• Change your expectations. Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t — you’re right.” By changing your expectations, you’re often able to change your outcomes. (Bonus Tip: Seek out someone in your industry who is at the peak of their career and firing on all cylinders. Follow what they do and start picturing yourself in their shoes. The person I do this with is Michael Hyatt who is not only a high-performing adult, but a good, spiritual person on top of it.)

What are some ideas you have on ways to open your mind up to new possibilities? And how have you used those in business to grow your sales and revenue? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Jamie Turner is the Founder of the 60 Second Marketer and co-author of “How to Make Money with Social Media” and “Go Mobile.” He is also a popular marketing speaker at events, trade shows and corporations around the globe.

Friday, February 1st, 2013, 9:15 am   |   General Marketing  |  RSS feed Pinging is disabled. But you can skip to the end and leave a response.