Announcer (00:00:04) - This is Dream Power Radio, the place where your dreams turn into reality. Here is your host, Debbie Spector Weisman.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:00:13) - Hello, hello, hello and welcome to Dream Power Radio. This is the place where we talk about our dreams, both daytime and nighttime dreams and how you can use them to make the eternal shift to a life you love and rediscover the truth of who you really are. I have a dog and as all of you pet owners out there know, the first thing he wants to do every morning is go outside. As we're walking, my mind naturally can go in a million directions. I could bemoan my having to take this excursion, resigned to thinking of it as a chore that is part of the price I have to pay for dog ownership. Or I can think about all the things I have to do today. Or if I'm able to get them all done, and then wondering if something's gonna come up that will muck up everything. Or think about the bills I have to pay. Or worry about how my kids are doing, or a host of other, mostly negative sentiments.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:01:12) - But because I realize I can control my thoughts, I choose a different path while we're strolling down the driveway. I look around and feel gratitude for the beautiful area where I'm blessed to live. I also use this time to say my daily affirmations, private beliefs that help me confirm my self-esteem and put me in a good mood. By doing this, I able to stave off those negative thoughts that are always lurking inside me and keep them in the background where they belong. As you've probably already figured out, I'm talking here about my mindset. And yes, that's the focus for this episode, as I believe a positive mindset is key to living your dream life. I'm calling upon an expert to help us go deep, to figure out how to develop these empowering thoughts, and how to use them for personal growth and development. So we'll be speaking here with Rahul Sharma, an organizational development expert who works on helping his clients shift their mindsets to reach their full potential in both their professional and personal lives. Rahul is also a well-regarded speaker and the author of several books, including the best-selling, Be Action Oriented and Habits4Miracles. Welcome to Dream Power Radio, Rahul.
Rahul Sharma (00:02:23) - Thank you. Thank you for having me here. I appreciate it.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:02:27) - So, Rahul, would you agree with what I do on my morning walks is an example of a positive mindset?
Rahul Sharma (00:02:33) - Yes, yes, I definitely agree that. And I do believe that building a positive mindset requires a lot of efforts from our end and self-awareness. It does not happen automatically, so we need to make conscious effort to build that positive mindset. And you have an absolutely great start to build your day with positivity.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:02:57) - Well, I think it's because of those negative thoughts that are just swirling around, not even realizing they're there, but every once in a while they'll come up consciously. But they're living in the subconscious all the time. So how do you recommend dealing with these disempowering messages?
Rahul Sharma (00:03:21) - As you rightly said, the negative thoughts, our human mind get close to 60,000 parts in a 24-hour period. And the unfortunate part there is 90% of those thoughts are negative parts. So it's very, very important for us to have subconsciously work towards it. And a few ways in which I have made it happen. And I have a lot of coaching folks who have done it is, number one, is practicing gratitude. Sometimes we don't realize what we have and we always asking for more and more. And if we start taking time in acknowledging and appreciate the positive aspect of our life, that will definitely make a difference. So I would recommend having a gratitude journal that will help you knowing what all the great things God is doing for you, your family is doing for you, your friends are doing for you.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:04:16) - I believe in that totally. But for a lot of people, if you'd say tell me what you feel gratitude for, they just draw a blank. So how do you help people realize that it could be even the tiniest thing that they could be grateful for?
Rahul Sharma (00:04:31) - The tiniest thing. Let's say if your kids are saying to you good morning. A lot of kids, they are so busy early in the morning they don't have time. So that could be a gratitude. Your spouse giving you a tea, coffee, or helping you doing the household chores is a gratitude. Your kids helping you with the dishes or probably other things. It could be a gratitude. You are having a great day where you didn't have any obstacles, any hurdles, in my opinion, that is a gratitude. We need to thank Almighty for giving us a day without any hassles, without any challenges. So those smallest things, could be a sense of gratitude when we are living a fulfilled day. That itself is a gratitude that God allowed us to live that particular day. We need to thank God to give that gratitude or to thank them for having that life to us. So it could be as simple as someone opening a door for you when you are entering your office or a mall or any, any, any door you are opening, or someone else is keeping that door open, someone waiting for you in the lift when you are two seconds away or five seconds away.
Rahul Sharma (00:05:48) - So those small things are also a sense of gratitude that we can do, and we can write in our gratitude journal.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:05:56) - So you suggest writing all this down. Why is it important to write it down?
Rahul Sharma (00:06:00) - So when we write it down, we restore it in our mind. It gets registered, and it allows us to be thankful for all those things that have happened in our life. It is said that, if you want to achieve your goals, you need to write it down. And there is a reason why we need to write down. You are preparing your subconscious mind towards the achievement. So writing is, in my opinion, one of the greatest things we can do, whether it is our goals, our affirmations or anything that we want to achieve, when we write down it gets registered in our subconscious mind.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:06:40) - And does it make a difference whether you're actually physically writing it on a piece of paper or entering it in a computer, for example?
Rahul Sharma (00:06:49) - I would say when we write it on a piece of paper, it has a more impact.
Rahul Sharma (00:06:53) - And I would not say that you cannot write in today's digital world. So I would not say that everyone needs to carry pencil and a paper, but if you really write it down with pencil and a paper, it will have a little significant more impact versus just noting down on your tablet or device.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:07:12) - And would you say that that doing this also helps create more self-awareness?
Rahul Sharma (00:07:18) - Absolutely, absolutely. Self-awareness and our confidence. It also helps in building our self-confidence that we are surrounded by people who are helping us in living the life that we want. So definitely, I agree that.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:07:35) - Okay. You also talked about something called mind talk. What is that?
Rahul Sharma (00:07:39) - So when you were giving your example of taking your dog out, what you do is feeding your mind positive thoughts. So positive self-talk is more about we are talking to ourself. And mind talk is something that you talk about you with yourself. So that is what I called as a mind talk. And when we do continuous positive mind talk, we are preparing our mind, our subconscious mind.
Rahul Sharma (00:08:07) - If you if you do a survey, whatever we do, first thing it happens in our mind. Then it comes into an execution. So if our mind is filled of negative thoughts, negative energy, we will be taking negative action. So positive mind talk is very, very important. And in my life, I do this thing twice a day. Debbie one when once I get up in the morning and two when I'm going to bed. So when I'm going to bed, it remains in my subconscious mind throughout night. And when I get up, I again do that positive mind talk and it allows me to take those actions.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:08:49) - Can I ask you if you can tell us what some of those positive thoughts are?
Rahul Sharma (00:08:55) - Sure, sure. So one of the positive parts that I used to do when I was writing my book was to finish a chapter on a particular day, and many times it happened that a lot of hurdles are on the way. But when I when my subconscious mind is ready, then you get time. It happens so naturally because you are prepared with your mind. So that is one of those things. Second is telling myself that everything is good. I'm healthy. My family is good. My job is to good. So I'm being thankful and I'm feeding my mind every time about great health, great wealth in the great people that I'm surrounded with. So when you do this, you will see things from a different lens. Otherwise, when your mind is filled of negativity, everything you are doing, every person you are talking to, every person you are meeting to, you are thinking from a negative aspect. And that is not very good for managing your stress.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:10:04) - And when you also say that it's critical in the way that we speak, because a lot of times will use language--
Rahul Sharma (00:10:11) - Absolutely, absolutely. So many people who do self-talk or mind thought, they use the word I. And the research shows that when we change the word from I to our own name, like Debbie or Rahul, it makes a lot of difference.
Rahul Sharma (00:10:30) - And it allows us to differentiate from the feelings, from the action, from our internal emotions. And we are not just talking about ourselves, we are talking about an individual. So changing just "I " to your own name when you are doing positive mind talk will be more impactful.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:10:50) - And what are some of the other ways that we can help cultivate a positive mindset?
Rahul Sharma (00:10:55) - So one was, as I said, gratitude. The other thing I would say is build a positive inner circle. So people with whom you are dealing on a regular basis, they should be the ones who are giving you positivity, who are telling you truth. And not just saying yes to you just because you want to listen. You need to have honest people around you. So build a circle of inner circle of positive people. It could be your coach, it could be a co-worker, it could be a family member. But you need to build positive inner circle. That is the second thing I would say.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:11:31) - And you find that when you do have that kind of community, it kind of feeds on itself. So the positivity breeds more positivity.
Rahul Sharma (00:11:40) - Absolutely. Absolutely. Very, very true. And this also helps in boosting our confidence. So I do believe that whatever we do there be, it is our confidence that allow us to make things happen. And if we are not confident about our own self, we will not be able to move forward. So positive people will give you direction. I'm not saying that they will always tell you are great, you are amazing, but they will tell you what you need to do to become great. If you are falling short, rather than just saying hey, you're not good there man, you cannot do this. You have never done this before. Instead of that, they will tell you that, hey, I understand you have not done this, but you can do it. You have these skills; you have this knowledge. You can do it if you try. And it was not that you first time you try. And if you don't get success, you give up.
Rahul Sharma (00:12:37) - No. One of the mindset shift that has happened in my life, Debbie, is never giving up. You don't give up so easily because every person has two thoughts that comes to their mind. One is always positive, and one is negative. So the negative person in in within you always try to make you do things that is easy. So it will push those thoughts that, hey man, don't do this. You are not good at that. Try something else. But that is where your self-confidence come into play. And that that positive self-talk, positive mind talk allows you to take those steps and bring success to you all.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:13:20) - This is such wonderful advice we have. We're going to take a short break here. We're speaking all about creating a positive mindset with Rahul Sharma and we'll be right back.
Announcer (00:14:08) - Welcome back to Dream Power Radio with your host, Debbie Spector Weisman.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:14:14) - Yes. Welcome back to Dream Power Radio. I'm your host, Debbie Spector Weisman, and we're talking all about mindset with Rahul Sharma. Well, Rahul, all this sounds great. I mean, how did you make this positive mindset a habit so that you don't get sidetracked by life events?
Rahul Sharma (00:14:34) - So apart from having a positive people around you, apart from having a gratitude journal, you should also be focusing on helping others, helping others achieve their dream. When we help others, when we see others becoming successful, it increases our own self-belief, and it increases our own confidence in building that habit. The other aspect is you need to focus on your end goal.
Rahul Sharma (00:15:07) - You need to know your why. Most of us give up easily because we are not sure why we are doing this. Once we are clear with what is our why, then you will be more focused, and you will be more anxious in taking those decisions or taking those action to make it as a habit. So know your why is very, very important.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:15:30) - Well, what happens with people who may not know what their why is? How could they figure that out?
Rahul Sharma (00:15:36) - Yes, that is true for most of us. And I highly recommend to have a coach or a mentor in their life. That is one of the greatest things we can do to ourselves is get a coach. What a coach does is build your confidence. Share with you your inner circle, your inner strength and give you direction to what should be your next step. And it is a person who is who is not having any, any, any wrong intention. Because whenever you are dealing with, whenever you are sharing anything with anyone, that individual is not having a right intention. They may not give you the positive energy. And you need to get those positive energy and that is what the coach does.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:16:28) - Absolutely. A lot of times we're working on having a positive mindset, and we feel like we're really on the right track and we're feeling good about ourselves, and then life happens. You know, maybe it's an illness or something totally outside of our control happens and it throws us off. How do we get back on track and get back into feeling that positivity?
Rahul Sharma (00:16:54) - So life will happen? I would say that we need to have trust in us, trust in by. If we have been able to handle the situation in the past, there is no reason why we will not be able to handle this again. And if for some reason it is happening with you for the first time, the situation where life throws you on a different track, you need to have that belief in yourself. You need to remember that why and why I was doing what I was doing.
Rahul Sharma (00:17:20) - And you need to think beyond you as an individual. We are just not us. We are surrounded by people, loved ones. So we need to do things for our loved ones. We need to do things for people who have a belief in us, because if we give up, there will be tens or hundreds of people who might give up, who have a self believe in you, who have trust in you. So whether you are a leader or not, there are people who are watching you. There are people who are following you. So we need to make sure that we need to do great things for helping others in making our life back to normal.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:17:59) - Well, it brings up the subject of leadership, which I want to talk to you about because everyone can benefit from having a positive mindset. But you do a lot of work in the corporate field where you help business leaders grow and develop themselves and their companies. So how do you use mindset to foster leadership skills?
Rahul Sharma (00:18:20) - So one of the challenges that leaders face in their career is a lack of trust within the team members.
Rahul Sharma (00:18:30) - And it is fairly, I would say, easier for a leader who has built their team. But it is definitely very difficult for a leader who is inheriting a team. Once you change a job or you get a promotion, you move into a different team. The lack of trust is there, so we need to have that positive mindset to build that trust. And that trust will be built by giving. It is not by asking. So as a leader, your job is to help others, to build others. So that is number one thing. I would advise to have a right mindset and build that trust. Number two, I would say every individual has their own style. The moment you become a leader; it is not absolutely true that your style will work with your teams because individuals are different. So if you have five people that are working with you, they will have five personalities. They will have five different thought process. So as a leader, we need to adapt to the situation and adapt to that individual and work with them according to them rather than according to us.
Rahul Sharma (00:19:39) - Leaders make a mistake because they don't change. They just treat all people in one way. But unfortunately, that is not how things happen. You need to work with that individual. You know their personality, their way of thinking and adjust your leadership style accordingly.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:19:59) - Yeah, well, it seems to me that a leader can do that, but one of the things that can get in the way is the ego. Whether I feel threatened by somebody working on the team or because they may have a personality clash, it might be hard and that steps in. So how do you help the leaders that you work with deal with their egos?
Rahul Sharma (00:20:23) - So one of the things that I have done myself, Debbie, is just believe in myself and focus on doing the job, doing the good to others, doing the best, or having the right intention. Because I believe that if you do with anything, with the right intention, you have the right knowledge, you will be able to pass on that positive energy and energy is contagious.
Rahul Sharma (00:20:49) - So when the other person who has negative thoughts for you, for whatever reason, when he or she is seeing that this person is always positive, no matter whatever bad things I have done with him or her, this person is positive. So as long as you are doing good, the things will settle down. Challenge happens is we also become egoistic, and we try to challenge others. We try to do things for others just because they have done to us. So my personality has been that we always should be doing things right. We should always be doing what you have learned, rather than you changing the course of action because of someone else. See, you cannot change other thoughts. You cannot change how other things, but you can change your thought processes. They are in your control. So my advice would be to focus on building the relationship. Invest time in people to know them better. Invest time in letting them know you better. So most of us, we try to do our calls.
Rahul Sharma (00:22:00) - They are business calls. We do calls, which is beyond business, which is knowing them beyond their laptop, beyond their name and roles and responsibility. So I think as a leader, we should invest time in knowing our people. People are our biggest strength in leadership. And it is because of those people we are leaders. It is not because of that title. We are leader. It is because we have those followers. Then we are called as leaders.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:22:30) - Absolutely well, Rahul, one of the things I always love to talk about when I speak with experts like you is to ask about examples of people you've worked with and how you've helped them. So can you give me an example of somebody you've worked with and what's happened?
Rahul Sharma (00:22:46) - Sure. So this is an interesting question you have asked. Many times it happens that I don't get to know the impact immediately because I train, I coach, then I move on. There are situations where I stay connected and multiple times it has happened.
Rahul Sharma (00:23:04) - And as recently as just three months ago, I got a message on my LinkedIn from an individual I worked in 2008, and he told me that you were the person who interviewed me. I got to know that other manager rejected me. But you had faith in me. You selected me. And because of you today, I am who I am so that the life gets changed. They are. They are doing great for themselves and their and their family. So that is the impact of the positivity. Other thing I would say in 2017, I did a leadership training for my team members in India, and I was in Bangalore and post Covid, I got a message from him and just stating about that, hey, I was just there for two days for your training, and I just want to tell you how it has changed my life for positivity. People tell me that my knowledge that I share does not just help them in the business place, but it also helped them at home. Their relationship with their spouses, their relationship with their kids becomes better because most of the folks in the corporate, Debbie, they are just going after perfection, perfection, perfection, perfection.
Rahul Sharma (00:24:23) - And I was one of that, I would admit. And I my thought process got changed. There is nothing called perfection. It always had continuous improvement because it made me a perfection from my end. Maybe from your end you may find some challenges or some faults and whatever I do. So it is never a perfect story. So I'd say that focus on doing things and take imperfect action. There is nothing called perfect action. Take imperfect action. Those action will help you in achieving your dreams and goals.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:24:58) - Yes, that's kind of like thinking of life as a journey, not as a destination. So you're always working? Yes. What is the circle of happiness?
Rahul Sharma (00:25:06) - So the circle of happiness is the positive mind talk. When we do positive mind talk, it allows us to think positively. So we are surrounded. Our mind is having positive thoughts. When our mind is having positive thoughts, it helps us in taking positive action. And that positive action leads to positive and healthier and happier life. So it's a full circle.
Rahul Sharma (00:25:32) - So it starts with positive mind. That mind takes into the thoughts, hearts into action, and those action kicks into the healthier and happier lives. So and it is it happens fabulously. It's not that one time effort. It was as I said earlier, it is all about the subconscious mind. So we have to make effort in making things happen.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:25:55) - What got you involved in this field?
Rahul Sharma (00:25:59) - So 2016 was the fullest time. I was in corporate America for almost 15 years. I went for a public speaking seminar by Mr. Les Brown in Orlando. And there I met fellow speakers who have been helping others through their story. And I realized that the story that I have on the way I climb up into the ladder, I can also help many folks in changing their life towards positivity. So I decided to move into public speaking. But I didn't have that courage to leave my corporate job. I was very much satisfied with the paycheck.
Rahul Sharma (00:26:43) - So things didn't happen post-Covid, and we realized that life is too short. You need to make things happen as soon as you can. So 2022, I again went to the program for a with a student of Les Brown. And that's where I started writing my book. Right now I'm in my journey to help others, and I'm still working for corporate America, but I'm on my stage to move to the next phase of my life.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:27:14) - Wonderful. My final question is how could people find out more about you and your work?
Rahul Sharma (00:27:20) - People can log in to my work website Harvestformiracles.com. They can find all the details about me, how they can connect. I'm also very, very savvy on LinkedIn. So LinkedIn, if they search my book name and my name, they will be able to find my details and I will be more than happy to provide any assistance to anyone who will reach out to me.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:27:42) - Well, Rahul, thank you so much for being on Dream Power Radio today.
Rahul Sharma (00:27:47) - Thank you, Debbie. Thank you for having me here. Appreciate you.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:27:50) - We've been speaking about creating a positive mindset was Rahul Sharma. I hope you've enjoyed today’s program. If so, please hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out on any future episodes. Until next time, this is Debbie Spector Weisman saying sweet dreams, everybody.
Announcer (00:28:06) - You've been listening to Dream Power Radio with your host, Debbie Spector Weisman. For more information on Debbie or to sign up for her newsletter, go to DreamPowerRadio.com. This has been Dream Power Radio.