Article written by Dawn Burnett, Reporter for OnFire Books
Fear can often hold us back in life from achieving greatness. We over think how things may not work out, instead of stepping out and taking a shot at our dreams. It’s ok to not succeed with our first try, many of the greats have had to go back and reevaluate the plan, causing them to temporarily set their pens aside while breaking into their pack of pencils. Things change including our own definition of what success is over the years. But one thing that doesn’t change in studying the greats is the common denominator of mindset, the believability that they will succeed and the decision to keep their eye on the goal.
Dr. Jacob Rosenstein, Neurosurgeon and author of Defy Aging is a prime example of this. When I sat down to discuss the topic of success and leadership with Dr. Jacob I asked him about his WHY and how and what caused it to be strong enough to overcome the excuses we tend to create to prevent success from happening.
Dr. Jacob Rosenstein: Well, what excuses would there be? If you want to do something in life you go for it and give it everything you’ve got. Whatever you want to do in life you go into it with the attitude to be the best that you can be. If you are having excuses then you shouldn’t be doing it. Failure has never been an option for me, I have never even considered that the thought has never been part of my mindset.
So what exactly about our mindset is holding us back? According to Stanford University Psychologist, Carol Dweck, the view we adopt for ourselves profoundly affects the way that we lead our life. It’s our subconscious mind that is holding us back from greatness. But that was not the case for Dr Jacob. His passion for wanting to maintain his edge in the surgical field caused him to practice anti-aging medicine on himself and after experiencing incredible results and seeing what poor medical condition his patients were in, he started putting them on his program and saw how rewarding and fulfilling it was for patients to transform their lives to wellness. Of course with this level of success came a great deal of responsibility and leadership skills. Dr. Jacob said:
Dr. Jacob Rosenstein: A true leader inspires people to be at their best and to do their best. The leaders that don’t do well fail to set a good example for themselves. They don’t practice what they preach and they get self-absorbed instead of putting their clients or patients first, they put themselves first. What should drive you is to make a positive difference in someone’s life.
That’s right our success is based on our mindset and how we look at things. A continual process that takes self-care to ensure we stay in alignment with the desire and passion to make the world a better place one person at a time. Fulfilling our purpose of why we are here from the start. To enhance the lives of others, placing deposits into their lives instead of withdrawals by way of self-absorption and greed.
So since a great leader in constantly developing and mastering their skills, working on their mind, body, and health, what advice would you supply Dr. Jacob for anyone who is considering stepping into a leadership role?
Dr. Jacob Rosenstein: You must be passionate and first understand what your mission and goal in the leadership role and understand what your topic is. Lead by example and be able to communicate effectively which is very important and to do so you need to keep things on a simple level, you can’t make things sound very complicated. I could explain things on a biologic and biochemical level but I try to keep things simple, just as I have in my book Defy Aging. I wrote the book at the request of my patients. They wanted me to put everything in a simple format for them, a roadmap to wellness and I did.
So in summing up the best way to assist others and contributing to their lives it first comes down to passion and then the overall joy of seeing others lives enhanced. This way when things happen in life that knocks us down, our passion is strong enough to make us want to get back up. The continual need to work on our thoughts and communication skills so that others can relate and receive, after all a positive mindset can add 5 years to our lives.
