You Understand Mindset, But Do You Understand Heartset?

Teaching about mindset has been a staple in my personal and professional development business. As you realign the way you analyze the world, the world you see changes before your very eyes - like magic. 

One of my favorite influencers is Dr. Wayne Dyer, who passed away in 2015. Dr. Dyer wrote many books and held seminars around the world. For me the power of his teachings boil down to a single amazing quote that he has become famous for saying: "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." This is the power of mindset taught in a very profound, succinct message.

Mindset is about your perception of life, and how you perceive life is a powerful indicator of the life you live. 

We are beginning to understand the power of mindset, but have you ever considered heartset? I've found it can be even more powerful than mindset, and heartset can not only change the way you look at things, it changes the way you look at the reasons you live your life. 

While mindset is about your perception, heartset is about your intention.

What Is Heartset?

I like to consider heartset as the reason our life matters, why we exist, or our overall intention behind anything we do. 

Heartset is like our overall why for waking up each day. 

I was on two coaching calls with newer students this week. They are both struggling in their businesses - one is teetering on the verge of financial collapse, and the other is financially well off, but feels broke. The one who is on the verge of collapse is lacking motivation to take his services to the world, follow up with leads, and help people. The financially well-off business owner feels like every deal, negotiation or agreement is a matter of life-and-death. 

They might have different financial states, but there's something they share and have in common; their heartset needs recalibration. They are running their business for one thing and one thing only - themselves. Their intention is based on their own bank account, not for the good of the world and the people they serve. I'll say that differently - they are running their business for selfish reasons. They have a self-centered, self-obsessed view of their life and finances. Every conversation they have - or don't have - with a prospect is based on one thing; how do I get more money into my bank account?

I have found the easiest way to prosper in business is to focus on helping the people I serve solve problems in their lives and businesses. When a person has a problem I simply listen and see if I can help them. If I can help them I invite them to work with me in a collaborative way which works for both of us. If I can't help them I try to find a way to connect them with someone I know who can. If I can't help them, at minimum I provide a book or resource that will be of some value. For me the game of business is not trying to take people's money, but to try to solve problems people want solved, and in the process we both win. I never create problems for people and convince them that I can help them, and I never "overcome objections." I just help people who are looking for help. 

That is the power of a positive heartset. I make my life and business about helping people. When I made my business about my own benefit I never had enough, and I lived in a constant state of fear and anxiety. When I changed my heartset to focus on helping and serving others through my business, finances and financial gain became a non-issue. Heartset can change the fear of not having enough to a cup that's overflowing. 

When you help enough people get what they want, you'll always get what you want. 

What Causes A Painful Heartset?

Self-obsession, self-centeredness and selfishness can all be traced to one single thing - fear. Fear can cause deep feelings of insecurity, inadequacy and insignificance which make you feel you need to take, grasp and accumulate what you require. Fear makes you lack trust in life, in yourself or in the understanding that there's plenty for everyone in the world, and you never need to fight for what you require to live. Life is trying to give you what you want and need to thrive, but if you don't trust that life wants for you what you want for yourself, every second will feel like a battle for your own survival. 

Life is not difficult. It's lack of trust in life that makes life so difficult. 

When you feel like your own survival is in jeopardy every second, focusing on other people becomes difficult or feels impossible. Someone in survival mode always struggles to consider the needs of others. The heartset of an individual who is mired in scarcity and struggle always turns and collapses inward as a means of fighting to survive. 

Here's where we are today as a society - most of the people living in the first world are facing and experiencing what I like to call 'premature survival instincts.' We live in abject wealth relative to the rest of the world, but our nervous systems are trained and conditioned for scarcity. While 50% of the world has never seen a phone (any phone), we smother ourselves in material wealth, accumulate unhealthy debt as a means to stay relevant and current, and then feel the pressures of financial struggles. Our heartset then turns inward, and we place ourselves in survival mode when we have everything we could possibly need to survive - but our conditioning and programming will not allow us to recognize our abundance. 

Once our heartset collapses inward, we feel alone and on the verge of collapse. 

Only by tuning our heartset back on to giving our talents and gifts, serving society and making a difference in the lives of others can we begin to shift from our premature survival instincts to a life of connection, significance and prosperity. 

How Do I Make The Shift?

Spend some time today and list out all of the problems that you love to solve. Think of how you can solve these for other people. Think of the value you can create in the lives of others if you simply turn your heartset from inward to outward. 

Businesses are founded on a principle of helping people who have problems they want solved. How can you inform people of the problems you solve for them? Begin there. Make enough impact for other people in a way that legitimately prioritizes them, and watch as your bank account magically increases. 

When you make it about you, you'll never have enough. When you make it about others, you'll never live without. As you change the reasons you live your life, the life you live changes.

Dr. Wayne Dyer would agree wholeheartedly, I'm certain of it. Your heartset determines the fulfillment and joy you'll experience. 

Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash