I admit it. I'm a Tony Robbins junkie. He's studied human behavior for many years, met with the world's top financial leaders, helped world-class athletes when they hit a wall, and inspired thousands through his presentations and written word. But it's not his charisma that makes me stop and listen; it's his simple messages … and this one continues to resonate with me.

The message is: raise your standards. I'll explain in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

As Tony Robbins states, we live in a world of "shoulds." I should lose weight. I should be a better parent. I should work harder to get that promotion. Sound familiar?

This world of "shoulds" is keeping us from achieving our real goals. We know what we want but we aren't changing our behavior to achieve these goals. Instead we make short-term, temporary fixes.

An easy example is looking at a person who wants to lose weight. Joe makes the commitment to stick to a four-week diet. He follows the diet step by step, loses 12 pounds and feels elated. But you know the rest of this story. Within six months he's gained those 12 pounds back, plus five more pounds. Why? He didn't raise his standards.

Robbins points out that standards are different than goals. He says, "When you raise your standards and turn 'should' into 'must,' you are making an inner shift to take control over the quality of your life. Any area you are not getting what you want is because you haven't raised your standards."

Ok, Tony, that sounds too easy to be true, but is it?

Instead of taking on a four-week diet with a beginning and an end, maybe Joe needs to change his standards. Instead of getting up at 7 am, he moves his clock back an hour and begins to take a walk every morning he can. He changes his routine. Instead of eating a healthy breakfast during his four-week diet, he decides to eat a healthy breakfast six days a week, with one cheat day. He's now changing his standards.

How can you apply this to your business success?

Look at Amy's situation. She's worked for the same company for 10 years. She does her job well, but knows that she can't get promoted beyond her current level based on the culture of her organization. She's already a director, but thinks she will never have an opportunity to be a vice president. Her job is busy but it's not challenging. She's not impacting lives. As a result, she doesn't feel passion or excitement; instead, she lives in a world of practicality. She can balance her job and her personal life. She makes a fair salary. She really shouldn't complain.

What Amy has done here is settle. If she wants to get out of the rut, according to Robbins, she needs to do two things. First, she must be honest with herself. Her job situation is a direct reflection of her standards. She's not particularly happy or motivated because she doesn't have passion or excitement about what she's doing for a living. She needs to determine what she really loves. Does she really want to be a vice president at her current job or somewhere else? Or, is it time to focus on more significant career change?

Next, she needs to raise her standards and focus on those things that can help her achieve this next move. Only when she feels the excitement, the passion, the motivation—the emotion—will she then be able, motivated and disciplined enough to take the action needed to make a change.

So, are you ready to take an honest look at yourself?

As Robbins says, "How do you define yourself? And when did you start to believe that? How many years ago did you decide what you could and could not do in your life?"

Look at the areas in your business where you can raise your standards and focus on turning your "should" into "musts."

Source: Team Tony cultivates, curates and shares Tony Robbins' stories and core principles to help others achieve an extraordinary life.