Master the 4 core frameworks successful leaders use to transform their mindsets, priorities, and financial results–aligning their lives from the inside out.
I used to believe that success was about working harder, grinding longer, and wanting it more than the next person. I was wrong. After years of observation and experience, I’ve discovered that the best leaders who consistently kill it in all areas of life aren’t necessarily working harder. They’re thinking differently. They operate from entirely different mental frameworks.
Your current reality is a perfect reflection of your current thoughtlife. Everything you see in your world (your relationships, your bank account, your daily habits, your stress levels) can be traced back to four fundamental frameworks operating in the background of your mind. Change these frameworks and you begin to change everything.
Framework #1: Better Ways of Thinking→Better Ways of Doing→Better Ways of Being
All of life can be boiled down to these 3 things; thinking, doing and being. This isn’t hyperbole. This sequence governs every aspect of how we operate: How we think determines what we do, which in turn determines the rhythms and habits that shape how we show up in this world. Most people focus on changing their actions or circumstances first, but they’re starting at the wrong end of the equation.
How we think about our lives indicates the value we ascribe to various aspects of it. When we change the value that certain things hold, our actions eventually begin to change to align with that new perspective of reality. This is why willpower often fails and why sustainable change feels so elusive for most people. You essentially cannot maintain actions that contradict your core beliefs and convictions.
All change (real, lasting change) begins by changing the way we perceive things. Thinking differently ultimately changes your reality. We all share the same physical world, but we all live in very different realities–based on how we think, see, and rationalize. And what’s in our heads and hearts shapes the direction we move.
When King Solomon wrote about wisdom surpassing all earthly riches, he understood this principle. Wisdom—aka better ways of thinking—is the primary multiplier that transforms everything else. This is why I urge you to join me in relentlessly pursuing better ways of thinking. We simply cannot settle for less.
Framework #2: The Five F’s That Define Your Life
Life can feel overwhelming until you realize that most of what matters falls into five key categories:
- Faith
- Family
- Finance
- Faculty
- Fitness
These five buckets, at a macro level, conceptually cover 95% of our circumstantial reality. The remaining percentage accounts for the random events and external factors beyond our control, but these five areas represent where we have the greatest leverage.
Here’s what makes this practical: Each of these categories has a leading ‘good enough’ metric that is unique to us as individuals and unique to the season of life we are in. You don’t need to be world-class in every area, but you do need to define what “good enough” looks like for your current circumstances. Naming what you are reaching for goes a long way.
Once you do that, maintaining great results in each category becomes a function of your habits and routines. Excellence isn’t about going through a few heroic moments. It’s about consistent, intentional practices across these five categories.
In every season of life we are afforded the opportunity to respond in each of these 5 by setting some simple goals and changing the practices and routines in our life to become the person who meets our own expectations for ourselves. This is where most people get stuck, if they aren’t serious about progressively improving their lifestyle.
Framework #3: Money Chases Value
If you’re struggling financially, this framework will change everything for you. Money, income, revenue… it’s all a lagging indicator of the value we bring to the table.
Most people chase money directly, which is like trying to catch your shadow by running toward it. The faster you run, the faster it moves away from you. What we need is some bigger picture perspective.
When any income problems arise, they can always be boiled down to two things:
a) you are not creating enough value; or, b) you do not know the value you are already creating.
This reframe is powerful because it puts the solution back in your hands. Instead of feeling helpless about external economic conditions, you can focus on the two things you do actually control: creating more value or better communicating the value you already provide.
The beautiful and magical thing about this is that once you realize this and start to believe this–pairing it with constantly improving mentalities–all your problems start to turn into better problems.
Yes, you read that right. This is the upgrade mindset we need: Money problems never go away, they just get different. They become the kind of issues we would rather learn to deal with. We are all learning to trade up for better problems!
Framework #4: The External Reflects the Internal
Perhaps the most challenging framework to accept is this: Our external reality is a direct reflection of our internal reality. In other words, the life we get to live is a perfect reflection of the inward beliefs we hold about ourselves and the things we ascribe value to. And I don’t say this to induce any blame or shame, but to help you recognize exactly where your power lies.
It’s crucial to understand that our external reality is not the things we have, but rather, the way we live. This distinction matters because it shifts focus from accumulation to experience, and from having to being.
If you find yourself dissatisfied with your circumstances, remember that when you look at your external life and do not like what you see, it is time to change something internally. You and you alone hold the ability to change how you respond to the things happening to you. And this response, in turn, can change your whole external life over time.
Putting It All Together
These four frameworks work together as a big picture way to approach building the life you really want to live. Start with your assessing your mentalities (Framework #1), apply better ideas across the five key areas of life (Framework #2), understand that your ability to create value for others precedes your financial success (Framework #3), and remember that all lasting change begins within your internal world (Framework #4).
Your path forward requires you to consistently apply better frameworks to creating better results for yourself. Your future reality is waiting for you to think differently about it today.