Sellers have built up tension and fears which prevent us from reaching our true potential, but if we create a replacement picture of what success will look like, we'll move toward positive change. Mark Panciera is a third-generation funeral director, so he says he has a caregiver's heart, but he has grown into being a sales maven. He's a partner of the Pacific Institute, a performance consulting firm with an international footprint, where he helps leaders tap into their potential to drive greater personal and professional performance. Meaningful change All meaningful, lasting change starts within ourselves and then works its way out. That equates to mindset or habits, attitudes, beliefs, and expectations. It's focusing on the beliefs that are propelling us to our greater good or our higher purpose. It's about the pictures that we hold in our mind. Sometimes as sales reps we get focused only on closing the deal. Even before that, we may routinely tell ourselves garbage that keeps us from reaching our potential. What grows naturally Think about what grows naturally in a garden: weeds. Likewise, we have a natural inclination. We've got this chatterbox in our minds that acts as a little committee telling us what we can and can't accomplish. Don't try new things. Don't leave your comfort zone. You'll be ridiculed if you fail.  Mark was full of trepidation when he moved from the caregiving role to transacting business with leaders around the globe. He realized that his self-talk was holding him back. Mark couldn't imagine that he could teach them anything that they didn't already know. He had to feel the fear and then move anyway. Mark needed to run toward the roar. It's more easily said than done, but he realized that he had a choice to become more transactionally oriented or to stay where he was. He could either do it or not. Adult choices have adult consequences. You will have consequences to your choice to make a solicitation or do an outreach or dial just one more time despite a bunch of "no" answers. Higher purpose Mark knows that ultimately his higher purpose is served because he will be a caregiver to a larger audience when he transacts business. He chooses to say yes to that purpose because beyond the fear or resistance or limiting beliefs or self-talk is the replacement picture that emerges when he serves his higher purpose. [Tweet "We move toward and become like the things we think about. So replace the negative self-talk with positivity and focus on what it's going to look like, smell like, or taste like when you succeed. #Success"] When you're helping people and giving them the tools to think and perform differently, create a "want to" mentality instead of a "have to" mentality. When people are forced to do something, they subconsciously push back on those efforts. It's even true when you're forcing yourself to do something. So don't push yourself. Create a "want to" mentality. Have some fun doing it. Most importantly, move toward that replacement picture of what success is going to look like. Burning the boats If Mark hadn't moved toward a replacement picture, he wouldn't have a new career. He stretched himself out of a major comfort zone. His replacement picture was stronger in this new realm. He had to rebrand himself to do outreach because in funeral services people come to you. Performance consulting was a different story. He had to create a "want to" mentality for himself so he could create a different mindset. Mark had to recast his habits and attitudes toward selling. He had to feel the fear of something he had never done before and run toward the roar. Imposter syndrome Mark wrestled with imposter syndrome because he moved from caring for the dead to breathing life into leaders around the globe. He felt like a poser. He worked feverishly once he painted the replacement picture to garner the knowledge necessary to built a skill set of competency in this realm. Mark surrounded himself with the right consultants