Greetings everyone, my name is Julie Masters and welcome to another episode of Inside Influence. In which I delve into the minds of some of the world’s most fascinating influencers – or experts in influence - to get to the bottom of what it really takes to own your voice - and then amplify it to drive an industry, a conversation, a movement or a Nation.

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I’m sure you, like me and 99% of the population of this planet, would think of yourself as a rational person. The dictionary definition of rational is: ‘based on or in accordance with reason or logic’. ‘Reason and logic’; I’ll take those words – who doesn’t like to think of themselves as logical and reasonable?

Well, I’ve got some news for you – and it’s probably not a surprise. We are not as rational as we think we are. You are not – and I am not.

According to my next guest, most of our day to day decisions are not carefully evaluated, thought through - or weighed-up. But instead based on beliefs, personal preferences and working assumptions – each one cross-checked against our environment, background, desires, feelings and mood at any specific time. And most of that… is done unconsciously without you even being aware. Sound hard to navigate? Unfortunately it is.

As I record this introduction, the aftershock, global protesting and heartbreak following the death in custody of George Flyod – is still very much ongoing. And if that situation teaches us anything – it should be how hard wired, unconscious (and often dangerous) our beliefs systems can be.

But it’s not enough to sit in that knowledge - what comes next is probably the most important question when it comes to understanding influence – what does it take to understand, direct – and in this case – redirect our beliefs into new behaviour?

My guest today has spent a good portion his life studying the gap between what we say is important – and what we actually do - both for individuals, companies and social movements.

A speaker, writer and advisor - Tom Asacker takes a different approach to creating momentum, and that approach is all about belief, desire and the physics of action. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, co-founded a high-tech medical device company - won the George Land Innovator of the Year Award – and is now the author of ‘The Business of Belief’ focusing on the hidden logic of behaviour.

In today’s conversation we talk about....

· How to close the gap I mentioned earlier – taking your team, your community or yourself from ‘talking the talk’, to ‘walking the walk’.

· Why as a leader you have to embrace the desires and beliefs of those you are trying to influence – especially when the horizon is uncertain. And I don’t mean just acknowledge those beliefs (which actually was a shift in my thinking), but instead find a place where you can authentically own them as your own.

· How to get over the past experiences and stories that impact how you show up - so you can arrive at a situation open, but still armed with certainty.

· And why it’s physically impossible to hit a baseball – I know this sounds like this would have nothing to do with influence – but it has everything to do with waiting for the right moment… vs. swinging with intent and trusting you have the muscle to follow through when the angle becomes clearer.

What I want you to reflect on in this episode is how hidden and hard wired our beliefs can be. We are complex and multi-dimensional beings – who bring our entire history and belief system with us to any table or conversation. However, by accepting that - and by committing to the excavate – understand – and work with someone’s beliefs – including our own – we start to walk the fastest and most powerful road to influence that I know.

So, take a seat, let the logical world go for awhile – hard as that is right now - and open your mind to the thoughts and (ever flexible) beliefs of Tom Asacker.

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