Stress for success stories come in all flavors, and at any hour. I was just slipping into bed after a late movie on Saturday when the phone rang. As the ring pierced the silence in the house, I thought of two things: it’s either a wrong number or something’s happened. Something had happened – and my son had called to tell me all about it. Too elated to remember the time, he’d grabbed his cell, eager to share his moment:
“I was last man standing at Improv night!”

This was actually his second Improv experience. The week before he’d called when he’d tried, and won, his first time out. He was more emotional then, sounding somewhere between stunned and cloud-walking, as he relayed that night’s details through adrenaline-soaked vocal chords.

This time, the more seasoned participants welcomed him back, thinking, as he was, that he was a lucky first-timer. He was bubbling, but calm as he shared the story of this second win. I heard no sign of the anxiousness he had felt the week before. I asked about his almost relaxed demeanor. His answer was so simple:

“I just showed up and let go. I’d already done it once and won, so I decided to go have fun this time.”

After this second win, the veterans of Improv night extended my son the ultimate compliment: They asked him (maybe not so jokingly?) not to return again. Apparently, he was winning with more than just luck.

Repeating success doesn’t automatically require us to repeat stress, yet many of us pull on our previous attempt’s anxiety as we would a favorite garment. Don’t our “wins” earn us the right to more confidence and more relaxation as we do what we feel called to do?

Most of us didn’t start our own businesses because we sought out a more stressful, adrenal-exhausting lifestyle. How often do we miss opportunities to just let go and have fun the second time around?

Explore your own answer by taking a quick peek at your success beliefs. Are you operating from what you believe it takes to succeed, or from someone else’s truths that you adopted somewhere along the way? It may take you a few tries to identify ones that don’t belong with you, but it’s well worth the investment.

What’s the best part? When you spot yourself acting from a mismatched belief, you have a choice: You can keep wearing the old one, or you can improvise until you exchange it for another — one that feels tailor-made, just for you.

This month, we’ll be announcing our first “taste of the club” calls. We’ll touch on beliefs during these calls, but we’ve designed a thorough, step-by-step belief inventory in our club program, making it easy to locate and exchange ones that don’t serve you.

If you haven’t signed up to the mailing list, do it now so you won’t miss our announcements. If you’re already on our list, tell a friend! We’re launching soon with a “Join With a Friend Special!”