How Congruent Are you Being?

I love to talk about three things, especially after a couple glasses of good wine. The topics are: personal creative power, the psychology of marketing, and wealth creation. I think the reason these topics are so fun to discuss is the fact that they are so intertwined. You cannot create one without understanding the other. As I sit on the deck of a house I rented on Lake Austin, my mind keeps coming back to the concept of congruency and how it relates to all three. There a couple different definitions for the word “congruent” but I think this one is the most relevant for this situation:

In psychology and NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming), congruence could be defined as rapport within oneself, or internal and external consistency, perceived by others as sincerity or certainty.

Look at the different words in this definition and how they apply to each topic. Let’s start with personal creative power. It is staggering how much of this we possess and how little most of us understand it. Combine creative thought with  persistent action, and then fuel the two with emotion, and you have the eternal recipe for “miracles”. Take Thomas Edison for example. He knew he would revolutionize the world if he could create a sustainable lightbulb. He actually created many forms that “worked” before he created the one we know now. The problem was they burnt out within a day, a week, or a month. Who wants to change light bulbs everyday? He tried over 10,000 substances before he found that bamboo worked the longest and the rest is history. Let’s look at how congruent Edison was with what he desired. As far as personal power is concerned, Edision developed the idea, so he “created” something out of nothing. The internal rapport was always 100% convinced that he could do it. He had both internal and external consistency in his message. Even when people mocked him after his 9000th try, he never waivered. It takes a lot of energy to break through the bonds of limitation and that is why a lot of people give up. Edison’s actions stayed congruent with his internal vision.

Now I said there were three topics, so let’s look at how the Edison example applies to marketing. Edison knew he could provide one of his first light bulb models and receive unimaginable praise. Remember, everyone was still reading by candle. A light bulb that could work for a day had amazing commercial ramifications. Edison, however, had a much bigger vision of how he was going to market his invention. He knew that if he could create a bulb that lasted for hundreds of hours, instead of just a few, he would have a product that the whole world could afford. He could have cashed in early. He chose to stay the course. His certainty was unshakeable. He eventually created a bamboo based filament and a bulb that lasted for hundreds of hours.

The third part to the congruency equation is wealth creation. If you look at the trials and tribulations of Edison it is surprising that he persisted so long. It is even more surprising, to some, that he didn’t take the easy money. When you truly realize the value of what you offer, when you really grasp the power of your creative abilities, and when you are congruent with every thought and every action, the creation of wealth is a guarantee. Wealth is simply a byproduct of you staying true to your vision and providing value to the world. I have always thought of it as a game. If I set my sites on a financial goal, all I have to do is work backwards down to the smallest actions. Combine that with passion and persistence and you are completely congruent.

To your success,

Aaron Parkinson