Imagine for a moment that you could temporarily take on the persona of someone like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, or Tom Cruise. What kind of impact would this have on your life?
When you have internalised the principles of modelling the mental strategies described in this article, it will be possible for you to follow a path that is very similar to that taken by any one of these personalities.
The fundamental idea behind modelling is to imitate the actions, routines, thoughts, and beliefs of another person. This enables you to see things in a new light, to tackle the issues you face from a fresh perspective, and to select options and settle on conclusions that you normally never would have.
You have the option of modelling yourself after someone you personally know or selecting a famous person, whether they are alive or dead; however, you will not be able to communicate with whoever you choose to model yourself after. In this scenario, you will need to acquire as much information as possible regarding it by reading books and articles, attending interviews, and observing videos.
Your first objective is to conduct a social analysis of the individual whose behaviour you would like to model. In order to accomplish this goal, it will be necessary to acquire as much information as possible regarding his social life, his interactions with other people, and his way of life.
The following is a list of important questions that you need to ask yourself:
To what does she devote the majority of her time? What are some of this person's typical modes of entertainment—reading, watching, and listening? How does she go about acquiring the information and knowledge that she needs to be successful?
How does she get to know other people and form relationships with them? Who does she typically hang out with, and what kind of people are they? Who are some of his influences and people he looks up to?
Your next objective is to carry out an outside investigation of the individual whose behaviour you wish to model. To accomplish this, you will need to gather information regarding this individual's decision-making process, the kinds of questions he poses to himself, his outlook, his characteristics, his demeanour, his physiology, his routines, and his abilities.
The following is a list of important questions that you need to ask yourself:
What criteria does this individual use to make decisions? On the basis of what parameters? What are her greatest virtues, the characteristics that predominate her, and the attributes that she possesses that you admire the most?
What kinds of activities does she engage in each day? Which of her routines do you find particularly admirable? What kind of language does she speak? How does she talk, and what kind of tone does she use in her voice? How does she handle extremely high levels of pressure?
What kinds of skills has this person been able to learn and perfect over the course of their life? Where exactly did she learn these skills, and how did she learn them? In what positions does she typically stand and sit? When she is interacting with other people, what kinds of physical gestures does she make?