Episode 52: Andy Molinsky On How To Build Confidence & Rise To The Challenge

October 31, 2017

“Your Very Best Ideas Will Be Crafted When You Are Vulnerable” Andy Molinsky

Andy and I talk about how to step out of your comfort zone and reach for your dreams. He shares his backstory of being a shy student at College and reveals what it took to get over his fear and trepidation around speaking – whether in the classroom, at the office or on stage.

We touch on the imposter syndrome (that most of us have) and we both have similar stories when it came to avoiding situations that we found challenging. Whether it’s networking, going for a job interview, delivering difficult news or being in social situations we all will have moments when we will have to reach within to take the steps and have the conversations necessary to move forward. Andy shares the reasons we it is so hard to step out of our comfort zones and he helps us demystify the “why” behind why it is so difficult to reach beyond what we know for sure. We discuss how we both had to learn how to step out of our comfort zones so that we could show up and do the work that we love. Andy shares wonderful tools and strategies that we can all use to move out of the imposter syndrome, and he reminds us that it’s perfectly acceptable to not know everything, but it is important to keep the curiosity and willingness to learn.

From his book Reach – Andy reveals the five psychological roadblocks, that when left unaddressed will get in the way of us reaching our potential:

  1. Authenticity
  2. Likeability
  3. Competence
  4. Resentment
  5. Morality

Andy highlights the avoidance techniques that often become so familiar to us we don’t even realize we are getting in our own way. Below are the key ways we get creative to avoid doing the things we do not look forward to doing:

  1. Partial delivery
  2. Substitution
  3. Procrastination
  4. Rationalization

We wrap the conversation up by talking about the three traits that will move us out of the stagnation and enable us to work with our fears to move our dreams off the paper and into the world.

  1. Find Your Source of Conviction
  2. Customization
  3. Clarity

Connect With Andy Online and Social Media

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To Receive Andy’s very best tips on stepping out of your comfort zone click here.

To find out more about Andy’s techniques on how to step into your greatness you can purchase his book Reach here:

More About Andy

Andy Molinsky is a Professor at Brandeis University’s International Business School, with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology.  Andy received his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and M.A. in Psychology from Harvard University. He also holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a B.A. in International Affairs from Brown University.  Andy’s work helps people develop the insights and courage necessary to act outside their personal and cultural comfort zones when doing important, but challenging, tasks in work and life. His research and writing has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, Psychology Today, the Financial Times, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, NPR and Voice of America. Andy was awarded as a Top Voice for LinkedIn for his work in education. His first book, Global Dexterity (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013), received the Axiom Award (Silver Medal) for Best Business Book in International Business & Globalization and has been used widely in organizations around the world, including Boeing, AIG, the US Air Force Academy, and the Clinton Foundation, among others. His new book Reach was published with Penguin Random House in January 2017.  He teaches, consults, and lectures widely to university and corporate audiences.
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