Vamsi Polimetla, a coach and professional development enthusiast, is on a mission to make more leaders. Studying the works of Tony Robbins, Brendon Burchard, Michael Hyatt, and Jay Shetty, Vamsi shares stories and thought provoking questions to unlock bigger thinking.
How asking your parents deep questions can pass wisdom
Vamsi recommends scheduling time with your parents to ask deep questions as a way to gain wisdom and knowledge before they move on from this planet. Some questions you could ask include:
- What experiences did you have as a kid?
- What did you learn from those experiences?
- What were some of the challenging moments?
- What are things you would do differently?
- What are some of your proud moments and accomplishments?
- What is one message you want to pass to the next generation?
While we may be aware of the positive aspects of our parent’s journey, Vamsi suggests digging deeper. Wisdom from failures and mistakes can be applied to our own lives.
On a mission to create more leaders
Vamsi stresses that leadership is all about taking personal responsibility. It is not about your office, title, or authority. It is about growing and trying to make every single day your best day. Polimetla believes leadership is not inherited, rather, individuals can design and cultivate it. To aid in cultivation, Vamsi started an organization, Make More Leaders. One thing Vamsi helps his clients with is thinking and dreaming bigger. We all have big dreams, but very few make their dreams come true. When asked why people avoid thinking big, Vamsi was quick to reply that it stems from limiting beliefs. By identifying limiting beliefs, Vamsi suggests you can begin to understand what is holding you back.
Try this exercise:
- Take your hand and put it close to your mouth.
- Pretend like you have a half cut lemon in your hand.
- Squeeze the lemon…squeeze it…squeeze it more.
- It is a really good lemon.
- The juice from the lemon is going in your mouth.
Did you feel anything in your mouth? Your mouth likely started producing saliva as if you actually had a lemon, despite the fact it was not real. Moral of the activity? The brain acts on the story we tell ourselves every day. If we change our story, everything else can change.
What are ways we can recognize limiting beliefs?
While we may not be able to prevent limiting beliefs from coming up, there are strategies to identify them. Vamsi suggests putting them on paper. This can help individuals realize whether the beliefs are true or false. Polimetla does this with his clients every six months. Similar to software, there are new versions of ourselves. We are constantly changing and evolving. We can upgrade our programming and make consistent improvements throughout our lives.
When we asked Vamsi what daily activities could be implemented to help overcome limiting beliefs, doubts, and restrictions, Vamsi highlighted the benefit of starting with a morning routine (and using mornings more effectively). For example, if you get up one hour earlier every day, it equates to 365 hours a year, or, almost nine working weeks. This extra hour, over the course of a year, can be used toward your bigger mission. It is part of taking personal responsibility and gaining momentum.
Clarity is more important than intelligence
Vamsi claims the reason behind procrastination is lack of mental clarity. Seeing yourself executing the goal clearly can help you navigate to the intended destination. In order to get to the destination, a clear vision is helpful. Equally important is identifying where you are in the journey. Once there is clarity, one may realize a different map is needed to get to the destination.
Another strategy Vamsi recommends is less emphasis on winning the championship and greater attention on the “current play”. If you win the current play, you are more likely to win the match. If you win a couple of matches, you are more likely to make it to the championship. Focusing on the incremental moments can ultimately help achieve the bigger goal.
Every week is a blank page
Starting your Monday with a clear picture of the things you would like to accomplish over the next seven days can increase the likelihood of achieving them.
Questions you can ask yourself to aid in planning out your week include:
- What books will you dive into?
- What podcasts will you listen to?
- What workout routines will you implement?
- What fun activities will you schedule?
It isn’t just about business or finances. Vamsi suggests considering these four components:
- Health
- Career
- Learning and development
- Joy
In order to achieve results, Polimetla suggests focusing on the items that will “move the needle”. There may be 100 things you need to work on. Asking yourself what items will make the most impact and carving out time for the essentials is not always easy, but can drastically increase results.
Trust and integrity
Trust, integrity, and clear intention can all aid in building healthy relationships. If you drop a ball it will bounce back. If you drop a glass ball, it’s not going to come back. Vamsi analogizes trust to a glass ball. It is difficult to build and can be broken easily. Integrity is what we do when no one is watching. If you look at individuals that have perfected a craft, they likely got to where they are because they put in time, effort, and repetition to be really good.
The power of belief
Vamsi’s love for personal development came about during his time working for a large health insurance company. He was provided an opportunity to step into a management position. Thinking that it would be a good opportunity to explore a leadership position, he accepted. One of his first tasks was to share his journey and vision at a keynote speech. He was overridden by shock the day he went to present. What he thought was going to be an audience of 10-15 people, turned out to be around 150. He walked away feeling as though he had bombed it. That night he couldn’t sleep and felt like a failure. The next day he went to his manager’s office with the intention of telling him thank you for the opportunity, but management was not his “cup of tea”. Upon arrival, the first thing from his manager’s mouth was, “Vamsi, you did pretty well yesterday”. He went on to tell him he would get more opportunities in the future.
This moment was eye opening for Polimetla. Someone believed in him. He didn’t want to let him down. From then on, Vamsi started investing into his personal growth and has not stopped. Vamsi hopes to have a ripple effect and pass on the gift of believing in others.
Vamsi’s nine leadership principles include:
- Take 100% responsibility
- Treat every day like a blessing
- The future is better than the past
- Confusion and certainty are okay
- There is always a way if you commit
- Leaders are always running their own race
- No failures, only outcomes
- Leave the place better than you found it and make more leaders
- Your body is your temple, take care of it
If he had to choose a couple of principles, they would be number one and number nine. Vamsi is a huge advocate of taking 100% responsibility, encourages us to ask ourselves questions such as:
- What can I learn from this situation?
- How can I grow from this situation?
These questions can put us in a different zone. Rather than focusing on the negatives, we can grow. Of course, we cannot have growth opportunities if we do not take care of ourselves. Polimetla claims our body is our best asset. It is the only thing we live in for the rest of our life.
Another question Vamsi encourages individuals to ask themselves is their commitment level. In fact, he does not take on new clients prior to understanding if they are interested or committed. Do they have long term or short term thinking? It can be easy to step away when there is interest. Commitment introduces a deeper level and willingness to overcome obstacles.
Vamsi’s bigger mission in life is to help people achieve their dreams. Those he is able to impact will pay it forward by helping others.
Learn more from Vamsi:
Website: https://make-more-leaders.teachable.com/p/mastermind-ii
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vamsipolimetla/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/POLIMETLA
Twitter: Mobilevamsi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polimetla
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/highperformancegrowth?modal=false&should_open_composer=false
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