Types of Mindsets: How to Choose the One You Operate From

How do you actively choose positivity over negativity? Because tough days are going to inevitably happen for every single one of us. And what I wanted to do was share my process for self-creation and how I live that good vibes life and a few simple habits that you can stack that will help you anchor in the powerful version of who you are.

What's good? I'm Rob Cressy and I just got off a client call where they shared how this past weekend they caught themselves in a negative loop for 24 hours and they asked what I do in that situation and it just so happens in my life right now. This is super relevant for me because this past weekend on Friday I woke up and my three-year-old toddler had a rash all over his body from an allergic reaction to some medicine. So I am actively living in this so I've got a lot of good things that I can share in this.

And I'm going to frame this a few different ways and let's start with the foundational side of things. And we've got to move backwards 12 years to the very beginning of my entrepreneurial journey when I'm at zero. No clients, no website, no revenue, no growth mindset, and no self-awareness. I'm just somebody with a big dream and looking to figure out how in the world to make this happen.

And I asked myself one simple question. What will help me accomplish my goals faster? Positivity or negativity? Positivity, of course. Negativity is going to slow us down and take us further away from where we want to go. Therefore, for me, this became a binary equation. A one versus a zero. Positivity is a one in my life. Negativity is a zero.

Because of this, the way that I show up with good vibes all day every day is because why would I not? Because if I do not, then I'm going to slow myself down from my dreams and my goals and my vision. And this doesn't have to be very hard because number two comes down to a foundational thing that I live and I often coach as well is this question. It's not even a question. It's just a statement. Audit your inputs. Gold in, gold out. Garbage in, garbage out.

So I quickly realized that what I was going to feed myself was going to control what it is that I thought and what I thought is going to control what it is that I take. So because of this, I have never in my entire life watched the news. Why? Because is that going to help me accomplish what I want to do faster? No, none whatsoever. So I don't associate with negative people or negative content.

And it's not like it's something that I have to do really hard where it's like, oh, don't turn on that news. It's like, no, that's not my lifestyle. That's not how I get down. This is a zero. And by making this binary one versus a zero, it is super simple because remember, I wasn't this personal growth related person 12 years ago. I'm just trying to figure out how in the world to hack myself to creating my dreams.

And it just so happened that living and creating by a positive lifestyle and mindset is one thing that foundationally is an anchor of who I am. And one of my core values is radiate positivity. So if you're finding yourself in a negative loop, often my encouragement for you is just to look at this from a one or a zero. What's going to serve you and help you accomplish your goals faster? Boom. Commit to that life of positivity.

But then number two on this call was my partner Colin said, listen, Rob, I've got it. And I've heard you talk about what you do in the morning. But can you share with me step by step what it is that you actually do to create yourself and live this life of positivity every single day? And so often we hear the term morning routine. But I would like to sort of put that aside because that's just a tool. Instead, I believe in self-creation. And what I mean by this is what do I get to do every single day to create myself into the best version of myself?

And I'm going to walk this step by step and give some commentary on this. But a very important thing at the beginning, I've been working on this all day, every day for 12 years. And when I first started, all I was trying to do was not wake up at 7:30 in the morning anymore. I just started shaving off three minutes at a time from 7:30 to 7:27 to 7:24 to eventually waking up in the fives. I also had never read a book before voluntarily. So I had to learn how to create a reading routine. I had to learn how to create a workout routine.

So you're just going to see an accelerated version of this right now. And I wanted to give this caveat because one of the things can be, oh my God, you do so much for your morning routine. I didn't pop out of bed like this. Instead, I stacked these habits one on top of each other over the course of 12 years. The good news for you is you can greatly accelerate that rate of adoption for you by learning or taking what you hear or see that vibes with you and implementing it and saving a lot of time off of your journey.

So what I do every single morning when I wake up, number one, the very first thing that I think every morning is today is going to be a great day. I estimate over the course of the first three hours, I say it anywhere between three to five times. Drip, drip, drip. Today's going to be a great day.

Number two, I then zombie my way over to the bathroom and I pick up my toothbrush and I say three things that I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for my wife. I'm thankful for being from Pittsburgh and I'm thankful for the ability to create every single day. Boom. Anchoring that gratitude, I do that in the morning and I do it at night because that's very simple. I don't have to do anything additional. It's just being intentional about more gratitude there.

And usually I'm waking up in the fives at some point. So I'm zombying my way into the kitchen and I'm putting in coffee in the Keurig. And while that's filling up, I go and grab my water bottle and I go over and I fill that up. And I always use my water bottle as a trigger for speaking. I am that I believe. And I'm filling up my cup of belief in myself, in my dreams, in my goals, and in my vision. And boom, I drink that water bottle because that helps hydrate you and give you energy.

At this point, I'm still, my eyes are barely open. And I then take my coffee and I walk over to the couch. And I open up my iPad and I set a timer on my watch for 30 minutes to read a book for 30 minutes. And it is the number one thing that has changed my life is creating a reading routine. And so many people say, oh, I would love to read more. Guess what? Let's just schedule this bad boy. And by doing this, I guarantee I am better today than I was yesterday by stacking reading first thing in the morning.

So I just open up that Kindle and read a book for 30 minutes. I just finished reading Robin Sharma's book, The 5 AM Club, highly recommend for a second time. And right now I'm reading the book, Inner Excellence, the one that was viral from A.J. Brown from the Eagles reading it. So boom, I'm doing that. And then once the timer goes off on my watch for 30 minutes, I then open up on my iPad. I read my vivid vision. It's my 2026 vivid vision of what I'm creating and who I am three years from right now.

And then once that happens, I open up a document or not even a document. I open up my Evernote. And what you're going to see here is what I call my boot sequence. So I've got a folder over here called being creation. So this is my folder for self-creation and how I create myself into the best version of myself every single day.

And I want you to think of it this way. When you turn on a computer, there's a boot sequence where it goes, there's program one, there's program two, there's program three, there's program four. And then after it boots all four of those up, it's like, hey, I'm now the best version of a computer. Well, guess what? I take the same philosophy with the way that I create myself every single morning. So what is that boot sequence that I have that creates me into the best version of myself?

So I even have one document that says, hey, boot sequence. And it leads with, this is my purpose. I'm a positive force for good that leads others to what's possible. Up here, back in the day, I was a part of Jesse Itzler's 30 Days of Excellence community. And this was the mantra and creed that we had there. I've got a few thoughts. And then there's a great book, The Gap and The Gain by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan. And this is a way for me to live in the gain.

It says, I've gained a lot to be grateful and excited about right now. And I read a list of things that anchors me in gratitude. And then down here, I've got three things that I fill in every single day. What's something good that happened yesterday? What I'm looking forward to today? And what's something new I'm going to do today? Drip, drip, drip. So that's my boot sequence. That might only take me, I don't know, three minutes to read.

Another practice that I picked up, and this one is so valuable, is I write down one thing every single day that I value about myself. Because the world is constantly going to be shooting fear, judgment, self-limiting beliefs, comparison, and arrows at us. So I want to make sure that I anchor in self-love and believe in who I am. And I picked this up from a book. I believe it was Love Money, Money Loves You. Really good one. And she's like, hey, just write down every single day one thing that you value about yourself. And I've done this practice. I don't know what we're seeing here. 171 times as of today.

So this morning, you'll see, hey, what do I value about myself? How I prioritize Monday morning workouts to set the tone for the week and build momentum. This is super simple, only takes about 30 seconds or so. I will give a caveat. Once you get above probably number 20 or 30, you really got to start thinking about what you actually value about yourself. Because there's going to be the surface level ones, but we want to get into that gold, those things. And I found, and today's a great example of that. I went to the gym this morning. I was there by 6:15. And once I was done, I was radiating, had a really good lift. Boom. I made that the thing of value about myself every single day.

Next thing here I have is what I call my compliment file. And this is the game changer of all game changers, because this is the ability to allow other people's words, the things that they have self-created about you, create who you are. Because for many of us, we're not very good receivers of compliments. I might give you a compliment. You're like, oh, no, it's not a big deal. Or don't worry about it. Or you might feel bashful or shy. Or you sort of throw it away. We all know what that is like.

Instead, I believe in being a gracious receiver. And when someone gives me a compliment, especially a really good one, I always make sure to write it down. Or if it's online, I'm taking a screenshot of it. And then every single day, as part of my self-creation process, I'll read one to three of them.

So first one here is from my coach, John Patrick Morgan. You're the happiest guy in the world. And you give me so much happiness by your being happy. Boom, man. It lights me up so much with him saying that to me. I got my friend Owen over here. Always winning Cressy. Man, I love that. Thank you, Owen, for that gift. And then I've got my friend over here, Mike Blair. My dude, a reminder from afar. We see you. You're an inspiration and a light. Thank you for bringing that consistent positive energy. Keep doubling down on it, Rob. Much love.

Man, I read those three things and I am just lit up with gratitude and love and ready to just crush it here. So my recommendation for you, next time somebody gives you a compliment, write that bad boy down, put that into a file, make that your compliment file.

Next thing we have right here, and I use this one from ChatGPT. I had ChatGPT act as if it's Ed Mylett, my world-class coaching advisor. And I was prompt chaining here, so I was deeper into the process. But what I said is, hey, let's create a rallying cry for this year that we're going to anchor. This is who I am. And I'm going to read this every single day. And I'll just read a little nugget of all of this. It's like, Rob Cressy, this is your year. Right now you're standing at the edge of a defining moment in your life and your business. This 2025 isn't just another year on the calendar. It's the year you make history. Boom.

I read that and I'm like, let's go. We are about to crush this. So I encourage you, create your own version of this. Go into ChatGPT. Give it some of that soul data that we talk about there. Give it your heart. Give it your all, your goals, your vision, your identity. And then say, hey, I want to create a powerful, emotionally resonant document that I read every single morning as part of my self-creation process that creates who I am.

And the last but certainly not least, and as Tim Grover says in the book, Relentless, everything's labeled number one because it's all most important. And this right here certainly is most important. And what I have here is my declarations, my I am statements that I speak, see, and feel. And what I write here is what I am and what I have, self-love and vision. And this is a process and I teach this with my clients because it's the best thing in the world that I learned. This is self-creation 101, your ability to create the powerful story, that identity, that state of being of who you are.

And I'll speak, see, and feel this every single day. And in two ways here, because number one, I could just set aside 10 minutes and read, I am infinite love. And I think about my son waking up in the morning and my wife and getting to create with my community and unlimited just so much stuff. And I'm just radiating this love and this positive energy all over the place.

But here's the second way that I do this. And I'll call this active self-creation. So when I go to the gym, and that's usually what I do after my original boot sequences, I drive to the gym and it takes six minutes for me to get to the gym. And while I'm on my way to the gym, I listen to my 2025 goals spoken on camera because it's something that ironically enough takes only six minutes. That's how long the video is. So while I'm going to the gym at 6:15 in the morning, I'm listening to my goals for the year.

And then once I get to the gym, I'm looking to actively self-create. So I'm usually listening to either a podcast or a personal development something, book, podcast, whatever that is, or music. And I'm always listening for a specific word. So if they say the word love, I'm like, boom, I am infinite love. Maybe they say the one, and I say, I am the one. Or maybe they say the word possibility, and I go, I am a freight train of possibility.

So I use one word that is spoken somewhere, and I immediately connect it and tie it to my declarations because so many of these words are very unique things. For example, I am that I bring magic to life. And if I hear the word magic, boom, immediately I'm self-creating that. But at the same time, while I'm sitting there lifting weights, I'm going to say things that create who I am. So for example, I am built for this. Or another one, I'm a masterpiece of health and strength.

Or if I'm going for a run early in the morning, I am an epic overachiever. And I look around, no cars, no people. It's dark out, just me and the stars. And I'm like, there's nobody else doing what I'm doing right now. Boom, I am that epic overachiever. Or maybe I see somebody in the gym, and I just speak to myself. I am a champion for everyone because I am a champion for everyone there. So all of these ways I can actively co-create and speak my declarations as I'm at the gym or as I'm going through life.

And this was just a overview of the things that I do every single day to self-create myself because I know this to be true. There are going to be hard and challenging and tough days into perpetuity for the rest of our lives. Some that you see or that you crave for yourself. Others that come out of nowhere like your toddler waking up with an allergic reaction.

And our ability to have a process that anchors us in the powerful best version of who you are is an absolute game changer. It doesn't mean I don't feel fear, judgment, self-limiting belief, and negativity. I just have a process for shrinking the dispersion for how long it stays with me because I know what the best version of myself looks like because I create that every single day.

And I know that this being has a half-life. So boom, right in the morning when I do this, I'm feeling all amazing. But guess what? 3 p.m. gets there or 6 p.m. after picking up my son from preschool and it's been a longer day. Hey, it's natural that you're going to notice some of these things slowly decay a little bit. And it's why doing the air quotes, the work, as Byron Katie would say, is so important for us because we always have these tools at our disposal whenever that we want.

So it doesn't mean we don't feel negativity. We just have the tools or the simple habits for what we can do to self-create ourselves and return ourselves back to that powerful version of ourselves, a.k.a. returning to love. So I wanted to share this because it actively just happened about 30 minutes ago and I thought it would add some value to you and your life.

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