Beliefs, Potential, Action, Results
Today I want to talk to you about one of my all-time favorite coaching models. I call it BPAR. I didn’t create it. I found it originally in the Tony Robbins book, Unlimited Power. The download for the visual aid is below.
BPAR stands for Beliefs, Potential, Action, Result. It’s a cycle and it illustrates why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
The best example of this model in use that I’ve found was through a gentleman named Roger Bannister. Roger Bannister was the first person ever to run a four-minute mile. At that time, it was thought to be humanly impossible because so many people had attempted it and failed.
If you read Roger Bannister’s story or do any research on him you’ll find that he started with this unwavering belief that he absolutely was going to be the first person to run a four-minute mile. His level of belief on a scale of zero being impossible, to 10 being absolutely certain I will make this happen, was a 10. With a level 10 belief, how much of his potential did he tap into – a little bit or a lot? Well, you know, the answer to that, it’s a lot.
And based on tapping into that level of his potential, fueled by this level 10 belief, how much action did he take? Was it small amounts of action or massive action? He took massive action. Read the story. He talks about how his plan was to simply run one quarter-mile under a minute and then to do that four times sequentially.
He chunked it down and made it super possible so that he could take massive action in his training. And then lo and behold, he got the result. Everyone else was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. But to Roger, the result was a foregone conclusion. His belief was a level 10. He got what he started with.
This is how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. One thing I’ve taught to people about over the years is that you’re going to get what you start with. And the model also works in reverse.
Oftentimes I’ll be on a coaching call and I’ll share an idea, something that I know works, that is absolutely proven. The client will say something like “well, we’ll see what happens.” Now with that level of belief, which is right around impossible or what we would consider to be improbable, how much potential are they tapping into? Not much. How much action will they take? Small actions. And then the results are going to be governed by the actions which were ultimately created by the beliefs that they start with. This is a cycle. It will work for you or it’ll work against you. Typically you’re going to get the results that you believe that you were going to get in the first place.
You might be sitting there asking “so how do I develop level 10 belief?” That’s a question work asking right there. You are starting to cook with peanut oil now. For you to develop level 10 belief all you do is simple back the model up, go the other way by intensely focusing on the result. Focus on the moment the miracle occurs and see yourself, that imagery, and that visualization of taking the actions and steps necessary to complete the result.
To further illustrate my point allow me to introduce one of my personal heroes. His name is Alex Honnold. Alex is a free-solo climber and he might be the best in the world. Free soloing is a form of climbing where no safety gear is used. If Alex falls he dies. As you can imagine Alex is an expert at conquering fear. Recently, I was watching Alex’s Ted Talk as he talked about his goal of climbing El Capitan, which is a 3000 foot, nearly sheer cliff in Yosemite National Park in California.
In this talk, he shares the process he put himself through to climb El Cap perfectly. He started by developing unwavering belief by visualizing himself, achieving the result, not just the end, not just summiting it, but the process of starting at the base of the mountain and then practicing, drilling, rehearsing in his mind, climbing the mountain with ease and elegance.
And notice what he says. He completed the climb in under four hours and it felt like this total sense of flow. The reason? Alex followed the model; he had wavering belief, he tapped into his potential, he took massive action, and he hit the result.
This model is super powerful. I hope that you can see it in action through both of these mens’ stories. If you aren’t achieving the results that you want, this is an opportunity for you to dissect “what is keeping me from getting what I want?” Typically it’s because you don’t have the level of belief, so you’re not tapping your potential, you’re not taking the actions necessary thus the result doesn’t show up.
This is a great coaching model for you to lead yourself and others. I trust that you’ll take it, print it off, put it somewhere, put it on your mirror in the morning and ask yourself, “What is the result? What is the outcome I’m committed to today?” Learn to stoke the fire of belief and the world is yours.
Thanks for reading… Jordan
