How To Plan 'Your Next Five Moves' For Success At Work 

Photo Courtesy of Simon & Schuster

When you consider it, chess and business have a lot in common. In both, you need to think several moves ahead if you want to come out on top, whether that means winning a high-stakes game or snagging that long-anticipated promotion. In this special excerpt from the book Your Next Five Moves (out now from Simon & Schuster, a ViacomCBS company), authors Patrick Bet-David and Greg Dinkin challenge you to dig deep in order to develop a vision for long-term success at work. 

Answer Questions To Reveal Your Deepest Desire  

Nothing matters unless you understand what makes you tick and who you want to be. Far too often, consultants and influencers assume that everyone wants the same thing. When I'm speaking to a CEO or a founder, I start by asking questions. Before making any recommendations, I gather as much info as I can about who the person wants to be and what he or she wants out of life.  

I understand that not everyone knows who he or she wants to be. It's normal not to have all the answers immediately. Remember that this question—and every move in this book—is a process. All the examples I give and stories I tell exist for you. They're meant to get you to reflect and better understand yourself. If you don't have a clear answer at this point in time, you're in the majority. All I ask is that you keep an open mind and keep reading with the goal, in due time, of answering this question.  

The purpose of this Move is to identify what matters to you the most and help put a strategy together that fits your level of commitment and vision. I may influence you to question certain decisions or ways you'll go about fulfilling your vision, but it's up to you to decide to stretch yourself and think bigger.  

Who do you want to be?  

As you continue to ask yourself this question, your answer will determine your level of urgency. If you want to build a little mom-and- pop corner store, then okay, you don't have to treat business like war and you can be laid back in your approach. If you're looking to disrupt an industry, you'd better be armed with the right story, right team, right data, and right strategies. Really take the time to get clear about your story—exactly who you want to be—or you won't be able to soldier on when things get tough. And in business, things always get tough.  

Make Pain Your Fuel  

I could sit here and tell you about the life that you may live one day. Talking about the cars, the jets, and the celebrities you meet all sounds wonderful, but first things first. You are going to have to endure more anguish than you can imagine to get there. Those who can tolerate pain the most—the ones with the most endurance—give themselves the highest chance of winning in business.  

By the time we've been on our own for a few years, many of us have become cynical. It's an ugly thing, but I've seen it happen too often. We all have big dreams growing up, and we make a lot of plans for ourselves. Then life gets in the way, the plans don't happen the way we thought they would, and we lose faith in our ability to focus on who we want to be. You may not notice it, but it also hurts your ability to make your next moves.  

We may even start to think, "Hey, what's the point in saying I'm going to do something big if I'm not going to follow through? Better to just aim low and play it safe."  

The only thing separating us from greatness is a vision and a plan for achieving greatness. When you're fighting for a cause, a dream, something greater than yourself, you will find the enthusiasm, passion, and joy that make life a great adventure. The key is identifying your cause and knowing who you want to be.  

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For more, listen to a clip from the audiobook edition of Your Next Five Moves: 

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Patrick Bet-David went from escaping war-torn Iran to founding his own financial services firm, raising tens of millions of dollars, and creating Valuetainment, the leading YouTube channel for entrepreneurs. His unorthodox approach to business as well as life has led to compelling interviews with Ray Dalio, Kevin Hart, the late Kobe Bryant, President George W. Bush, and a host of other luminaries. His content on social media has been viewed over a billion times. Patrick never obtained a college degree and went from the army to selling health club memberships before entering the field of financial services. At age thirty, he founded PHP, a financial services agency. He lives in Dallas with his wife and three children. 

Excerpted from Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet-David with Greg Dinkin. Copyright © 2020 by BetDavid Enterprises LLC. Used with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Simon & Schuster is a property of ViacomCBS.