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Barbara Corcoran, 77, had to consciously train herself for years to quiet her inner critic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On a recent episode of The Burnouts<\/a> podcast, Corcoran told hosts Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni that it took decades before she believed in herself and her abilities. For years, Corcoran says she had to actively fight off a running loop of self-doubt in her head. She had an internal voice telling her she didn\u2019t belong in meetings or group settings.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy tape would say, \u2018Hey, Barb, you should have never been here. You didn\u2019t need to come to this meeting,’\u201d Corcoran said of her negative self-talk.<\/p>\n When she was in her mid-30s, she realized that old tape was holding her back \u2014 so she replaced it. Her new self-talk was \u201cBarbara, you\u2019re a genius\u2026 You\u2019re great,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even though it felt untrue at first, repeating it over time helped the message sink in and stick. It took 15 years for the new mental tape to feel like the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBy running it all the time, 35 to 40 to 45. By the time I got to be 50, I pretty much believed it,\u201d Corcoran said. \u201cBut it\u2019s hard to shake it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Corcoran said she has learned just how powerful and misleading her own thoughts could be. She could do far more than she imagined or gave herself credit for.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just funny what your head can do for you. Most of everything, I think, plays out in your head,\u201d Corcoran said. \u201cYou know, I wish I told myself as a younger woman, you\u2019re a lot more capable than you think you are. But it took years to really learn that.\u201d<\/p>\n Corcoran launched the Corcoran Group, a New York City real estate brokerage, in 1973. She ultimately sold the company for $66 million in 2001. She later brought her business expertise to a national audience as one of the original investors on ABC\u2019s \u201cShark Tank,\u201d where she has appeared since the show first premiered in 2009.<\/p>\n Corcoran isn\u2019t the only business leader to use positive self-talk to get ahead. Shelley Zalis, CEO of media company The Female Quotient, told Success Magazine<\/a> last year that she only listens to her inner voice when it is telling her, \u201cYou can do it!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, [my inner voice tells me] I\u2019m not good enough,\u201d Zalis told the outlet. \u201cMy confidence comes from knowing that no one else has traveled my road, and that unique journey means my contributions matter.\u201d<\/p>\n Author Ryan Hawk, who has interviewed more than 600 CEOs and business leaders, told CNBC<\/a> earlier this month that the most successful people share a common mindset \u2014\u00a0they never think that they have \u201cmade it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no moment of arrival,\u201d Hawk told CNBC. \u201cThe [successful people] I\u2019ve interviewed, they\u2019re just pushing. They\u2019re driving. They\u2019re trying to put a positive dent in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Barbara Corcoran, 77, had to consciously train herself for years to quiet her inner critic.\u00a0<\/p>\nOther positive mindsets<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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