Out Of the Shadows: Gina Mollicone-Long (Entrepreneur, Bestselling Author, CEO of The Greatness Group)

Gina Mollicone-Long is a serial entrepreneur, a bestselling author, and CEO of The Greatness Group. She was also the very first guest on Paper Napkin Wisdom and I’m very excited to have her back again. The last time she was on the show, Gina talked about shifting into greatness, flexibility of behavior, and the process of change. This time, Gina switches her focus to perception and projection as she shares a Jungian philosophy of perception. She says: “Perception is projection: You see the world as you are, not as it is.”
The world is a mirror and the way we see the world is a reflection of who we are, says Gina, recognizing that will bring you peace. We see the world as we are, not as it is. Gina goes on to explain that when we meet people who push our buttons it’s a reflection of some quality in ourselves. The qualities we were punished for and don’t like about ourselves are our Shadow side, Gina explains, and those really wonderful qualities we might have hidden because we were criticized for ‘showing off’ are our Light side.
When we meet someone who gets under our skin in one way or another, it’s because we project upon them a quality from our own subconscious. When we meet someone who really strikes us as aggressive, it’s because we see that quality within ourselves. When we experience someone else as great, it’s because we’re having a taste of our own greatness.
Carl Jung’s philosophy of psychology states that our psyche is driven to be whole, so when we have qualities in our unconscious that we’re unaware of, we project them on someone else. If you don’t become conscious of it from the inside out, you must become conscious of it from the outside in.
When we find ourselves around someone who pushes our buttons, Gina advises using the Projection Process: Keep a running log of people who push your buttons (either in a good way or a bad way) and then write down their name and the quality they exhibit that sticks with you. Write down a description of the quality the same way you would if you were describing it to a friend in your most dramatic voice.
At the end of the day, when you have some quiet time, take that sheet of paper and look yourself in the eye in the mirror. Take the negative buttons first and look yourself in the eye as you forgive yourself for each quality and when you’re done, take the good qualities and do the same thing but instead of forgiving yourself, acknowledge your good qualities and appreciate them.
When you employ the Projection Process, Gina says, you’ll find that the people in your reality are going to change because they no longer play that role of projection. As a result of claiming more of who you are, you’ll find that your results dramatically change. As entrepreneurs and leaders this is something we should keep ourselves aware of. We meet and interact with so many people on a daily basis, if we can understand and learn from the ones that we find affect us the most, there’s no end to what we can learn about ourselves.
When we learn about ourselves and embrace all that we can be, we can start to become truly impactful.  Your playing small does not serve the world.
Listen to my conversation with Gina here:

Get Gina’s Books:
Think or Sink: The One Choice That Changes Everything
The Secret of Successful Failing