This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lisa Sun, the 45-year-old CEO of Gravitas in NYC. It has been edited for length and clarity.
After 11 years as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, I quit and became the founder and CEO of Gravitas in 2013, when my mom convinced me to take my life savings and start it.
Our mission is to catalyze confidence through fashion and apparel, where we make and sell clothes that give you a boost of confidence, and through our media and content platform centered on my best-selling book.
As a founder, I do a lot of public speaking, and I discovered a way to settle my nerves beforehand that truly improves my performance.
My purpose is to help people find their unique version of confidence
One way I find my own confidence is through 7-5-7, a pre-routine I do before any speech. I started this practice in October 2016 before my first on-air presentation for HSN, and I’ve been doing it ever since.
I borrowed this technique from yoga, and Dr. Andrew Weil made it popular. It only takes 19 seconds, and I run through it twice. Every time I do this, I feel just a little calmer and centered.
The first time, you’re going to release negativity
Close your eyes, inhale through your nose for seven counts, hold it at the back of your throat for five counts, and then exhale through your mouth for seven counts.
Related stories
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
The first time you do this, take a negative thought you had today — maybe a fight with a family member, a difficult email you’ve been avoiding, or a tough conversation. Whatever negativity you’re carrying, think about it, and then exhale it in the final seven counts and let it go.
The second time, you’re going to welcome something positive
This time, as you close your eyes and inhale, I want you to think of the moment you’re proudest of from the last year.
It can be personal or professional. When I think of my proudest moment, I think of my mom FaceTiming me from Taiwan. She was at her temple, holding up a copy of my book that I sent her, proudly showing it off to all her friends.
As you inhale, immerse yourself fully in that moment — imagine what it felt like and what it smelled like, and hold on to it.
As you exhale, open your eyes, and stand on the top of that moment.
This second time around, acknowledge what you’ve accomplished and how much stronger you’ve gotten. It means that things don’t happen by chance. You did that.
I do this with my audiences, too
With 7-5-7, you relax your body, let go of negativity, and welcome in something powerful — not something you wish for or dream of but something that’s already happened in your life.
When you feel insecurity, fear, or doubt, doing two cycles of 7-5-7 lowers your heart rate, oxygenates your brain, calms your nervous system, and reminds you of a moment in your life when you felt truly loved, happy, and powerful.
I do it before every speech and with audiences of thousands of people. I give over 50 speeches a year, and I have them all do it with me.
Try it before anything that may make you nervous
I remember one time I met a lovely woman backstage at an event. She was so nervous, and I said, “Do you want to step over here, and we’ll do 7-5-7 together?” We held hands while we did it, and we did two cycles of it. A couple of weeks later, she messaged me on LinkedIn.
She said, “I just want you to know that was my first time ever in front of this many people onstage presenting, and it changed my whole talk. I was so grounded, and centered, and I was so in it, and it helped me so much.”
You can try 7-5-7, when you’re sitting at the bar ready to meet an online date, right before a big presentation, an interview, or a big meeting. It’s also great if you’re going into a meeting with your boss and you don’t know what it’s about.
You can do it before you go to bed or when you wake up. When you put yourself inside those peak performance moments, you’re amplifying your belief in yourself.
