In a world full of noise where it sometimes feels like no one is actually listening, there is one entity that hangs with great intensity on every word you say—and even think. (And no, even though it may be true, I'm not talking about your smartphone.) It's your brain.

Your brain is constantly filtering the world around you, looking for evidence to support your inner narrative, which may lead you to believe that it's on your side, right?

It isn't.

Because your brain doesn't care if that narrative is helping you or hurting you. It's just doing its job, and it is incredibly efficient. So, as with any well-oiled machine, business leaders should learn how it works and do everything possible to get the most out of it. You wouldn't leave an iconic manual Ford Mustang convertible sitting in your garage simply because you don't know how to drive a stick. You'd learn, and then you'd hit the open road for some therapeutic open-air joy rides, no doubt.

Fortunately, maximizing our brain power can be much simpler than driving a manual transmission, but it does involve some serious mental shifting of gears. As the great Norman Vincent Peale said in his book The Power of Positive Thinking:

"Change your thoughts and you can change your world." "Believe you can, and you're halfway there." "Expect the best and get it."

If you keep telling yourself, "Nothing ever works out for me," your brain will go to work hunting for proof. Then every lost or missed opportunity becomes an expectation instead of the character-building lesson in determination and patience that it was supposed to be.

Your mind is running on a loop you programmed. This is called confirmation bias, and it's not just a psychological phenomenon—it's a daily reality. But here's the good news that Peale articulated in his book: It works both ways.

Start saying, "What if things actually are working out for me?" and your brain will start gathering proof of that instead. Same brain. Different script. It's not magic. It's not positive thinking for the sake of it. It's how your filter works. Change the story, and the lens changes. Change the lens, and the world looks different.

Before I "burned the boats" and went all-in on my business, I was plagued with "What if it doesn't work?" nightmares. The plan was to leverage every possible penny we had, including our life savings and kids' college funds. It would also require loans and investors. But we were living a comfortable life with steady jobs and incomes. Was I crazy? Maybe a little—or a lot.

But every time a doom "What if it doesn't work?" scenario came to mind, I forced myself into another thought: "What if it does?" This kind of thinking took discipline and a lot of help from my biggest supporters—especially my wife.

We joined hands, held our breath and took the leap, and it turned out to be the adventure and ultimate success of a lifetime. But I am convinced of two things:

1. It never would have happened if I had let my base nature win out. We all have a primitive instinct to see everything as a threat and be cautious, but I chose to take a risk nevertheless.

2. There is nothing "special" about me or my abilities.

Most likely, the only difference between me and others who may not experience the success they seek is that I was determined to fight the negative thoughts. I may have been a little reckless along the way, and I definitely made small and huge mistakes, but I never let the doomsaying "what if" voices in my head win out.

What you focus on grows, what you feed takes root and what you believe is what your brain will work overtime to prove true. So, be intentional about what you believe, think and say. Leaders don't need to lie to themselves; they just need to ask better questions. Instead of asking, "Why does this always happen to me?" try, "What can this teach me?" Instead of saying "I can't," ask, "What if I could?" And watch the shift take place.

As a leader, your thoughts are shaping your reality—and, in turn, your business—every single day. You have more power than you might think. Use it well. Because you're not just programming your brain. You're shaping your identity, your impact, your company and the kind of legacy you leave behind.