I love talking about “mindset” because I am such a firm believer in its power. I made some pretty big life changes recently the only reason I was able to achieve those goals was because I shifted my thoughts and moved into a more positive frame of mind. I essentially “got out of my own way!” After working with hundreds of entrepreneurial clients, I’ve noticed one consistent theme: If you don’t have a healthy mindset, you will not achieve the success level you desire. You could have a gazillion sales and marketing strategies - none of them will matter. If you don’t have the confidence and believe you can do it - a healthy mindset – you will not succeed. I always like to say that running a business is the best personal development course you can take. This is because an entrepreneur’s success depends on her, and her alone. You are basically forced to deal with your “stuff” in order to get the results you truly want. This means addressing any and all limiting beliefs that are holding you back. Today, I share with you four strategies that will help you get out of your own way and move forward today.
Tip #1: A shift in perspective can make all the difference between success and failure. When you are in a healthy state of mind – you feel positive and have an upbeat outlook towards your business and life in general – you actually THINK and ACT differently. Let’s explore this a little more. When you are in a bad mood, doesn’t everything seem to irritate you and further amplify those negative feelings? You see the world differently when you are operating from this place. You’re not your usual happy self and if you want the truth, the decisions you make from this state are not the same as they would be when you’re in a good mood. Also, you attract what you putting out there. So it’s no wonder you are receiving even more to be annoyed about.
For a change in perspective, start off by asking for it. When I was trying to make my big dream of moving to another country come true, I found myself using this a lot. I had many limiting beliefs holding me back. I felt very guilty for moving away from our families, and I had a lot of personal work to do before I could make the move and feel okay about it. I used to constantly ask the universe for a shift in perspective. Guess what? It always worked! It would usually happen after getting a good night’s sleep. I would wake up feeling refreshed with a clear outlook on whatever situation had been causing me grief. Sometimes it would “coincidentally” take coming a across a book, a quote or even a conversation with someone else to help me make the shift. Whatever the way, it always worked.
Tip #2: It’s interesting to me how many people have negative beliefs about money. This comes up repeatedly when I’m talking to clients and people in general. I truly believe we can be, do and have anything in life with the right tools. One of these tools is letting go of negative beliefs that are no longer serving you. If you stay stuck in old thought patterns, it will be hard to open your mind to different ways of doing things and therefore achieve new levels of success. If you look at why you’re not where you want to be in your business – and therefore not living the life you imagined – there is likely a negative belief about money causing it.
It’s important to realize that money is just an exchange between people, nothing more and nothing less. It’s how our world operates and negativity doesn’t need to be attached to it. Unfortunately, our beliefs about money are deeply rooted. They start when we’re young and are influenced by our caregivers. This isn’t about blaming others – it’s just about being aware of where the beliefs came from. Creating awareness about the origin of your beliefs is half the battle. You can then decide if those beliefs are no longer serving you and start to let them go if they’re not. This might not be easy, and could involve some work on your part, but isn’t it worth it? Isn’t it worth doing the work so that you can live a life that you love?
It’s also important to think about how you view others who have a lot of money. Do you tend to think rich people are unkind in any way? If you do have negative opinions about wealthy people, you’re probably afraid of becoming that type of person yourself. You will ultimately end up sabotaging yourself from making lots of money! You may have set some big financial goals, but if deep down you really have negative feelings about others who have money, it will effect your bottom line. You’re probably not even conscious you’re doing it – our subconscious is capable of some pretty crazy things. It could show up in the form of procrastination or even being late to an appointment!
Try instead to flip your mindset. Think of someone you know who is a positive role model. Do you know of a person who is both wealthy and a good person? Someone whom you admire and respect? Think of that person going forward, any time those old money beliefs start to sneak back in. It’s also important to think about all of the good things you will do with more money. Sure there are probably a few materialistic things you would buy, and that’s okay. Think instead about how many people you can help by making more money. You can reach more people with more money. Plain and simple. You might even be able to do something huge – like start a charity!
Tip #3: Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable. I love this statement because it’s all about stretching yourself out of your comfort zone and being comfortable with it on a continuous basis. In order to grow and learn, you must be willing to take risks and plow through your fears. This is another place where a lot of people get stuck. It’s easy to stay where you’re comfortable. Moving forward and doing new things can be scary, but you will be filled with regret if you don’t. So “get comfortable with being uncomfortable,” has become my motto. After doing so many new and “scary” things over the past few years, I’m now much more at ease with feeling the fear and doing it anyway. It does get easier, I promise. I now expect and welcome those feelings. It means I’m on my way to achieving my ne xt big goal!
Tip #4: Staying flexible is also super important. I am a true believer that setting goals is important for creating your ideal lifestyle. Without taking action, you won’t move forward. However, staying flexible within that process is equally important. You can miss out on a lot of great opportunities if you don’t stay flexible. Most of the time, the universe has bigger and better plans for you than you ever could have dreamed up yourself! If you are familiar with the law of attraction, then you understand that you’re not supposed to worry about “how” your dreams will happen. The universe will show you. You can get what you want by setting an intention, trusting it will happen (therefore letting go of how it will happen), and then taking inspired action. Inspired action means taking action in the direction that ex cites you, even if it’s a little scary. Pay attention to all people, circumstances, events and ideas you have that will move you closer to achieving your goal. My son threw a penny into a fountain the other day. About a week later I asked him what he had wished for that day. He was upset because he had asked for a new lego set and didn’t get it. I pointed out to him that he did in fact get it. He had just received money for his birthday from his aunt who specifically said to put it towards a lego set. Lesson learned: what you want is likely to show up in unexpected ways!
If you shift your perspective, banish your negative money beliefs, get comfortable being uncomfortable and practice flexibility, you will get out of your own way and be unstoppable in your business and life!