I hope I’ve helped you to see over the last few posts that you CAN have the business of your dreams.  That you do have the power to make the changes that will set you on a course of victory over these traps that may have held you back.

Wrapping up the list of the money sucking mindset blocks comes #5 – which is the belief that I’m not ___________ enough to be successful. I coach a lot of coaches and other people who are service providers, and I hear this from them sometimes. It sounds like…

“I’m not educated enough”
“I don’t know how to market good enough”
“I’m not experienced enough”
“I’m not connected enough”

This one was one of my personal struggles when I started doing coaching back in the day. Partly because I have a Master’s Degree in Counseling and felt so proficient, educated, credible, and established in my old industry, that when I started something new, all my insecurities came flying up to the surface. I remember telling a more seasoned coaching all the reasons I “wasn’t enough” essentially and he looked me in the eye and said, “Give up your story…YOU ARE FULLY COOKED.” It was the first time I had considered that what I brought was valuable. And so what I did was to decide then and there that I’d figure out what more I needed to add to my skill sets and then get that so I no longer had the “but-I’m-not-enough-cuz-I-was-just-a-therapist-and-didn’t-have-a-corporate-background” crap I had been telling myself.

(The funniest part? The thing that I was feeling my “not enough-ness” around is the thing today that makes me the most unique and is what allows me to command good money for my expertise. How crazy is that!)

When I work with my clients, one of my joys is finding those places where they don’t own their value and then turn it in to the pearl that makes them unique.

The trick here, like all the other mindset traps is to first become aware of your story. Next, do the Byron Katie work or other awareness exercises to turn it around, and then “act as if” so that you begin to start breaking the patterns that keep you playing small.

I’d love to hear from you.  Post a comment or shoot me an email and let me know your mindset blocks and how this blog series has helped you.

Blessings,
Therese

Do you see how the puzzle is fitting together as we’ve worked through Traps 1 and 2?  How our mindset really does influence our outcomes and being conscious is key to business success.

How many times have you heard yourself (or someone you know) say mindset block #3 – Everyone already knows this. This little bugger is the thing that keeps your great ideas inside you, has you comparing yourself to everyone else, and has your income hitting the skids in some ways because you may be devaluing what you know. It looks like this…you get an idea for a new program or product and then talk yourself out of it because that monkey mind who reminds you that everyone has heard this before, you aren’t that much of an expert anyway, and who the heck do you think you are! Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a teensy bit, but loads of great service providers are wandering around talking themselves out of their brilliance with the crazy story that what they want to launch in the world doesn’t have value.

Are you seeing a theme here? Notice that many of the mindset blocks really boils down to the issue of undervaluing ourselves.

So how do you believe that not everyone knows what you want to teach? Do some research. You could either ask your clients, find forums or other places where your ideal clients hang out, put questions on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or the social networking sites, or notice the themes that come up as you work with people. That will show you that there are specific problems that you are an expert in solving. I’d encourage you to make a list of the things that you have expertise in solving.

Here too is where we come to the place of there not being any competition because you have your unique style. You could be presenting Anthony Robbins’ stuff word for word and put your spin on it with your personality, and it would be fresh to your listeners! But too often we don’t take into account our experiences and world view and our way of working. The key here is owning your style.

Mindset trap #4 is what keeps most of our good ideas on the shelf, and that’s the belief that it needs to be perfect. This is a tricky one because no one wants to put out schlocky work, but if this one gets hold of you, the result is that of a hamster on the wheel. I have seen so much money, talent, time and potential wasted in the quest to achieve that “just right” state, that it’s mind boggling. This may be you if you aren’t launching your ideas because you have to “get it just right” or “do some more research” or “take another training” before you are enough or your work is ready to roll out.

My “BFF” and super-coach Shawn Driscoll always tells her clients to get it 70% done and get it out. You can always tweak a bit later, but the secret here is to master your ability to self soothe when that little gremlin pops in telling you that it’s not good enough. The next key is in having accountability and hard deadlines. Announce to your list that you are creating a product. Tell them when it will be ready, and it’s even ok if you tell them it’s a “Beta” launch while you are working the kinks out. Lots of people charge a bit less for this, so there’s not the feeling that you are charging a ton and giving a less than perfect product.

I should also say it here that if you have this pattern in your business, it’s also showing up in your life…I guarantee! So keeping with George of Seinfeld and the Opposite Day theme, do something different! Go out without make up or whatever for you would represent breaking the perfection pattern. You will eventually learn that good is good enough! Of course we strive for excellence and I’m not saying to settle, but if perfection is the thing that’s costing you money because you are holding your stuff back, settle for getting it out first and then looking for improvement. And remember that it’s a process, not an event.

You don’t want to miss the final discussion about Trap 5 because most, if not all people have fallen victim to this one at least sometime in their lives.  Find out how to overcome it for good!

Blessings,
Therese