Those of you who listen to my podcast or are in my coaching groups know that this first quarter of 2019, I’ve been doing a deep dive into all things mindset. As I’ve been learning first hand, how to develop a mindset for business growth and success is a lot of work. So, let’s get to it!
I’ve set a lofty financial goal for myself, and I recognized that what got me to my current income may not be enough to get me to my next level. I needed to take a look at how I was thinking about money.
So, I’ve been doing the work on conditioning my thoughts for success, and there are a couple of coaches whose work I’ve used. First is Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach, who I’ve been a client of for six years. The second is Brooke Castillo of The Life Coach School, whom I was just recently turned onto.
What I realized a few months ago was there was a thought that was holding me back. I didn’t think my business model could build and sustain a big financial goal. Don’t get me wrong; I make an income that many people would love to have. However, I felt like I wasn’t stretching.
The irony is, it’s exactly what I help my clients do. But I always thought that if I didn’t get out and speak for a living (which I’ve never had the desire to do), that I wouldn’t be able to put together the business model to reach my goals.
Boy was I wrong!
All I needed was the goal, and then the ideas of how to get there just came to me.
Now, I’ve got the mindset in place to back it up. Moreover, because I’ve been doing all of this work, I now recognize what has been holding back some (not all) of my clients.
I used to think that mindset was 50% of the equation. I now believe that without 100% Wealthy Speaker mindset – the unequivocal belief that this is going to work – that the best marketing plan in the world will not be enough to help you achieve your goals.
Why? Because ultimately when you get on the phone with the client to close a piece of business, somewhere inside your lack of belief will be ready to shut you down. For many of you, your self-sabotage doesn’t even let you get to the point where you have a phone call with a client.
Let’s fix that!
Here are some of the common signs of a mindset malfunction:
- Rattling around in confusion
- Not taking the action that you know you need to
- Waiting until everything is perfect
- Too afraid to take a risk
- Unwilling to make a mistake
- Thinking small budgets, which get you small results
When you are making decisions, make them boldly as if you are already earning the amount of money that you have as a goal. (This is something I am now doing every day and it’s working!)
If your goal is to earn $250K a year, then ask yourself “what decisions would a $250K speaker make in this instance?” Then move forward. If you make a mistake, then you revamp and try again. If you do something that works – then you double down on that and do more of it.
Let me give you a small, very relevant mindset example from a coaching call I had today with a client who lives overseas. He’s working hard to launch his new brand to his warm clients. He booked a conversation with a prospect about an upcoming keynote, and the client was very receptive. They agreed that he would ship some books across the pond to help cinch the deal. He used four-day express.
Not bad.
BUT… the subtle difference between the $50K speaker and the $250K speaker is that they would overnight the materials. Anything that speeds things up to close this piece of business is the goal. It’s a $50 investment that will pay off in a big paycheck and is completely worth it. More importantly, the Wealthy Speaker mindset required to spend that money on a prospect is one of a speaker who has already earned the revenue.
Make sense?
If you need some help to overcome letting your mindset stunt your speaking business growth, here’s my homework for you. Think about and answer each of the questions below:
Q1. What decisions are you currently making in your business that has you thinking small? (i.e., I should have hired a VA a long time ago, I’ve put off updating my website, I need to hire a coach).
Q2. How can you raise your game and move boldly forward? What are some action steps that would put you in front of decision makers right away? (i.e., pick up the phone, send an email, attend a networking event).
My last piece of homework for you is to listen to the podcast that I did with Cheryl Cran. It will be released on Thursday, May 2nd. What I want you to notice when listening is Cheryl’s mindset around investing in her business and taking bold actions – I think you’re going to find that she’s got the Wealthy Speaker Mindset down cold and it’s paying off in spades.
And this is why I sign off everything:
See you soon Wealthy Speakers!
