Today I am talking to Certified Core Belief Engineering Practitioner, Megan O’Neill who works with entrepreneurs and small business owners about their mindset and their relationships with their spouse, clients and even money.
What is mindset?
Mindset is a system of beliefs. It is what you believe, and what you believe creates your reality. Think of it as the lenses through which you see the world. If you have clean, fresh glasses through which to see life then your overall view of things is going to be clearer and better.
How do beliefs impact us?
We all have different beliefs that impact us in different ways. With entrepreneurship, one area of beliefs that affects us has to do with visibility – whether that is public speaking, networking or putting something on Facebook for fear that they will be seen as a fraud.
Women entrepreneurs in particular suffer from a fear of looking foolish or as a failure and that is a block to success. It is these blocking beliefs that stop us from fulfilling our personal and business goals.
Where do your beliefs come from?
Oftentimes this block comes from their childhood. We are born with innate beliefs that are pure and uninfluenced. Our beliefs then start to form through our contact with our parents, school, etc.
What are common blocking beliefs for entrepreneurs?
There are many blocking beliefs that can impact an entrepreneur, but here are some:
1) Charging your worth – a lot of women hesitate to charge their rate or hesitate to invoice their clients and end up doing a lot of work for too little money. They are afraid what their clients will think once they send that invoice.
2) Visibility - as mentioned above, entrepreneurs often hesitate to put themselves out there and promote themselves. For example, if your parents told you to be modest and not talk about yourself then as an adult you will be hesitant to talk about yourself – even though it is necessary to talk about yourself when marketing and promoting your business. This belief needs to be changed in order to be successful in business.
3) Fear of failure - This is commonly around the word “expert”. No one wants to use the word “expert” because they feel like a fraud.
A lot of entrepreneurs struggle with their beliefs around success. Success with women often seems to have a negative connotation associated with being ruthless, selfish and not have enough time for their children and spouse – even though this is not the case at all.
So, even though a woman wants to make more money and bring their business to the next level, they fear doing so because of the negative connotations associated with success. These beliefs have no value and are often not real. Megan works with people to show people how these beliefs are affecting their life and business and that once you work through these beliefs you will be able to grow your business and make more money.
How do you recognize that you have blocking beliefs?
Often times an outside person points it out, such as a business coach or mastermind group who instruct someone to do something, but the person hesitates to do it or perhaps it comes to pay bills and see there is nothing in their bank account.
When we feel embarrassment or uncomfortable we consciously know we are feeling this and sometimes we begin to question why we are feeling this way.
If there are steps an entrepreneur is supposed to take, but can’t for some illogical reason then they have blocking beliefs. If the roadmap to success is right before them, but they delay doing it, then it has nothing to do with laziness or being too busy, and it more than likely has to do with a belief.
Are beliefs changeable?
Absolutely. We change our beliefs all the time, but the bigger beliefs are harder to change. A CBE practitioner gets clients to see where their beliefs are and become aware of their beliefs; their blindspots. This recognition is invaluable. Once you have this you can work with them, move forward and create new beliefs.
Those who have trouble changing these beliefs are the ones Megan works with. Megan digs deep, deep, deep into a person’s subconscious to see what is impacting your beliefs.
We all have different beliefs, but when these beliefs prevent you from achieving the business you have always wanted then it may be time to work through those beliefs.