The last few weeks we discussed 3 key tools for a productive business mindset.  And as you implement these ideas into your business, you can notice how that mindset is making you more productive and therefore growing your business.

In this next series we thought we’d take a look at what motivates you to be productive at the business you’ve chosen.  We recognize the importance of passion in your business and know that owning and running your own business is too much work to do it for the wrong reasons.  

So let’s take a look at the purpose behind all this effort as we examine 3 Mindset Tools for Putting Your Purpose in Your Business.

1.  Your Primary Aim or the Reason You Get Out of Bed to Answer all those Emails.

In Michael Gerber’s powerful book, “The E-Myth Revisited”, he describes your primary aim as the answer to the questions Who do I wish to be? and What do I want my life to look like?  In a sense he is asking you to look at what do you really want in your life and to make sure that your business is congruent with that vision.  That your business is there to support your life, not the other way around.  Your primary aim will help you define your values in your business.  

Now money can be your primary aim.  As you’ve probably heard money does not buy you happiness, but it does make you a little more comfortable along the way.  If you dug deeper you would probably discover that money is a stand in for something else, a lifestyle, a certain level of security or even a source of self-esteem.  What we are suggesting is that you replace the word money with what you really want.

Knowing what your primary aim is allows you to approach your business in an entirely different way.  When you come across difficulties in your business you begin to welcome the challenge, instead of becoming overwhelmed by all of your problems.

2.  Directional Motivation or Are You Moving Towards Your Inspiration or Away From Your Discomfort?

Becoming clear on your primary aim puts your business into perspective and you can begin to look at the actions you are taking and why you are taking them.  Do you lie in bed thinking about what you get to do today and get excited or do you lie in bed thinking about what you have to do and want to pull the covers over your head?

We are primarily motivated in one of two directions – towards inspiration or away from discomfort.  Each has its purpose and if oriented correctly then motivation is not an issue.  Let’s take a look at each one and see how it operates.

When we are primarily motivated by discomfort, then the further away from the source of the pain or discomfort we get, the less motivated we are.  The more comfortable we are, the less motivated we are.  So we get inconsistent results, in our work or business, in our health and in our relationships.
 
Inspiration motivated people are those self-motivated, ambitious, forward thinking self-starters.  The closer they get to achieving their vision, the better they feel and therefore they enjoy getting things done.

This does not mean that all discomfort motivation is bad.  This type of motivation is important for recognizing and solving problems.  Safety inspectors are motivated by discomfort.  You wouldn’t want a police officer visualizing a crime free neighborhood.  You want your neighborhood police focused on what is wrong and out of place in order to prevent crime.

However, most of us are not in charge of safety inspection or crime prevention.  Most of us want something more from our businesses than we are getting.  Knowing how you are motivated to take action in your business will help you create more consistent results and therefore grow your business.

3.  Visualization or Is Seeing Really Believing?

Visualization is a powerful tool for growth and change in your life.  But many do not understand how it works and therefore don’t utilize it to it’s fullest.  The easiest way to understand the effect visualization has on your actions is to examine the common phrase “I just can’t see myself doing that.”

Usually this phrase is used in reference to some activity that you feel you can’t do.  Maybe it’s bunging jumping, or climbing a mountain or even making a million dollars.  You can’t see yourself doing it.  Therefore it feels impossible.

However, if you could see it, if you could see yourself bungee jumping or making a million dollars then it feels very possible.  And when something feels very possible then it is easy to take action on that idea.

Visualization is the key to “seeing” yourself doing something.  I once worked with an Olympic level athlete and he had trouble seeing himself winning the race he was training for.  He could see himself in the finals, but not on the podium.  When we worked with that picture and made it possible for him to see himself standing on the podium receiving the gold medal, then suddenly his attitude towards his training changed.  He began to let go of all the distractions and became much more focused.  Because he could see that outcome it suddenly felt possible and therefore his actions began to reflect that.

What goal do you have trouble seeing?  How can you change the picture to see yourself already having what you want?  Are you ready to take some action?

Get Motivated and Get It Done

 

Do you agonize getting started on a project?  Do you dig through the mess on your desk because you’ve never been able to motivate yourself to clean it?  Do you procrastinate what is most important to you?  Then you probably have a motivation strategy based on discomfort and pain. 

We are motivated in two primary directions:  away from discomfort or towards inspiration; and the direction determines how effective we are at getting things done.  When we are motivated away from pain, discomfort or stress, then we don’t do anything until we feel uncomfortable and can’t stand the present situation.  When we are motivated toward pleasure, passion and inspiration, then we can’t wait to get up in the morning and move closer to our goals.

Why is this important to understand?  When we are primarily motivated by discomfort, then the further away from the source of the pain or discomfort we get, the less motivated we are.  The more comfortable we are, the less motivated we are.  So we get inconsistent results, in our work or business, in our health and in our relationships. 

Inspiration motivated people are those self-motivated, ambitious, forward thinking self-starters.  The closer they get to achieving their vision, the better they feel and therefore they enjoy getting things done.

This does not mean that all discomfort motivation is bad.  This type of motivation is important for recognizing and solving problems.  Safety inspectors are motivated by discomfort.  You wouldn’t want a police officer visualizing a crime free neighborhood.  You want your neighborhood police focused on what is wrong and out of place in order to prevent crime.

However, most of us are not in charge of safety inspection or crime prevention.  Most of us want something more from our lives than we are getting.  We want better health, more fulfilling relationships, or more money (some of us desire all three).  Yet we can’t seem to commit to the action necessary to make it happen.

So, how do we make the shift from discomfort to inspiration? 

1.  The first step is to create a vision of where we are going.  Imagine getting in the car and making decisions on which direction to turn based on what would make you most comfortable.  You would probably end up avoiding traffic and/or stop signs and traffic signals.  Maybe a nice drive down an empty country road with beautiful scenery.  Would that get you to work each day?

Now, when you know your destination, you take the most direct route, sometimes having to sit in some traffic or drive though areas with less than ideal scenery.  You put up with the minor inconvenience because getting to your destination is important to you.

So take some time to write down what you want and what it will look like when you get there.  Do you see yourself thinner, with more energy, maybe smiling as you look in the mirror?  Make the picture as clear, bright and in focus as possible.  See yourself having completed your goal.  You can even create a vision board with pictures that remind you of your goal.  Focus on it daily.

2.  The next step is focusing on how it will feel to complete the task.  In M. Scott Peck’s book, “The Road Less Traveled”, he opens the book with a simple sentence:  “Life is difficult.”  The sooner we accept this fact, the easier life becomes.  When we accept that life is difficult, then we can let go of our resistance to this fact and begin to focus on how we feel when we overcome the difficult moments. 

When we seek comfort without dealing with our challenges, we never fully enjoy those moments.  We usually feel guilty for avoiding something or we don’t fully enjoy the moment because we have the unfinished task hanging over us.  Instead delay your gratification, take care of what needs to be done and focus on how it will feel when you are done.  You will be rewarded for your perseverance.

So, after visualizing your scene, notice how it feels to have achieved your goal.  Really feel those feelings as you focus on the picture.  When you feel resistance, shift your focus and feel that feeling of completion.

3.  The third step is to use kind language toward yourself.  Take a moment and think of a critical person from your past, maybe a parent, teacher or friend.  Hear their negative criticism of you and your actions.  Does that make you feel good?  Do you feel motivated or is your inner child rebelling? 

Most of us talk to ourselves the way this critical person in our life did.  All of this criticism creates more stress and more negative self-talk and leads to us feeling bad and seeking relief.  Fear can motivate us, but there is a cost to our physical and mental well being.

Try this instead.  Say to yourself “It will be really nice when . . . “ and then notice how you feel.  Create and repeat affirmations.  It is especially useful to do this while looking in the mirror.  The more we are nice to ourselves and are non-judgmental of our faults, the more we will feel like taking action to improve our situation.

The good news is that we can all learn to let go of old patterns, learn how to use positive feelings, speak to ourselves in a nice voice and see how our vision will look when it is completed.  And enjoy the rewards of right action. 

If you want even more help getting things done, you can check our hypnosis mp3 program "Yes, I Can!".  It is designed to support you in getting all of your goals, both large and small, checked off your To-Do list so that you can enjoy your life even more.  Just click the link to read more about it.

Getting in the Flow of Abundance

 

When money struggles are causing stress in your life, it can be difficult to feel abundant.  As you watch your bank account dwindle, it becomes the evidence of your problem and you begin to feel that pinch in your budget.  What you don’t realize is that the way out of this constriction is to change how you feel about your shrinking savings.  When you get in the flow of abundance then you get into alignment with what you desire and the money starts to flow again.  This process works in any economic environment.

 

I learned a great lesson about how people do this when I was working with a client who had a spending addiction.  This client was falling farther into debt because he couldn’t control his spending.  He found himself buying things on the internet on impulse and when they arrived at his home he was no longer interested in what he bought.  He had a closet full of items that hadn’t even come out of the box.

 

What was really interesting about the way he described his problem was that it felt so good to buy things.  In fact the rush he received from buying things was more powerful than actually owning and using what he bought.  And I began to realize that most people have a version of that endorphin rush when they buy items that they desire. 

 

This new idea came full circle when I was listening to Ester Hicks/Abraham talking about how to get in the flow of abundance.  She was describing a game you can play to make you feel like you can have anything you desire and that by feeling that, the universe will make it happen for you.  You see the problem most people have is that when they think about the things they want they feel their lack and in feeling that lack they reinforce their struggle.  By getting into the flow of feeling that abundance you can allow it to bring you what you desire. 

 

Listening to this I remembered my client and the good feelings he got from buying things online.  I began to realize that you can get those feelings without piling up the debt.  And by feeling those good feelings you begin to open up the flow of abundance in your life.  So, here is a great game you can play that will allow you to feel like you already have everything you desire and give you the endorphin rush of buying things-all without actually spending a penny.

 

I like to do this on a spreadsheet but you can create it on graph paper or even buy a ledger from the store.  The first day you start with a thousand dollars.  Before that day is up you “spend” that thousand dollars on whatever you want.  You can buy things you want, experiences, pay off bills, whatever would make you feel good.  Keep a detailed list of each thing you buy and how much it costs and make sure to spend all of the thousand dollars.  I do most of my “shopping” for these items on the internet but if you want to go to the store and mark down the price of what you want that works just as well.

 

On the second day and each subsequent day you add a thousand dollars to your bank.  Day 2 - $2000 thousand dollars.  Day 3 - $3000 dollars.  Day 25 - $25,000 etc.  Ideally you want to do this for a whole year.  You’ll be surprised by how quickly you run out of “things” to buy and start buying experiences or donating money or buying gifts for your family.  My fiancé and I put her two nieces through college. 

 

After a few weeks you will begin to really feel abundant in your life.  When I see items I “purchased” in the game in my daily life I no longer feel that pang of desire.  Instead I feel like I already own it and that feels really good.  So get started creating a mindset of abundance and notice how it changes how you feel and therefore what you receive in your life.

 

If you want to speed up this feeling you can check out our hypnosis mp3 download “Get in the Flow” and create that subconscious feeling of connection to the universe and create the life you most desire.