Posts Tagged ‘motivation’

Are you turning your business building into Mission Impossible?

Friday, July 30th, 2010

My dog RedWhen I was around 8, I use to watch Mission Impossible with my father and brother. I think that’s when I became addicted to mysteries, spy stories and thrillers. At the time I thought accepting any of Mr. Phelps’ missions would be so much more interesting than my 8-year old life so who wouldn’t say yes? And besides it all worked out right in the end, yes?

Mission Impossible was all about getting the ‘bad guys’ to think they were in some situation that they weren’t and then tripping themselves up and giving away the MacGuffin, as Alfred Hitchcock called it. This show must of had a bigger impact on me than I thought because it is the premise of my work, only in reverse, sort of.

I get the ‘good guys’ to ‘untrip’ themselves and keep the MacGuffin; actually they get to do something that is far more important: they get to create internal congruence which creates a powerful clarity and focus that drives the expression of their authentic selves and the sharing of their gifts through their business. And as a result they attain their financial desires.

When I asked if you were turning your business building into Mission Impossible, I really meant it. Is the reality you’ve created for yourself in your business tripping you up and keeping you playing small? Do you find yourself resisting connecting with clients or prospects or resist offering your services for a fair exchange of money (aka, selling)?

Just like in Mission Impossible you are responding to what you think is true in your world and what you think is true has everything to do with what you believe and the judgments you make as a result of those beliefs. Opening up space to see, hear and feel your world differently is one of the first steps to restructuring your beliefs into ones that support and empower you.

Try this short exercise and see how it opens your perspective and how that shifts how you feel and think.

Think of a particular issue you are currently having in your business. Something specific, a relationship that needs attention or a task or decision you’ve been putting off. Think of three mentors that could help you with this issue. The mentors can be human or non-human, imaginary or real, current with you in time or from some other time.

Place them around you in an imaginary circle. Tell the first mentor what the issue is, out loud. Ask for the assistance you want. Now step into the space theĀ  first mentor occupies and turn to face where you were standing. Assume the identity of the mentor by standing as they would stand, observing as they would observe, listening as they would listen. Hear the statement of the issue and respond as the mentor would.

Then return to the physical position that represents you and listen to the mentor’s response. If you want to clarify something or ask another question, repeat the process. When you are done with this mentor, repeat the process for each of the other two mentors.

Now you have four perspectives on your issue. Four suggestions about how to go about resolving the issue (and probably even more information). Choose an approach or mix and match and decide what your next action will be and by when you will act.

Let me know how it goes at drlik@beliefbreakthrough.com

If you are ready for your free “Breakthrough Marketing Phobia” Session then contact me at drlik@beliefbreakthrough.com

Motivation and Will Power

Monday, July 26th, 2010

A new perspective on what really gets you fired upCalifornia Poppies

When we lack motivation, what we think we need more of is will power. That if we were truly good at what we do (and by inference truly good human beings) we would have the will power to create all the motivation we need for whatever we want.

Having these thoughts can cause you a lot of anguish and that anguish only fuels the fires of de-motivation. Let’s look at this from another perspective that can help you decipher what is really happening to your motivation.

More will power does not equal more motivation

First, let go of the notion that more will power gets you more motivation. Will power is actually a result of super motivation. What looks like will power to the rest of us is only a highly congruent and motivated person’s mode of behaving. I say “only” because once you are in that highly congruent state (all fibers of your being want what you are going for), you easily and naturally act in a way that is judged to have a lot of will power.

Second, your abundance or lack of motivation is an indicator of your internal state: what you believe, who you think you are and your values. When you believe you are capable and deserving of what you want, that a person like you can achieve that want and that the want supports your values, you are congruent. The internal congruency will provide all the motivation you need to get you what you want.

When there are limiting beliefs like: I don’t have what it takes; this is too hard; I’m too ______ (fill in the blank); I could never ________; I never get what I want; work is hard; I’m not good enough; you have to work hard for money; it’s a jungle out there; just to name a few, these beliefs filter how we see the world, what we think we are capable of and what we think is possible. They touch and color every aspect of our lives creating the experience we call reality. Empowering beliefs do the same on the positive side making it possible for each of us to do things that amaze us and those around us.

If your beliefs don’t support you, you can forget motivation

What is important when it comes to motivation is whether the beliefs we hold are supporting us getting what we want or hindering us. When our beliefs support us or in other words are congruent with what we want, the motivation is automatically there. We don’t have to manufacture it or the will power to get what we want.

So what is happening when I can’t motivate myself to get new clients?

Now let’s bring this into specifics about how your motivation is affecting attracting the ideal clients for you. And let’s further focus on “not having enough motivation.” We easily distract ourselves with tasks that seem to be important, we don’t have the energy to do what we know we need to do and at the end of the day, week, month we are no closer to our goal of ‘x’ new clients (even one new one would be nice).

Ask yourself the question: “Who would I have to be to attract the clients I want?” What is the image that comes to mind? Or the words or feelings? These are the beliefs (or clues to the beliefs) you hold about what is possible for you and your business. Next ask: “If I were that person (or had that trait), what would that mean?” Keep asking these questions of yourself until you turn up some “aha’s.” Write them down.

These two questions: who would I be and what would that mean, get at the heart of our beliefs and the value judgments we make from those beliefs. When the value judgment does not match with our values we have an internal incongruity and moving forward in that place of incongruity ranges from a little bit difficult to impossible. These questions also point to us to our view of the world. A implies B; given A we must get B.

The magic is in your “hands”

Here is the magic. The set of beliefs you find is only one set that can be arrived at from the experiences you’ve had. The set of value judgments are only one set of judgments that can be made from that set of beliefs. There are many, many different ways to generate a set of beliefs and value judgments out of a set of experiences all with varying degrees of creating congruity. We are not stuck with the single version of reality that we’ve created. What I believe, is that the world is flexible enough and each of us is creative enough that we can generate the beliefs that support our values and spur us on to the action that gets us what we truly desire. Decide what you want to believe in and watch level of your motivation and business, rise.

Send me an email at drlik@beliefbreakthrough.com and let me know what your aha’s are.