I find it quite interesting that so many entrepreneurs don’t know a single thing about how their very own bodies are programmed to behave. And if this comes off as too “preachy”, I’m writing this article for the past version of myself.
When I was building my first business, it was a struggle.
I constantly procrastinated, jumped from idea to idea, lacked the confidence, was filled with limiting beliefs, and quite frankly; if it wasn’t for my dedicated and supportive mastermind group and mentors; I would have probably given up a long time ago.
After spending years struggling with procrastination and lack of confidence, and seeing countless other entrepreneurs do the same; from May 2014 until present date, I decided to commit my life to understanding how to influence and manipulate human behavior.
And I’m not talking about influencing others.
I’m talking about influencing yourself.
Thoughts precede actions, and actions precede results. So when you learn how to manipulate your own body to take the actions you need to take, you will get the results that are destined to follow.
- The old way of doing things: Pushing through the pain with brute force.
- The new way of doing things: Releasing the emotional blockages and step up to your next level with ease.
A mentor of mine who makes tens of millions of dollars per year with his business once told me “If you want to be successful in business, you have to learn NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming).”
NLP (in quick summary) is learning exactly how the human mind and body is programmed to behave. If you want to learn how you behave (personal development), or how others behave (sales/marketing), NLP is the starting point that got me to where I am in business today.
So I learned it, and this is what I have to share with you…
Limitless Motivation
First off, I want to point out one key difference between feeling inspired, feeling motivated, and actually getting yourself in the physiological state which results in you taking action. Can you see the difference?
Perhaps in the past you’ve spent your time watching motivational videos, reading inspirational quotes, and other things that give you feel-good emotions. After you do this, you claim to yourself “I’m really motivated!!!”
And then what happens?
You don’t put your head down, grind it out, and hustle in a way that is getting you results. A lot of these things (including reading books) release dopamine in your brain, you get this good feeling, and a sense of artificial accomplishment.
But seldom does it lead to sustained meaningful actions.
You feel good and you remain stuck in place. The worst part is that you feel accomplished. It’s kind of like a drug, isn’t it?
The killer here is comfort. The thoughts of tasks you need to complete on your business (or the failure/rejection you might face) is currently more painful than staying where you are. This is where you have to make staying the same more painful than jumping into the pit of snakes (metaphorically speaking).
This is what I did: I wrote a $100 check to my roommates and said I had to complete one specific task by the end of the day today or else they get to cash it. When I complete my task, it’s handed back to me. All of a sudden, procrastinating was more painful than taking action. They had the check, so it was out of my control, and I was forced to succeed.
Another reason we procrastinate is because we are overwhelmed.
When I was writing my book, I had at least 20 different chapters, with a few topics in each chapter, a cover to design, an amazon listing to write, and the list goes on. To avoid the pain of completing each task, I began planning.
Planners Are the Best Procrastinators.
The problem with this is when you list out all the things you have to do, the emotions build up, and you feel overwhelmed. The solution to this is to chunk down your larger tasks into one actionable step, and write that accountability check.
If you’re part of any entrepreneur forums or groups, you’ll easily find other people who are in the same shoes as you. Start a 3 or 4 person Skype accountability chat, and write those checks (or use a website such as Stickk.com for accountability goals).
The final thing when it comes to procrastination is that you think of the uncomfortable task (with the negative emotions attached to that thought), instead of the immediate thought of the positive result. Rather thank thinking of the heavy lifting you have to do at the gym, immediately replace the thought of going to the gym with the picture of you having the muscles you want to have this upcoming summer. This thought process allows you to take that next step forward with ease.
All of a sudden, when you think of the things you need to do, you get the positive emotional response, and you no longer avoid those tasks you used to avoid. And you begin experiencing results. Small at first, but they are surely going to build up.
Whatever you do, you want to make sure that whatever emotions it takes to get you to actually take action are filling your body. And in many cases, it’s not the feel-good emotions of seeing people fly around in private jets on YouTube. It’s the fear of your friends cashing that $100 check that you’re about to lose out on.
Which emotions drive you to actually do the things that you need to do in order to grow your business?
Overcoming Your Fears
When you really come to understand it, what are fears?
- Thoughts, which lead to,
- Unwanted emotions (fear).
So when you learn how to shift your thoughts (or the emotions attached to these thoughts), the fear is gone. I’ll give you a practical example with a client that I just worked with:
– The young man started a web-design business helping re-shape websites of small business owners. The only problem is that he had a fear of cold calling. Whenever he thought about making a cold call, his body would fill up with emotions which left him stuck in place.
Once again, it’s really simple:
- Thoughts, with,
- Emotions
What most people don’t know is that thoughts are actually pictures in your imagination. When I had him think about his worst fear if he makes a cold call, he said he pictured himself rejected and feeling embarrassed.
In his mind, that picture was big, life-sized, and he was fully associated in the picture (looking through his own eyes). In psychology, these traits about that internal picture result in a heavy emotional response.
What I had him do was, to imagine himself floating outside of his body, and see his reflection in a small postcard-sized picture of being embarrassed. The emotions went from a 10/10 down to an 8/10. When your problems are small in your mind and you’re disassociated, the emotions naturally go down.
Then I had him use an emotional release technique called The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to quickly release the unwanted emotion from that thought. The emotions were gone, and he no longer felt the embarrassment if he was rejected.
After years of struggling, that fear was 100% gone, and he made his first 3 cold calls that very same day, reporting that he was no longer afraid. The whole process only took about 10 minutes and our session was over.
That is how quickly many of these problems can be released from your life if you learn to understand how your mind and emotions are programmed to behave.
But most people don’t take the time to learn this…
As I mentioned earlier, I used to suffer from these things for years before I finally dedicated my time and efforts to fully understanding how I am programmed to behave (at a mental, emotional, and spiritual level).
As my free gift to you to help you jumpstart your personal development journey as an entrepreneur, I created a video training program to help you release a lot of the negative emotions that prevent you from doing the things which lead you to the results you want to have. The free video program can be found at www.EvolutionLimitless.com
When you combine the practical skills you get experience with in entrepreneurship, with the personal development that you go through at the same time, you are now in full control of where your life goes, because you are in control of your actions and your results.
