From experience, I’ve learned that beliefs will either be your winning formula or what keeps you stuck and delay success as you take on a passion-led business.

In this chapter, you’ll connect with your beliefs: what you feel you deserve or don’t deserve, your stories, fears and mindset to identify those that are limiting you and rewrite or neutralize them.

A belief is just a thought you keep thinking and hold as a truth—hold as your reality. The belief can be created through a lived experience, what you were taught as a younger person or from your moral compass. Consider each is a lens you use in life to make decisions and perceive your reality.

That said, they can be changed or neutralized, even without physical proof. A limiting belief will hold you back from becoming and expressing your true self. Here is the most important thing: as you connect with limiting beliefs, pause the judgement or the desire to understand where they came from. You don’t need to analyze them. In fact, the more attention you give to them the more they’ll stick around.

Rewriting and rewiring your beliefs is straightforward and easy, but may need you to be persistent, especially the deeply ingrained beliefs you’ve lived by for a long time.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”

— Eleanor Roosevelt

Belief rewriting prompts

What are your beliefs around the following topics:

Dieting, intimate relationships, money, education, government, business, media, crime, dogs/cats, doctors, pharmaceuticals, the homeless, religion, sleep, debt, parenting, cancer, wildfires, scuba diving, deforestation, sunscreen
Your weight, your wardrobe, your success, your career, your family, your posture, your athleticism, your relationship with a parent, your finances, your face, your personality, your moods, your neighbor, your pet, your ability to get what you want, your deservability, your capability, your value, your intelligence, your skills

Steps to rewriting limiting beliefs

Neutralizing limiting beliefs is crucial for starting and growing a business you love. Note that this is an ongoing process you should refer back to whenever you sense a limiting belief is in the way of your progress or success. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you identify and overcome these beliefs:

Seek Support: Surround yourself with positive, supportive people who believe in your vision. This could be friends, family, mentors, or networking groups. Consider working with a coach or therapist who can help you identify and work through limiting beliefs.
Educate Yourself: Increase your knowledge and skills related to your business. This can help you feel more prepared and confident, reducing the power of limiting beliefs. Attend workshops, read books, take online courses, and learn from others in your field.
Take Action: Start taking steps towards your business goals, even if they’re small. Action is a powerful antidote to fear and doubt. Embrace a growth mindset and view challenges and setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow.
Practice Self-Compassion: Be kind to yourself and recognize that everyone has limiting beliefs at times. Acknowledge your feelings without judgment and remind yourself that it’s okay to have doubts. Practice self-care to maintain your mental and emotional well-being.
Reflect and Adjust: Regularly reflect on your progress and the beliefs that arise. Adjust your strategies as needed to continue moving forward. Keep a journal to track your thoughts, actions, and progress. This can help you see patterns and make adjustments as needed.

By consistently challenging and reframing negative thoughts, seeking support, and taking proactive steps, you can create a mindset that supports the successful start and growth of your business. Congratulate yourself for your awareness and conscious effort to get out of default and rewrite beliefs so they work for the life you want to live.

Identify Limiting Beliefs: Reflect on your thoughts and feelings about starting and growing your business. Common limiting beliefs include thoughts like “I’m not good enough,” “I don’t have enough resources,” or “I’m afraid of failure.” Write down any negative or limiting beliefs you identify.
Challenge Your Beliefs: Examine the evidence for and against your limiting beliefs. Ask yourself if these beliefs are based on facts or assumptions. Consider alternative perspectives and challenge the validity of these beliefs. For instance, if you think, “I’m not experienced enough,” remind yourself of your skills, achievements, and the fact that many successful entrepreneurs started with limited experience.
Reframe Negative Thoughts: Replace limiting beliefs with positive, empowering ones. Reframe “I can’t do this” to “I’m capable and can learn what I need to succeed.” Use affirmations to reinforce these new beliefs. Repeat them regularly to help shift your mindset.
Visualize Success: Visualize yourself successfully starting and growing your business. Imagine the steps you’ll take, the challenges you’ll overcome, and the success you’ll achieve. Visualization can help create a positive mindset and increase your confidence.
Set Realistic Goals: Break down your business goals into small, manageable steps. Achieving these smaller goals can help build your confidence and reinforce your new, positive beliefs. Celebrate your successes, no matter how small, to build momentum and reinforce your belief in your abilities.

Conquering the money blocks

David Bayer has a powerful episode that will help you shift any limiting beliefs around financial security. Avoid letting limiting beliefs around money and abundance prevent you from pursuing what you want to see in the world as a result of your passion-led work. Listen now:

A different spin on “Why”

You know how young children go through a phase where they ask a continuous string of why’s? And it’s very frustrating to interact with a child in the “why mode.” But they are actually teaching us a very useful tool. Here’s how to use what I call the Why Challenge.

In any particular situation, you can use this tool. It’s best done as a writing prompt, but you can also have the conversation in your head while out for a walk or watching a sunset.

Start with a topic, goal, or point of frustration. State that clearly. It can be in the form of a “want statement,” such as, “I want to finish this project,” or “I want to have more time.”

Then start the why parade. Just start asking yourself why after every statement. So it will go something like this:

I want to do better at social media for my business.

Why?

I want to make more sales and create greater awareness for my passion-led business.

Why?

I want to earn income doing what I love.

Why?

I want to have the freedom of running my own business.

Why?

I want to be the driver of what I do every day.

Why?

I want to be able to do my passion every day.

Why?

I love doing X (your passion) and want to share it with the world.

Why?

I know that when I’m doing my passion I will help/serve others and the world.

Why?

Because I am a living example of what it’s like to live a life doing what you love and helping others.

You’ll know when you’ve reached the terminus of your Why Challenge when you make a statement that resonates, touches your heart and brings to light your real purpose for why you’re doing what you’re doing.

You can do this with any goal, frustration, limiting belief, or unproductive behavior or pattern you want to end. When you get to the heart of what is really behind every desire, fear, thought or action, you can accelerate moving past it and using it to grow.