One of the tremendous benefits to the quickly growing alliance of business women over at Women Who WOW is the REAL TALK that goes on within our borders. Unpolished, unedited, uncensored talk that pertains to our business, our profit, and our life. The hard truth is that business isn’t easy. It can (and should) be simple, but it isn’t easy. Even the periods of high profit and growth can be overwhelming and stressful. I wrote this week about the “law of attraction” and I’ve written several times about “mindset” stuff…. but this article is for when THESE THINGS, THESE POWERFUL TOOLS that everyone talks about don’t seem to be working…. for you.
You’re journaling about what you want.
You’re speaking blessing over your business.
You have a detailed vision board.
Yet, things really aren’t changing that much. It still feels UP and DOWN, HIT or MISS for you. Despite how long you’ve been in business, you may still be suffering from “feast or famine.” (Not necessary, by the way.) Still, you KNOW there’s something to this “manifesting” or “visioneering” or positive self-talk. So, what gives?
Quick story: When I was in college, I got locked out of my house. Fortunately for me, I knew how to get in using a credit card as a thin “wedge” that would essentially allow me to pick the lock…. which is exactly what I did. Unfortunately, the credit card was damaged in the process and never worked as a credit card again.
It was the misuse of this card that quickly took away its effectiveness. I believe the same principle of misuse is at work in our minds and mouths, when it comes to business and success.
We know how our minds and mouths SHOULD work, and we often use them correctly. We write down what we WANT to create in our business. We even write them — as we’re told — in the present tense. We use our minds to envision a desired future, elaborating mentally on what we are truly creating. All of this is great.
But, if you’re like me… the POWER God gives us with the tools of our minds and mouths can often suffer due to misuse. It can look like this:
- You journal every morning about what you’ll create, but shut the journal, pick up the phone and complain to a friend about how afraid you are about money issues.
- You speak positively of your business in public, but in private you complain bitterly about your clients. (They suck, they’re needy, they don’t pay, etc.)
- You decide to be generous, open, giving… but then you see something fun going on in your industry and you immediately get frustrated, “That should have been me! Why didn’t she let ME do that?” (NOTHING kills success like the ugly green beast of jealousy!!)
- You say the right things but allow your mind to spiral into patterns that are cynical, bitter, fearful.
- You KNOW you’re up to huge things in this life, but are willing to misuse your mind AND mouth on things like gossip, being rude, and just plain ‘ol talking about people.
Bottom line: Your mind and your mouth are like my credit card in college, but with FAR MORE profit potential, lol…. MIND them. MASTER them. Take EACH thought captive… THINK about what you’re thinking about, and talking about. And look for areas of daily “misuse” that may be reducing the effectiveness of your MIND and MOUTH to create ultimate success.
Fresh water and salt water can’t come out of the same spring. So, choose. Don’t do the mindset work in the morning and be haphazard about how you use your mind and words throughout the rest of the day. It MATTERS. And it may just be the secret to YOUR next big leap in business.
