Are your blocks to success REALLY what you think they are? Part 2
Dear reader: This is the second part of a two part series on what it takes for Entrepreneurs to grow past their blocks and experience the success they desire in their business. The first part covered the I AM's of Entrepreneurship which are the creation statements for your business. Read Part 1 here.When we form a business, and for our purposes here today it means when we begin to offer our services or product for exchange whether that's for money or something else of value to you, we either intentionally or incidentally create that business with statements of intent. In my last post we covered what those statements are: the I AM's of Entrepreneurship.I've discovered it's important to be aware of the I AM's because just identifying them will point pretty quickly to where we have blocks to creating the success we want for ourselves and our business. As I said in the last post:[box]
The blocks to our success are often not what we think they are.
We often think that our success and our business growth are a function of the technical aspects of running our business. The marketing, the message, the customer definition, the sales, the brand, the systems, the product launch, the website, the size of our email list.
But they are not.
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Our blocks are actually beliefs we hold in relation to the three I AM's of Entrepreneurship:
- I am an exceptional (state your purpose or calling here).
- I am an exceptional business leader and business grower.
- I am an exceptional attractor, creator and manifestor of money, opportunities and abundance.
When you experience challenges to achieving the success or accomplishments you desire for your business, it is because you have limiting beliefs around one or more of these statements.If you are experiencing challenges with making money, attracting clients, growing your business, having people understand what you offer or how you help then you have a limiting belief that is often the cause of the challenge.Here's what I've discovered.
Knowing the Blocks to Intent
I use the word blocks as a handy all-purpose word for beliefs that limit us. A belief is something we accept as true. Often the beliefs that hold us back are beliefs that we hold about ourselves or about things we are involved with, like business.Most beliefs go hand-in-hand with emotions and judgements. Limiting beliefs go hand in hand with emotions that are often painful or uncomfortable. As a result, we create a fear or stress response in our body so we do everything we can to avoid or prevent those feelings.Here's an example:[box]I love what I do and I love helping people. I want to grow my business and my revenue but I'm terrible at marketing and sales.Limiting belief: I'm terrible and marketing and sales.That belief could carry with it feelings of inadequacy, failure, helplessness, injustice, limitation, unworthiness and more.We don't want to experience those feelings so we avoid them. And often perpetuate the problem or situation we are trying to grow out of, in this instance growing our business.[/box]I've broken blocks down into three basics types:
- Conscious Blocks
- Subsconcious Blocks
- Spiritual or Soul Blocks
Conscious Blocks we know well. They are the limiting beliefs or fears that we know about. We literally feel afraid. We want to avoid or run away from things that relate to or trigger our conscious blocks.
For instance, many of my clients (and some friends) have blocks to or with technology. It seems to trigger fears of inadequacy or helplessness, but the blocks around technology can be related to any number of other fears. As a result they go to great lengths to avoid technology and then when they finally have to work on their computer they experience far more problems than most of us.One of my blocks is legitimacy. It's important for me to be perceived as legitimate. Another way to see that expressed is not wanting to seem silly or like I don't have the answers. I know this belief is present when making choices in business. We've gone head to head many times.Conscious blocks were formed when we experienced something in life that didn't feel so good and we 'programmed' ourselves to recognize that thing or feeling as dangerous so we stay away from situations that remind us of that feeling.In most instances once we acknowledge and see the block and related fear, we are then able to make a new choice about how to react in a situation.Big lesson: with conscious blocks get really clear about them, be truly and fully aware of them and take responsibility for them. Then make a new choice and take a new action, inspite of the apprehension.
Subconscious blocks are hidden beliefs and fears. These are tricky. For whatever reason, we've buried our awareness of the limiting belief or fear and the only way we can see these blocks is by paying close attention to our life.
As an example let's take a look at my money blocks. I knew I had money blocks. It was showing up clear as day in my life. I could make money, but only just enough to get buy. It wasn't a matter of knowing or understanding my worth because I could ask for respectable retainers or large project fees but it never seemed to be enough to cover more than just the basics. My conscious beliefs said that I was worth it. I just couldn't figure out what was going on.It wasn't until I started looking elsewhere that I found (at least some of them!) my subconscious beliefs about money. I started looking at how I was raised and what it was like growing up. What did I learn from my parents? I looked to my mom and dad for their beliefs and behaviors with money.It didn't take too long to discover these beliefs:
- Money had to be earned by working hard - and if you weren't earning it then you clearly weren't working hard enough (big judgement and failure messages)
- People with little money worked harder to get what they wanted so they were actually better than those who didn't
- Not having everything you want makes you stronger (again better than others)
- Having more money than others, especially more than those from where you came, is shameful and alienates you
None of the thoughts running through my head and none of my stated beliefs had anything to do with any of those statements.Once I saw these beliefs in my family and allowed that it could be possible that they were something I took on, I was able to be more aware of myself and what I thought or the choices I made.Big lesson: look for subconscious blocks when you can't figure out why a certain something is not working like you want it to in your business and life.
Spiritual or Soul Blocks are blocks that your soul is carrying and remembering from past lives. They often show up with profound emotion, they feel heavier and often have more 'staying' power than conscious or subconscious blocks.
Spiritual blocks will show up as conscious or subconscious blocks but they will feel stronger or heavier emotionally. I have found spiritual blocks to be blocks that are consistently recurring in my life even though I've done what I can to face, address or release the fear.I think it's important to be aware of Spiritual blocks because knowing they exist makes all the difference to releasing them. Knowing they are more than conscious or subsconsious blocks that we've created in this lifetime allows us to have a broader awareness for releasing them. If I recognize that my fear of speaking my voice without fear of retribution or without fear of not being heard or respected is in fact a Spiritual block, I can honor it and intend for it to release and ask my Soul and Spirit to release or heal that block.Big lesson: spiritual or soul blocks do exists and sometimes this really helps explain why some of our blocks and fears feel bigger than they should, or more intense or longer lasting than seem reasonable.
Let's tie it all together
- Whether we realize it or not, we have creation statements which bring our business into being.
- Each of these statements reflect a measure of intention for three district areas for our business success.
- Our individual capacity to live into these statements freely and expansively supports our business success and accomplishment.
- When we have blocks in relation to these statements of intent we can see that reflected in our business, often in ways that are limiting and constrictive.
- The blocks can be conscious, subconscious or spiritual. Knowing which one helps you know where to look for it and how to go about releasing it.