Turn your self-doubt into strength

Frequently, new business owners feel shy about their work, ability or credentials. This happens a lot more often than you may think. Many people lack confidence due to some inadequacy they feel, which prevents them from measuring up. I can’t tell you how many of my CABS students share this sort of concern with me.

Whatever your reason for not going for it, I don’t want these ideas to hold you back. The fear that your inadequacy causes can stop you from taking the steps you need to have the success you desire. That makes me sad because you are here on this earth to share yourself with the world.

I’ve heard how people worry about the following:
• Lack of education
• Not enough years of experience
• No diploma
• Not enough credentials
• Too old
• Too young

To be completely transparent, I had a couple of similar thoughts myself back when I started. Self-doubt is something we all deal with at some point.

These concerns stem from your mindset, so the good news is you can do something about it! Most often, the answer is not to get more education or change anything about yourself. Instead, you want to focus on how you think about yourself and what you have to offer.

Keep this in mind (and I really mean it):

You are perfect just the way you are. You were created just the way you are for a reason.

The solution is to take whatever shortfall you fear and find a way to turn it around, so it becomes a strength. Let me give you two examples:

Example #1. A student had been doing the work she offered for 18 years. While that sounds like a lot of experience and should have bolstered her ego, the woman was only 38 and looked very young. She felt her youth was a drawback. How ironic when most people want to look or be younger, right? Her solution was to talk about fewer years of experience so she felt more believable… all of this made her shy at networking events.

I explained that she should feel proud of her years of experience and own them. This was not a reason to feel shame; it was really a strong point. My suggestion was to address her youthful look by saying something like, “One thing that makes me different from other consultants is that although I appear young, I’ve actually been in business since…”

Example #2. Another student had created a multi-six-figure business, yet she carried the shame of dropping out of high school and not receiving her diploma. At my Mindset Retreat event, we talked this over and I told her how to turn this to her advantage by reframing the situation. I suggested that she say to people, “I was bored with what was being taught in school and felt ready to start my career, so that’s what I did. Now I own a thriving business.”

You can see how this mindset stuff can hold you back if you let it, or it can work immensely in your favor. It’s necessary to find a way to reframe your concerns and shift them to your advantage.

Your The Leveraged Business Assignment
What’s holding you back? Do you worry about your inadequacies and think you can’t build a business because of them? Try this exercise to shift your mindset and find a way to create strength out of whatever drawback you feel prevents success. Remember, you are perfect just the way you are.