The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

Exercise: What's Holding You Back?

Anything related to matters of the mind

Kung Fu Steve

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
283%
Jul 8, 2008
2,718
7,698
Road Warrior
I just happened to mention the other day that I'd step up and help out a little more around here and I'll be gone this coming week so I thought while I'm doing laundry and packing I could write out this post to provide some value.

It's an actual exercise (so yes, you have to actually DO something) and it's one of the more helpful exercises I've ever done in my life.

If you are struggling in your business, this is for you.

Maybe you're frustrated with how things are going. Maybe you're not happy with the amount of money you are producing...

One way or the other let's identify what's been holding you back and come up with some solutions to destroy them. Sound good?

You'll need a sheet of paper, your journal, or your forearm -- something to write on. Do each step before moving to the next (No, don't read all of it and come back to it. I know you won't. Nobody ever does. So follow along!)

If you care to share your answers with everyone it's usually very helpful for others to see they aren't any more or less crazy than the rest of us. If not, keep your answers nearby because it will be helpful to reference them later.

I think it makes the most sense if I share the exercise and then follow up and help with the solutions (you'll see what I mean).

Here we go:

Step 1. Your Current Results

Question: On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you with the results/income/impact you are producing in your business/personal life today?


1 being you are not so happy with the results you are producing today, 10 being you're so happy and wildly successful that you should be the one writing the manual of success for your business!

Where would you be on this scale of 1-10? (Write this down now)

--

Notes:
I'm willing to bet you didn't write '10' ... simply because no matter how successful we become, there's always another level, isn't there?

If you happened to write down a 5, this tells me two things: one, there's room for improvement, yes?

Two, if we're playing at a level 5 or below in our business that means we're leaving 50% (or more) of our income on the table every single day. And while that may seem a bit dramatic, let me prove it to you with the next couple of questions.

--

Step 2. Identifying The Challenges to Overcome

Question: What is stopping you, slowing you down, or preventing you from playing at a level 9 or 10 in your business today?

What I want you to do now is to list out all of the reasons that are stopping you from playing at a level 9 or 10 in your business.

In other words, what is getting in the way? Is it procrastination? Is it lack of time? Is it lack of resources?

And I want you to be completely honest with yourself. Not with me, with yourself -- because that's the only way things will change.

Set yourself a timer if you need to but take the next two minutes to write down as many reasons you can think of that are preventing you from producing the kind of results you want.... Go ;-)

--

Notes:
Now you should have a list in front of you of all the reasons that are stopping you from playing at a level 9 or 10 in your business which also tells us most of the reasons we are not producing the kind of income or impact we want to product, right?

The thing is, to produce a level '10' income, we have to take actions on a level '10' scale, right? The trick that we're trying to learn here is how do we get ourselves to take action -- that is the unfair competitive advantage in any economy.

--

Step 3. Identifying The Answer That Drives The Others

Question: What beliefs are driving these?

I'll come right out and say it. Go ahead and write down a giant letter B and a giant letter S next to your list. B.S. ... and what does that stand for!?

... belief systems!

Yeesh... you people...

All of these things that are holding you back start with a belief. Our beliefs influence our thoughts, our thoughts influence our decisions (or indecision), that determines what actions we'll take or not take and ultimately produces our results (whatever level you labeled it at previously).

So it all comes down to the belief.

If someone has a belief that says "It's hard for me to talk to people" or "It's hard for me to get out of my comfort zone" -- are they going to take more or less action towards the result they want?

Then, whenever they come up against an obstacle... say making a phone call to a stranger who manufactures products in China they procrastinate, they say they don't have the time, they say they don't have the money to order their first shipment anyways...

Then they never make the call, they never take the action, then what kind of results do they produce? Do they achieve their goal? Or do they produce worse results?

And here's where our beliefs are reinforced.

We say "see, I told you it was the economy, I told you I didn't have the time, I told you this wouldn't work"

So the next step is to identify and WRITE DOWN what beliefs have caused you to... procrastinate, to be lazy, to not try harder, do more, make the extra calls, ask for referrals every single time you're in front of a client, or to follow up instead of letting things drift away?

--

Notes:
When writing down some of your beliefs, it may be tough to pull them out of your head because the easiest person to fool is yourself. Don't kid yourself, write down the real answer.

"The economy doesn't support this new business."
"I can't do __________ because ___________."
"If I succeed and actually make some money my friends will disown me."
"If I fail my family will pressure me to get a job I hate."

--

Step 4. Calculating The Cost

Question: What has holding on to these beliefs cost you?


One of the easiest ways to change a belief is to want to. And one of the ways for doing that is to write out in black and white in front of you what these beliefs have cost you financially, in your relationships, in your health, in your stress, and everywhere else in your life.

To figure out financially it's simple but do it anyways: take your financial goal for this year and take how much money you made last year and subtract them.

If my goal is to make $200,000 and I made $50,000 last year that's a difference of $150,000.

You can very plainly see that because you procrastinate, because you're lazy, because you believe you don't have the time, because you believe it's not possible it's costing you $150,000 this year.

So write down what it's cost you financially but also write down what it's cost you in other areas of your life. What has producing mediocre results done to hurt your relationships? Your health? Your stress?

--

Notes: Once again, maybe you think this part is simplistic but isn't it true that if you got yourself to follow through consistently, obtaining these results wouldn't be so tough?

I mean, if you never procrastinated, if you never were lazy, if you always followed up, if you asked for referrals all the time, if you made extra phone calls CONSISTENTLY -- these results would be easy to obtain, wouldn't they?

And we all know this... but why don't we do it? Is it because we're not doing what we know? Ooooh boy... you mean to tell me, you've read the books, you've attended the seminars, you've been on the forum and you know what to do but you're simply not doing it?

It's your beliefs, my friend. And they are costing you... dearly.

--

Step 5. Installing New Beliefs

Question: What is a more empowering belief you can instill in yourself?


Finally, I want you to write down a new -- more empowering -- belief that will drive you forward.

Instead of "the economy is bad" you can start saying "wherever there's crisis, there's opportunity"

The exciting part about this last bit is that here on the forum no matter what you're trying to accomplish there's someone on here who's already done it. And if someone else can do it, you can, too!

And hopefully these guys will step up and share their beliefs with you from their individual experiences. Think real estate is impossible to get into? Ask SteveO, RussH, or Runum.

Think eCommerce would never work? Ask biophase, JasonR, Lighthouse, Andrew, or whatever-the-hell Boris's name is on the forum these days.

Think it's impossible to scale a business into something massive? Ask MJ! The guy that wrote the freaking book no just telling you how to do it but also that it's possible!

Look at those limiting beliefs you wrote down in step 2, cross them out, and write the opposite. Decide who you're going to be now. Decide where you're going to go from here. Make a real decisions to change these patterns and habits.

And I have to warn you -- they ARE habits. The second you start feeling hesitation about picking up that phone, it's the most important time to pick it up so you instill the new habit, the new pattern, the new you.

The second you are a little freaked out about talking to someone, it's time to step up and greet them like an old friend and assume they want to talk to you, too! And if not, F*ck them! (I went a whole post without saying F*ck, I had to say it at least once :p)

--

Final notes: So what we've done was to identify where we are in regards to our results/income/impact in our business today, figure out what habits are holding us back, learning that there is a belief behind those habits, and deciding to start forming some new ones.

This is quick and dirty but I promise you'll start getting more results/more money/more everything if you start eliminating these behaviors that have been holding you back.

Excited to see what we come back with.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Joaki

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
238%
Feb 15, 2015
29
69
FL
Great post. Keeping this one to look back to every once in a while. Thank you
 

Mattie

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
129%
May 28, 2014
3,485
4,490
53
U.S.
Nice. Thanks! :)
 

Formless

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
267%
Oct 27, 2013
599
1,597
I did the exercise last night, and guess what.

All of it came down to a single fear, in one form or another.

Thanks Steve. Eye-opening exercise.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

DtRockstar1

Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
98%
Aug 21, 2015
41
40
41
Livonia, MI
Nice one!

Just tried the exercises and it did uncover a few things:

I am aiming for the Fastlane, but I need to get a day job in the meantime because I'm not making enough money right now. I've been procrastinating with this for a couple reasons:

- Job hunting is a daunting task, and when you finally get a job, the reward is more daunting tasks
- I do video shoots with a lot of cars, and that's how I make my money right now. It's not like I do video shoots all the time, I often have times where I have nothing to do. But I'm afraid that if I get a job, I'll miss a BIG video shoot opportunity because I can't get off work that day.

After installing new belief systems:

- Job hunting isn't that bad. The thought of getting off your a$$ seems bad, but once you start DOING it, it's not so bad. And the real reward is having money in the bank.
- Sure, I might miss an opportunity, but you can't let life hold you hostage over something that may not even happen. Just go out there and DO IT!
 

IrishSpring600

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
Dec 24, 2013
394
296
You don't even need all this. You just need an incentive, and a goal. My incentive was that I was tired of being the 5'9 130lb skinny kid anyone can pick on. So I researched one specific night about what is best for me, and I ended up choosing a basic 5x5 program. The next day after cross country (lol) I went to the gym. In a month I hit a 135lb squat for 5 sets of 5 reps. Needless to say after a few months people stopped picking on me. But my goals had changed and I went for bigger things. I digress now...

What's your incentive?
What's your goal?

Logic isn't going to help someone that's way deep in the trenches of McBurgerville. They're motivated to eat, not work. Just show them that they can't achieve something they want without losing weight, and you get him to work. Simple.
 

Kung Fu Steve

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
283%
Jul 8, 2008
2,718
7,698
Road Warrior
You don't even need all this. You just need an incentive, and a goal. My incentive was that I was tired of being the 5'9 130lb skinny kid anyone can pick on. So I researched one specific night about what is best for me, and I ended up choosing a basic 5x5 program. The next day after cross country (lol) I went to the gym. In a month I hit a 135lb squat for 5 sets of 5 reps. Needless to say after a few months people stopped picking on me. But my goals had changed and I went for bigger things. I digress now...

What's your incentive?
What's your goal?

Logic isn't going to help someone that's way deep in the trenches of McBurgerville. They're motivated to eat, not work. Just show them that they can't achieve something they want without losing weight, and you get him to work. Simple.

Easier said than done. I see you've been successful in your health and fitness... but what about your business? How about your relationships? Are you successful in EVERY area of your life?

I guess if you are, you don't need any help, advice, or strategies to figure out why you've been procrastinating when it comes to starting/running/growing/building your business or friendships or intimate relationships.

When you find an are of life where you have incentives and goals but STILL can't get yourself to take action on a consistent basis then maybe you ought to return here... until then I'd suggest you try the exercise anyways.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Kung Fu Steve

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
283%
Jul 8, 2008
2,718
7,698
Road Warrior

zrail

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
153%
Sep 15, 2015
17
26
Did the exercise. Boiling it down to what my beliefs have cost us in terms of dollars really helped. And yeah, it boils down to a particular fear, but the consequences of that fear actually happening are so minor that I don't really know why I'm so worried about it.
 

Kung Fu Steve

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
283%
Jul 8, 2008
2,718
7,698
Road Warrior
Did the exercise. Boiling it down to what my beliefs have cost us in terms of dollars really helped. And yeah, it boils down to a particular fear, but the consequences of that fear actually happening are so minor that I don't really know why I'm so worried about it.

Are you still worried about it or have you taken action?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

zrail

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
153%
Sep 15, 2015
17
26
Are you still worried about it or have you taken action?

The fear is running out of money, and it's guided my business decisions since I started two years ago. Thus, I have three months of runway in the business and another six in our personal accounts. I think it's going to be awhile before I stop worrying about it, no matter what.

"Action" in my case involves dropping my part-time consulting retainer clients and moving to spending all of my time working on product development (writing more books, re-launching old ones, possibly working on a SaaS). That's a scary thing when those clients are bringing in 90% of our household revenue.

The consequences are, in order:
  1. Get more client work
  2. Get a full time job
  3. Sell the house and move into an apartment (we're sitting on ~$75k of appreciation)
The consequences are actually pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. I just worry a lot about not being able to come up with a hustle that actually pays the bills in the time available.

So no, I haven't taken action yet directly, but the book I launched last week is promising. Assuming that continues to go well, I'll put a plan in place.
 

The Racing Driver

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
177%
Apr 20, 2015
182
323
UK
Thanks a lot @Kung Fu Steve for the taking the time to write this out.

I know it's been a while, but honestly, this is one of the best posts on the forum IMO. Here you're not giving random tactics that's worked for you, but a strategy which can work for ANYONE.

I came up with nearly a full A4 page of challenges holding me back, along with their accompanying beliefs. I thought I'd share some of them here. Alongside my new updated beliefs.

I've laid it down in the following format.

Challenge to overcome ---> Existing Limiting Belief ----> Updated Belief

  • Lack of pitching and reaching out ----> People will be annoyed by me ---> People buy and have already bought my services. There are many more out there.
  • Efforts have been undirected ---> I can figure this out as I go ---> "Every minute of planning, saves 10 minutes in execution." - Brian Tracy
  • Not investing enough money (Too risk averse) ---> I've invested into lot of things which never were profitable ---> Money invested well can bring great returns. No risk, no reward.
  • Not doing enough marketing ---> I'm not fully ready ---> You will never be completely ready, "Done is Better than Perfect."
  • No real target audience ---> Don't want to be stuck in a tiny niche ---> It's far easier to boil a fishbowl, than an ocean.
  • Afraid of selling my services --> Feel like an imposter --> There will always seem to be someone better in X,Y and Z. I can still create value.

Hope that could help some of you guys. Highly recommend you do it yourself and check out this video, which reminded to get my a$$ back to finishing these exercises. You may skip to 25:00 to experience the power of your B.S firsthand. ;)

Cheers once again @Kung Fu Steve
 

Chazmania

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
174%
May 23, 2013
465
811
USA
@Kung Fu Steve

Thanks for breaking it down like that - I did the excercise and absolutely feel more clarity.

One of my BS beliefs was the fear of wasting time on something new that may not pan out, and lose time and capital, but i guess we'd just chalk that up to progress around here. Like just another cobblestone creating the process path.

Great thread!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Kung Fu Steve

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
283%
Jul 8, 2008
2,718
7,698
Road Warrior
Thanks a lot @Kung Fu Steve for the taking the time to write this out.

I know it's been a while, but honestly, this is one of the best posts on the forum IMO. Here you're not giving random tactics that's worked for you, but a strategy which can work for ANYONE.

I came up with nearly a full A4 page of challenges holding me back, along with their accompanying beliefs. I thought I'd share some of them here. Alongside my new updated beliefs.

I've laid it down in the following format.

Challenge to overcome ---> Existing Limiting Belief ----> Updated Belief

  • Lack of pitching and reaching out ----> People will be annoyed by me ---> People buy and have already bought my services. There are many more out there.
  • Efforts have been undirected ---> I can figure this out as I go ---> "Every minute of planning, saves 10 minutes in execution." - Brian Tracy
  • Not investing enough money (Too risk averse) ---> I've invested into lot of things which never were profitable ---> Money invested well can bring great returns. No risk, no reward.
  • Not doing enough marketing ---> I'm not fully ready ---> You will never be completely ready, "Done is Better than Perfect."
  • No real target audience ---> Don't want to be stuck in a tiny niche ---> It's far easier to boil a fishbowl, than an ocean.
  • Afraid of selling my services --> Feel like an imposter --> There will always seem to be someone better in X,Y and Z. I can still create value.

Hope that could help some of you guys. Highly recommend you do it yourself and check out this video, which reminded to get my a$$ back to finishing these exercises. You may skip to 25:00 to experience the power of your B.S firsthand. ;)

Cheers once again @Kung Fu Steve

This is fantastic -- great work!

So today you're committed to taking some new actions, yes? Massive results come from massive action!!
 

Kung Fu Steve

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
283%
Jul 8, 2008
2,718
7,698
Road Warrior
Like just another cobblestone creating the process path.

Great thread!

Fantastic!

When these challenges arise, how do you turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones?

By the way, this is something that should be touched on...

Metaphors are an extremely powerful way of changing your beliefs (positive AND negative).

We have to be so careful about the metaphors we repeat because they have dozens of beliefs attached to them. The challenge is to become conscious of the metaphors and similes we use on a habitual basis and become conscious of the beliefs that are attached to those -- and how they are affecting our everyday lives. Our habits, our patterns, etc.

And then the question is what ARE the normal patterns you run?

Do you constantly step back when approached with a challenge or do you step up?

Does that pretty girl/guy across the bar always intimidate you or do you just go talk to him or her?

Do you normally let that secretary/gate keeper on the other line control the phone conversation and "take a message for you" or do you find a way around it?

Do you let fear control your life or do you attack it?

Once again, when you identify these patterns of procrastination, fear, or overwhelm there's some belief that's causing you to tap into LESS of your personal potential, which causes you to take LESS than extraordinary action, which supplies LESS than extraordinary results...

And then what happens? If you're getting crappy results is it going to make you want to tap into more or less of your personal potential?

Less, right?

But on the other hand if you see the results are getting better, it causes you to want to tap into MORE of your potential... and that's all we're trying to do here is tap into MORE of our potential.

By the way, what's the potential of a human being? Unlimited, right? What's the potential of YOU? (You are human, aren't you?)

That means you really CAN do anything, you just need to tap into that potential. And if you're not -- take a good hard look at these beliefs again!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:

mws87

talk less, listen more.
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
198%
May 5, 2015
493
978
California
Fantastic thread @Kung Fu Steve
Yes, I wrote everything down, and, it was what I needed. I had begun the habit a while back of writing everything down and finding the opposite, etc. but had since gotten lazy with it. This was what I needed.
 

SenGracic

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
117%
Feb 12, 2015
103
121
Canada
My biggest belief when it comes to business is that it is too complicated and that I need to know EVERYTHING before starting anything.

I could keep writing and writing about my beliefs... I guess I had a life of bad habits without even noticing it since everybody was doing it. That's why the same EVERYBODY lives the same debt-full life with a few weeks of vacation ( mostly at home since they can't afford much more ) per year.

My beliefs are costing me more than just money but they are costing me experiences I want to live and feel like travelling the world, meeting new people and overall freedom.


Now I realize, I don't need to know everything from the beginning... just start and fix sh*t up.

Will go through the TOS of Amazon right now.
Order a sample of the product I think of selling about 10-20 samples max.
Put them up for sale as soon as I receive them and work on my product description while waiting !

How will I make things work ? I don't know right now but I will do everything I can to sell my first product in the first month.
I might fail but I will not let the fear of failure occupy my mind anymore.
It's been enough.

Thank you very much for this thread. I hope people do this exercise. For some it might take minutes for others like me hours but they need to get it done at least once.
Every time in doubt I will redo it.

You,my friend, just gave me a tool that I can apply in all the aspects of my life. I will share this with my entourage.

Thank you.
 

Supa

Came for the $. Stayed for the Ice Cream.
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
289%
May 27, 2015
967
2,795
32
Germany
Awesome thread! Thanks for this, just did the exercises.. It's pretty tough to find out the beliefs behind your decisions for me, but since my biggest issue is my procrastination and laziness, I came to realize that it is about my desire for instant gratification. For example "oh let's lay on the couch and watch one episode of Fear The Walking Dead"... "ok that was cool, one more episode..", I think the belief that holds me back is, that I always connected watching netflix all day with graticiation, it's easy and fun.. But I started connecting working on my business with fun, loving it to sit in front of my laptop, listening to my own playlist on spotify and working on our website.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Kung Fu Steve

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
283%
Jul 8, 2008
2,718
7,698
Road Warrior
My biggest belief when it comes to business is that it is too complicated and that I need to know EVERYTHING before starting anything.

I could keep writing and writing about my beliefs... I guess I had a life of bad habits without even noticing it since everybody was doing it. That's why the same EVERYBODY lives the same debt-full life with a few weeks of vacation ( mostly at home since they can't afford much more ) per year.

My beliefs are costing me more than just money but they are costing me experiences I want to live and feel like travelling the world, meeting new people and overall freedom.


Now I realize, I don't need to know everything from the beginning... just start and fix sh*t up.

Will go through the TOS of Amazon right now.
Order a sample of the product I think of selling about 10-20 samples max.
Put them up for sale as soon as I receive them and work on my product description while waiting !

How will I make things work ? I don't know right now but I will do everything I can to sell my first product in the first month.
I might fail but I will not let the fear of failure occupy my mind anymore.
It's been enough.

Thank you very much for this thread. I hope people do this exercise. For some it might take minutes for others like me hours but they need to get it done at least once.
Every time in doubt I will redo it.

You,my friend, just gave me a tool that I can apply in all the aspects of my life. I will share this with my entourage.

Thank you.

This is great my man. Good work!
 

Kung Fu Steve

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
283%
Jul 8, 2008
2,718
7,698
Road Warrior
EDIT: I realize I might have repeated myself a bit here. It's been a long a$$ day. The hustle never ends. Maybe there's a nugget or two in here. Hope it still helps.

For those of you wondering how to actually make the shift or make the change -- in the simplest terms it's to link enough pain to not taking action, and pleasure TO taking action.

Most people never move because it's painful just enough to suck, but not painful enough to do something about it. Many people wait until they hit "rock bottom" before changing anything in their lives... but you don't have to go there in reality. Your brain doesn't know the difference between reality and something you vividly imagined.

Speaking of which, here's one more way to add on to "what you're missing out".

Take the amount of money you want to make this coming year (whether it's 100k, 200k, 500k, etc.) -- a "realistic" number that you truly believe if you eliminated these negative patterns and behaviors you'd be able to SMASH that goal (it'd be pretty easy to make that kind of money without procrastination in your life, right?)...

... take that number and subtract what you made this year.

For example if I wanted to make 150k and I only made 50k this year... it's pretty clear that these patterns and behaviors are costing me a bare minimum of $100,000.

I missed out on 100k this year because I rather would have sat on the couch than make that extra cold call.

If you're not playing at a level 9 or 10 in your business today it's for only one of two reasons:

1. You don't know what to do...

If that's the case, pick up The Millionaire Fastlane . Read it. Read the other top books on business and personal finance like Rich Dad, Jerk Dad, and Richest man in babylon, and a handful of others and get to studying.

Or...

2. You're not doing what you know...

And if that's the case... you need to take a look at these beliefs and really associate some real emotion behind it. REAL reasons why the shift needs to occur. Not just to where you understand it intellectually but where you make a shift in your gut. Where you're no longer that person. You're someone new, different, extraordinary.

You get the idea.

You guys rock. thanks for the love.
 

Supa

Came for the $. Stayed for the Ice Cream.
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
289%
May 27, 2015
967
2,795
32
Germany
2. You're not doing what you know...

And if that's the case... you need to take a look at these beliefs and really associate some real emotion behind it. REAL reasons why the shift needs to occur. Not just to where you understand it intellectually but where you make a shift in your gut. Where you're no longer that person. You're someone new, different, extraordinary.

another great post!

I remember one day back in summer of 2009. I was just a few days away from my very first day at my very first job after graduating from school, and 2 months of free time afterwards. A friend drove me home and our convo was something like (me) "man I don't want to start working.." (he, btw he is a bit older and already worked for about 2 or 3 years) "that's just how it is, you only live on the weekends as soon as you start working.. only looking forward to the weekends". I thought about his words.. and it just didn't make sense to me. I asked myself "that's it? That's life? Doing the same thing for 40 years now without really enjoying life?"

After the usual feeling of the excitement of something new (the job) disappeared, after 1 or 2 weeks, I hated almost every single day of it. Don't get me wrong, there were cool things at all my (3 so far) jobs, I met cool people and had some fun but I never liked doing a job. There was just no sense in it for me. So what did I do about it? You guessed it. Absolutely nothing. It just didn't hurt enough. I hated every single morning when I had to put on my suit (yep worked at a bank) and drive to work, but I. Didn't. Do. Anything. About. It.

I guess it was just easier to be looking forward to 4pm when I finally can get out of that annoying suit and drive home. It was easier to lay on the couch after work and complaining with my friends about our jobs instead of actually doing something about it.

Even when I got my hands on TMF and started reading it.. I already loved that book at that time, but somehow I ended up at about 1/3 of the book, so I didn't read the best part of the book (IMO) the Fastlane part. I think I was just too lazy to continue reading so I just stopped. I still didn't do anything. I kept driving to my boring job every day and chilling in front of the tv every evening. It was just so much easier than even thinking about working outside of the job.

Reading only 1/3 of TMF (the Sidewalk and the Slowlane part) I had the right mindset, something that fitted my mindset towards jobs. But I didn't know ANYTHING about the Fastlane, simply because I was too lazy to continue reading the book.

So the question is, when do people really start taking action? When does it hurt enough?

I reached that point when I went to California with my friends back in March this year. Coming from a smaller town near Munich in Germany, I never really felt the millionaire lifestyle. I can't name one young multi millionaire in my area. But living in Beverly Hills for 8 days and walking along Malibu Beach, talking to a young guy who lives in a Malibu Beach house (we got into a conversation with him because my friend liked his dog lol, then we found out he lives there.. really cool guy), seeing all those Lambos and Ferraris, I finally SAW and FELT what is possible. After we came back home, I grabbed TMF and finished reading it, I read the whole book and it started to change everything.

Thinking about a future where I drive to work every single day, only looking forward to the weekends, while knowing what is possible, just hurts so much that I finally started taking action. I reached the point where it hurts too much to not do anything about it.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:

The Racing Driver

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
177%
Apr 20, 2015
182
323
UK
another great post!

So the question is, when do people really start taking action? When does it hurt enough?

I reached that point when I went to California with my friends back in March this year. Coming from a smaller town near Munich in Germany, I never really felt the millionaire lifestyle. I can't name one young multi millionaire in my area. But living in Beverly Hills for 8 days and walking along Malibu Beach, talking to a young guy who lives in a Malibu Beach house (we got into a conversation with him because my friend liked his dog lol, then we found out he lives there.. really cool guy), seeing all those Lambos and Ferraris, I finally SAW and FELT what is possible. After we came back home, I grabbed TMF and finished reading it, I read the whole book and it started to change everything.

Thinking about a future where I drive to work every single day, only looking forward to the weekends, while knowing what is possible, just hurts so much that I finally started taking action. I reached the point where it hurts too much to not do anything about it.


STOP ! Before you go any further, please check out this video I shared in my earlier post. Anthony Robbins nails the question you just asked. He talks about his own experiences similarly as you have, how one experience made him see what more was possible even after he became relatively successful to most people.
 

Kung Fu Steve

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
283%
Jul 8, 2008
2,718
7,698
Road Warrior
another great post!

I remember one day back in summer of 2009. I was just a few days away from my very first day at my very first job after graduating from school, and 2 months of free time afterwards. A friend drove me home and our convo was something like (me) "man I don't want to start working.." (he, btw he is a bit older and already worked for about 2 or 3 years) "that's just how it is, you only live on the weekends as soon as you start working.. only looking forward to the weekends". I thought about his words.. and it just didn't make sense to me. I asked myself "that's it? That's life? Doing the same thing for 40 years now without really enjoying life?"

After the usual feeling of the excitement of something new (the job) disappeared, after 1 or 2 weeks, I hated almost every single day of it. Don't get me wrong, there were cool things at all my (3 so far) jobs, I met cool people and had some fun but I never liked doing a job. There was just no sense in it for me. So what did I do about it? You guessed it. Absolutely nothing. It just didn't hurt enough. I hated every single morning when I had to put on my suit (yep worked at a bank) and drive to work, but I. Didn't. Do. Anything. About. It.

I guess it was just easier to be looking forward to 4pm when I finally can get out of that annoying suit and drive home. It was easier to lay on the couch after work and complaining with my friends about our jobs instead of actually doing something about it.

Even when I got my hands on TMF and started reading it.. I already loved that book at that time, but somehow I ended up at about 1/3 of the book, so I didn't read the best part of the book (IMO) the Fastlane part. I think I was just too lazy to continue reading so I just stopped. I still didn't do anything. I kept driving to my boring job every day and chilling in front of the tv every evening. It was just so much easier than even thinking about working outside of the job.

Reading only 1/3 of TMF (the Sidewalk and the Slowlane part) I had the right mindset, something that fitted my mindset towards jobs. But I didn't know ANYTHING about the Fastlane, simply because I was too lazy to continue reading the book.

So the question is, when do people really start taking action? When does it hurt enough?

I reached that point when I went to California with my friends back in March this year. Coming from a smaller town near Munich in Germany, I never really felt the millionaire lifestyle. I can't name one young multi millionaire in my area. But living in Beverly Hills for 8 days and walking along Malibu Beach, talking to a young guy who lives in a Malibu Beach house (we got into a conversation with him because my friend liked his dog lol, then we found out he lives there.. really cool guy), seeing all those Lambos and Ferraris, I finally SAW and FELT what is possible. After we came back home, I grabbed TMF and finished reading it, I read the whole book and it started to change everything.

Thinking about a future where I drive to work every single day, only looking forward to the weekends, while knowing what is possible, just hurts so much that I finally started taking action. I reached the point where it hurts too much to not do anything about it.

Awesome :)
 

johnp

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
157%
Aug 29, 2011
1,707
2,675
Philly
Wow..this just completely blew my mind.

I'm not really big on the whole limiting belief thing. I know that there are issues in my own head that hold me back, but I usually just try to ignore them and move forward.

I started reading your post and thought what the hell..I'll give it a try.

I applied the exercise to my current business. After going through your exercise I uncovered something interesting. I created a ton of negative belief systems around my business, but I never realized how many limiting beliefs that I actually created. I have pages and pages of notes. This exercise took me about an hour.

I must have left a couple hundred thousand dollars on the table. I just texted my wife and told her that we lost a few 100k. Can't wait to see her response haha.

But anyway. Thanks, this is one of the best threads that I have ever come across in all of my time on this forum.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Kung Fu Steve

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
283%
Jul 8, 2008
2,718
7,698
Road Warrior
Wow..this just completely blew my mind.

I'm not really big on the whole limiting belief thing. I know that there are issues in my own head that hold me back, but I usually just try to ignore them and move forward.

I started reading your post and thought what the hell..I'll give it a try.

I applied the exercise to my current business. After going through your exercise I uncovered something interesting. I created a ton of negative belief systems around my business, but I never realized how many limiting beliefs that I actually created. I have pages and pages of notes. This exercise took me about an hour.

I must have left a couple hundred thousand dollars on the table. I just texted my wife and told her that we lost a few 100k. Can't wait to see her response haha.

But anyway. Thanks, this is one of the best threads that I have ever come across in all of my time on this forum.

Incredible! :)

Pick that money up off the table and put it back in your pocket -- in your family's pocket where it belongs!

The truth is, if we can just identify and destroy these inner conflicts and emotional blocks (that we all have)... we can get out there and make just about anything happen.

Nice work, brother!
 

early riser

Grind Harder
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
126%
Sep 18, 2014
54
68
Both coasts. The west now.
I mean, if you never procrastinated, if you never were lazy, if you always followed up, if you asked for referrals all the time, if you made extra phone calls CONSISTENTLY -- these results would be easy to obtain, wouldn't they?
Cuts right through the bullshit. Yes, they would.
And I hate myself when I instead put my tail between my legs.
Had the very serious convo with a close friend that told me me the only thing that holds me back is me and all my friends agree...
Great post.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

All_In52

Today
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
157%
Nov 9, 2016
65
102
Amazing Post Steve.. do you recommend reading the new B.S. every day? Or doing any actionable steps after writing all this?
 

daru

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
172%
Feb 11, 2017
166
285
Earth
Did the exercise and it was helpful! Thank you.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top