I really appreciate your great responses to my blog on “time vampires” recently, so I want share with you some more ideas.

Rather than specific tips this time, I’m focusing more on the root causes of “time vampires”. If you can identify your own mindset issues that lead to the “time vampires”, then you can make better decisions to help you to get the important things done. Here are some of them:

• Lack of direction. If you don’t have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish in life and business you can waste so much time aimlessly pecking away at this or that project without really getting anything done.

• Limiting Beliefs. Here’s a doozy: “To be a good wife and mom I have to keep a spotless house and make gourmet meals.” Perfectionism isn’t only a problem in business. It can manifest itself in all areas of life.

• Lack of organization. Do you feel like you’re so overwhelmed and tired trying to keep up with everything? You can have so many great things you want to accomplish and by trying to do them all today you can burn out.

How can you readjust your mindset?

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Most women begin as entrepreneurs because of a passion and a desire for a certain lifestyle.  We know we have something of value to share with our communities, so we pour our hearts into getting our wisdom out there and using our gifts to generate the revenue that we want and need.

However, haven’t you had times when you’re doing all the right things (the marketing, the writing, the speaking etc.) and you still feel stuck?  You feel like you’re not getting where you want to go?

I know I have.

And, what I’ve found to be the issue is rarely the external circumstances but something deep inside.  Something that’s keeping me smaller than I know I want to be.

Limiting beliefs are what you believe to be true about yourself but really aren’t true at all.  Maybe you’ve got beliefs that that you’re the fat girl, or that other people make money, not you, or that to make X happen you have to do Y,

Your thinking gets in your way. It stops you from taking the next step. It’s the limiting beliefs that we think about ourselves, that we rarely share, and may not even know consciously know, that keep us small.

Truth is, if you’re not getting where you want to go, the best place to look is in the mirror.  This is a challenge that we as entrepreneurs face since the growth of our business is dependent on how we’re being and presenting ourselves to others.

How can you shift your thinking from the negative to the positive so that your energies and efforts are lined up to grow your business and connect with more people?

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In the second of a series of blogs around why we don’t get done what we want to get done, limiting beliefs may be one of your culprits. You may have the best idea, greatest marketing strategies, and effective systems in place, but you still feel stuck. You can’t gain any momentum and you can’t necessarily figure out why.

Often we’ve got old voices going on in our heads and we’re sitting with junk and baggage about ourselves that causes us to think we can’t get our stuff out there.

Reason #2 Why you don’t get things done “Limiting beliefs are holding you back”

A limiting belief is something that you believe to be true about yourself, that most likely isn’t true at all. Until you get to the bottom of this belief it can prevent you from moving forward as you’d like.

Some limiting beliefs have been internalized from childhood. You believe them to be as true as the sky is blue and the grass is green. That’s how you function in the world. It’s not until you challenge that belief and focus on a more conscious level that you can see it isn’t true at all.

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You have the best idea, great marketing strategies, and effective systems in place, but you still feel stuck. You can’t get any momentum. If this is the case, limiting beliefs may be holding you back…

 

 Limiting Beliefs – Are They Holding You Back? [Metromom Podcast] [8:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Earlier this year I hit some pretty low points after my husband had lost his job. Not only was I anxious about our situation, I was watching many other mom entrepreneurs come onto the scene with their own websites and communities. My first reaction was to go to a place of scarcity. I had this awful limiting belief that if they existed, and were doing business, that there wouldn’t be enough left over for me.

It sounds crazy when I write it, but it felt incredibly real and scary in that moment. I did know two things at that time. First, I knew I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. Second, I knew that to do business in a way that was fun for me, and to stick around, I would have to just focus on doing business in a “Kim” way, and show up as authentically as possible. Some would be attracted to me and follow me, and others wouldn’t. I trusted it would all be fine.

Around the same time, I felt drawn to connect with a particular mom entrepreneur with her own community, Carla Young of MOMeo. On the surface, one would think “competitor” in the yucky sense of the word. But what I sensed from observing her on Twitter was a kind, funny, open woman. I was blessed to discover that she’s even more wonderful.

We joked back in March that it’d be great to get some amazing mom entrepreneurs together in Las Vegas in June. Sounded fun I thought, but we didn’t pursue it. Fast forward to April, and Carla was scheduling me to speak with her MOMeo community about how I get things done so quickly. She asked, “When are you free in June?” I told her the only days I wasn’t when I’d be in Las Vegas attending Baeth’s Life Purpose Spiritual Summit. Carla laughed and said she’d be in Las Vegas that very same weekend!

We decided to make that gathering of great entrepreneurial women come together. As a connector, I immediately got to work inviting some women I wanted to meet and who I believed would be interested in creating something bigger as a group than any of us could on our own.  Much to my surprise, nine of us ended up coming together – Alexis Martin Neely, Carla Young, Sarah Robinson, Jennifer Haubein, Sandy Grason, Kim Castle, MaryPat Kavanagh, Dorcy Russell and me!

Each of us shared what we could offer (our true creative brilliance and what’s fun for us to do) as well as the support we’d love from the rest of the group. Getting behind each of these women to support their product and service launches feels great. I’m not sure where it will all go but I have lots of faith. I’m so blessed that I could connect with them and them together and bring them into my life.

Please share your comments on how you’ve benefited by turning your “competitors” into “collaborators”. This is an area were women entrepreneurs really shine!

Women entrepreneurs often have the best idea, great marketing strategies, and effective systems in place, but they still feel stuck. Does that sound familiar? You can’t get any momentum. If this is the case, limiting beliefs may be holding you back…

My definition of a limiting belief is something that you believe to be true about yourself (that really is NOT true) and it prevents you from moving forward as you’d like.

These limiting beliefs have been internalized, often times from childhood. You believe them to be as true as the sky is blue and the grass is green. That’s how you function in the world. It’s not until you challenge that belief and focus on a more conscious level that you can see it isn’t in fact true at all.

Let me share with you an example of a limiting belief that held me back for years. I am a big believer in collaboration…but that wasn’t always the case. When I was a little girl, I was constantly told how important it was that I be independent and self-sufficient. My father loved telling me all the great things I could do as an independent woman from travel to business adventures.

As great as many of his messages were, they ironically held me back. For many years, I was so focused on him being right, which meant I must be independent, and not let others in to provide support. I was a one-woman show, as if to be anything less would have been a disappointment. I even had an old boyfriend tell me he felt like I could live on a deserted island!

Now, as I’ve gotten older and wiser, I’ve been able to examine how this belief doesn’t serve me and let it go. That means I can now delegate, partner and reach out to others.

When you work on your personal growth you will undoubtedly see your business grow exponentially. I know for myself I have experienced this time and time again. Every single time I clear through some of my own issues, I surge forward. It’s as if the limiting belief was a noose around my neck holding me back.

Here are some limiting belief examples that can really affect women entrepreneurs. Have you ever found yourself thinking…?

• I don’t know enough.
• I can’t do this.
• Who would want what I have to offer?
• I can’t earn as much as I’d like.
• I’m not motivated enough.
• I’m not as good as the next person.
• I don’t really deserve to make money.

Identify your limiting beliefs.

I’ve found that the first step is tuning in to your unconscious mind and listening to what it’s telling you. For example, many of us struggle with the belief that we can’t earn money because we haven’t earned it in the past, that’s a limiting belief. The result of this belief is most likely you’re going to make it a reality by not earning money this time around either.

Many times we are unaware of our limiting beliefs. Gina Bell gave some great advice on identifying and overcoming limiting beliefs in her call “Not Sure You Can Succeed? Get a Believability Makeover!”

Gina shared that although we can’t always control the negative inner chatter, we can recognize it for what it is. She recommended writing or journaling as a great way to flush out the limiting beliefs that we might not realize exist in our own mind.

In an upcoming post I’ll share some great tips on shifting limiting beliefs into supportive beliefs. I also wanted to let you know how much I’ve been enjoying a great discussion about limiting beliefs in our Metromom forum (Connection Café). The Connection Café is available to members of the Metromom Community – if you’re not a member of Metromom’s community – please click here to join.