I’m writing this post having had a week of different meetings with spiritual entrepreneurs. Some are in pre-start up phase, some in the first six months and others are changing to a new type of business, such as deciding they are going to be healers having been in a much more tangible business for years previously.
One very clear issue is that I’m seeing people invest large sums of money on equipment, venue hire, branding, web sites etc, without the business owners having true clarity about who they are, what they want to offer and who they are on the planet to serve. The business owners then get stressed and overwhelmed when things go wrong and then they have no money to sort out their mental health. If you know anyone starting out in business, please advise them to sort themselves out first and get clarity and direction on the way forward as they will then have a much happier time ahead.
A business owner has a private life too and this often leads to the need to resolving trauma, improving communication with other, learning how to recover from relationship splits as well dealing with life stresses such as separation/divorce, redundancy, house moves, parents going into care, etc as well as dealing with the ups and downs of stress and depression brought on via the menopause. The need for someone with counselling skills is needed to help you to cope and to see a more positive future.
Whether you realise it or not, you actually have 3 ‘brains’ in your body which are influenced by what you say to yourself. The 3 brains you have are your head, heart and gut and they are all linked by the vasal nerve which is linked into your Automatic Nervous System. A key element to understand is that each of your brains has a competency that is its ‘highest expression‘ and that the three brains, when operating via these competencies, produce synergistic effects and bring greater wisdom to decision making, relationships and life. Science is clearly proving this now and if anyone would like to know more, read ‘Mbraining, using your brains to do cool stuff’ by Grant Soosala and Marvin Oka.
According to the above authors, your head is responsible for creativity, your heart is responsible for compassion and your gut is responsible for courage. Therefore, your heart is guiding you (via your passion) and then you will use your mind for planning and creativity. Your gut is responsible for sorting out your fears and for you having courage to fulfil what you know you are here for. But what happens if you don’t use the right brain for the right job……you experience stress, procrastinate badly, and suffer from overwhelm and anxiety.
So if you are an overthinker (usually someone who is very logical), or you suffer from stress and overwhelm, then it is likely that you are using the wrong ‘brain’ to make your decisions and you will lose money. The ideas for your business come from your head.
Why should you look after your head (mind) before your investing in your business?
- You will waste thousands on branding materials if you don’t know who you are, what your personal values are and what your life purpose is. You will waste money on networking, when you haven’t understood what your products and services are and who your ideal client is. You may also be networking in the wrong way as there is a set of skills you need to know how to apply. Cash flow may become a problem as you soon realise that you can’t survive on the low prices you have set for your services and you start to struggle financially.
- If you haven’t cleared trauma (grief from bereavements, shame from childhood abuse or you are having an unstable time at home with your partner), you will have a rockier road in business. Your mental health will be affected as you will procrastinate, become overwhelmed more easily and find it challenging in certain situations where you need to build know, like and trust in relationships with others.
- Your mind needs to be clear to be able to have clarity and focus. If you don’t spend time looking after it, eventually you will burn out and become exhausted which means you have to take time off work and it will affect your productivity.
- Your mind creates thoughts, emotions and controls your behaviours. If you have any issues with anxieties e.g. fear of spiders, driving, etc or self doubt of being good enough, you will unconsciously emit negative thoughts out to the Universe (via the Law of Attraction) which will become blocks to your success until you sort them out. You need to live in the present, not the past. Addictions such as smoking, drugs, alcohol etc are a clear sign of you not resolving how you are feeling and being at ease with yourself.
- Negative emotions come from your past and trauma that you may have experienced as a loss e.g. redundancy, loss of a parent, loss of a relationship, loss of not being able to have children, etc. Negative emotions are linked to specific health ailments (google Louise Hay) and if your body has dis-ease, you will find it harder to work, and it can affect your ability to be present in your own business. You need to be ‘at ease’ with yourself within both your personal and business life. Resolving trauma and dealing with stress as it occurs is necessary otherwise it will lead to depression.
- When you are an entrepreneur, your head will come up with exciting ideas, again and again. It can be so exciting that you are following your passion that without realising your passion and your spiritual mission can snowball and become too big for you. You can get stressed and overwhelmed and feel that your business is running you rather than you running it. This is why it is so important to have coaching/mentoring before and during running your business to ensure that your big vision (your spiritual why) is running in tandem with your personal life. e.g. birthing a book at the same time as birthing a new baby in your life is not good planning and will stress you out.
- What is the point of creating your business if you can’t enjoy it? Putting on a brave face when underneath you feel like you are sinking. Being the swan desperately paddling to keep up, and on the surface you are giving the impression to everyone that all is ok as you can’t ask for help. Eventually, you will experience a nervous breakdown. Unconsciously, those around you will be able to sense things are not ok, but you are not being congruent about what is going on which can affect trust.
- Understanding your life purpose and getting clarity on what you sell and to whom before you have your business, means that you will be well planned, and be able to see the potential pitfalls ahead. With no plan, you can make up ideas in your head, compare yourself to others and find yourself stuck. Figuring out your life direction is key.
- If you are going to fast through life, because you are too busy and don’t have enough time, then you need to stop and look after your mind more rather than your business. You are missing lessons in life and they will bite you later in different ways e.g. car accidents, periods of ill health, attracting the wrong things into your life which cost you money, etc. You need to start meditating to get your 3 brains in alignment with each other and work on having balanced breathing which promotes aligned chakras which in turn will help you take aligned actions in your business and personal life. By meditating everyday, you will also experience insights and inspiration.
- If you don’t overcome what is causing your mind to think you are not good enough, you will never sell enough in your business. Fear will always get the better of you. If you work through your fears with a mindset coach, you will be in a much happier position to be able to sell congruently to your clients. You will invest in the right things at the right time. You are worth it and now is the time to resolve and let go of the trauma you are feeling.
If you want to know more about how you could work with me on a 1-1 basis or by coming to a workshop like the Relax Retreat, get in touch. Email liz@insightfulminds.co.uk or ring 07815 904848.
