Your story matters. Where you came from matters, it’s part of who you are. But don’t allow where you came from to become a blockade to where you are going.
My story began much like most other entrepreneurs. I come from a lower-middle class family, my dad worked and my mom stayed at home with us kids. When I was a senior in high school, I turned down several football scholarships, took $300 and started my lawn care business.
It would have been easy to adopt the “Woe as me” mentality or what I like to fondly call the “Broke B*tch Mentality.” The “It’s always been this way, it will always been this way” or the “This is just what is has to be.” You know… the one that keeps us trapped in what was…not what’s to come.
In order to break the “broke” mentality, you have to uninstall old mentalities and old habits, just like you would uninstall apps on your phone or computer that are not useful to you anymore. Old mentalities or pre-programmed ideas from society can be the hardest to break free from. You have to get rid of any excuses that hold you back from your potential of being successful. Get rid of anything, ANYTHING, that could hold you back.
For example, the “broke b*tch mentality” says don’t spend money on things like:
- Meal prep
- Cleaning services
- massages/personal care
- Subbing things out
And the biggest excuse is “Well, I don’t have the money!” And my answer to that is FIND THE MONEY. Find the money by selling. Sell, Sell, SELL!! If you are THE person who makes things happen, then get out there, build the relationships, and make the money. One of the biggest hurdles of the “broke” mentality is that your time isn’t valuable. You have to understand that time is money, so if you can buy back your time, you are making money. Look at it this way:
- Meal prep can be expensive, but so is eating out all the time.
- massages/personal care take time-but you need to be at your best in order to run your business
- Hiring someone to clean your house provides you an environment that is clean/clutter free to give you an effective workspace
- Subbing things out frees up more time for sales. You don’t have to do EVERYTHING. Find people that can carry out the small tasks for you.
We sometimes cause our businesses to be inefficient by not valuing our time. You need time to build relationships, you need time to add accounts, you need time to be on the phone and making connections. Doing things that buy back your time allow you to do what you are best at!
Here’s another hurdle you have to address: You don’t want to do these things because you’re not 100% committed. That’s a tough one to swallow, but it’s the truth. Breaking that mentality completely means being 100% committed to your disciplines and your process.
We have this mentality because we were raised in a lower middle class family, because of our education system, and because of the pre-programming of society. No one teaches the power of positivity, positive thinking, or mental manifestation. No one teaches us to make the connection between our heart and our mind. That this connection helps you achieve the goal that you set for yourself-no matter what it is. The broke mentality keeps us from pursuing our goals because we self-sabotage.
So decide today that this mentality isn’t going to hold you back anymore. Recognize it for what it is, and decide that the cycle stops with you. You can be whoever you want to be. You can do whatever your want to do. But in order to get there, you have to get rid of anything that’s holding you back.
