Real and imaginary barriers

Running a business is hard. There are so many barriers to success. Sales, financing, delivery, marketing, recruiting, just balancing everything, knowing what to focus on next, etc.

Yet we often make it harder on ourselves by creating imaginary barriers in our own minds.

  • “I’m not good at sales, so I probably shouldn’t even try.”
  • “They’re not going to want to talk to me.”
  • “I’m not worth $X/hr.”
  • “I can’t do project-based billing.”
  • “There’s no way I can ever make 10 sales call per day on a consistent basis.”
  • “I don’t have anything interesting to say on my website.”

Any of these sound familiar? I’ve said them all to myself. Even when I’ve known I was being irrational, I’ve had these thoughts. And I know I’m not the only one, because other people have told me they have all of these thoughts, and more, too.

It’s one thing when the client says, “that’s too much money, we need to find a way to do it for less.” It’s another when you convince yourself you can’t possibly be worth what you’re worth before you even discuss budget.

It’s one thing to say, “I’m not sure what messaging I should use on my website, I need to figure that out.” It’s another when you convince yourself you don’t have anything useful to say.

So when you notice yourself thinking like this, remember that there are plenty of real barriers in life– there’s no need to invest imaginary barriers in your own head.

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