We want to take a pause here. You’ve probably figured out by now that we don’t shy away from bringing personal development into conversations about business. In fact, if we’re true to our own values of transparency and honesty as a company, to leave the metaphysical out of the conversation would be lying by omission.

For us, there is no separation between who we are as humans, and who we are as business owners.

To grow a business is to grow as a person.

If you’ve subscribed to this series, you’re undoubtedly driven by purpose. You want to be of use, to serve, to offer your authentic gifts and find a level of abundance that flows to you without struggle, striving, and artifice.

The past two emails touched on a couple of common stories, assumptions, and belief systems around business.

We suggested that that being real can co-exist with prosperity.

That you don’t have to trade away your integrity in order to sell your service or product.

And perhaps most importantly, that to “serve” in business is a disposition . . . a way of being . . . an energetic “yes” to the notion of a sacred exchange of value.

What other stories might be shaping your beliefs about business?

What else is ready to be unlearned in order to move forward?

What belief systems are limiting your options . . . your freedom?

Assumptions lurk in the shadows where we can’t see them but we sense that they’re there . . . how?

Because of the results manifested in our lives.

There’s nothing more humbling than witnessing our mirrored beliefs staring right back at us in plain view.

Exploring Our Shadow Beliefs

In my business communications class, I teach my students about shadow beliefs. I show them the famous Johari window in order to help them develop the self-awareness to be better communicators – “what is it that I don’t know about myself?”

Inevitably the first question the students ask is “but how do I know it’s there if it’s hidden?”

Johari Window

I tell them, look at the results in your life. As within, so without.

This notion isn’t anything new for most people, and there are many programs, processes, and conceptual frameworks that can be helpful with shining a light on hidden limiting beliefs.

However, there is one framework that I want to share with you because, after years of working on shadow beliefs (only to still feel stuck in old patterns), I made progress on a scale and pace that has proven to be groundbreaking for me and many others. It is called the “Squares” process.

The Squares Process

It’s a simple process based on the ancient teachings of the reconciliation of opposites and polarities. Through a simple journaling process, a path to unity consciousness becomes clear by quickly and dramatically moving us beyond egoic limitations and overcoming negativity, anger, pain and fear.

A contemporary translation of this work was pioneered by Leslie Temple-Thurston in her work in her organization CoreLight and her book The Marriage of Spirit. Leslie and her partner Brad Laughlin offer an elegant, beautifully simple roadmap of systematically working through limiting beliefs that has yielded stunning results for people in their struggles with money, addiction, relationships, and others.

A description of the process is here.

How it works . . .

Sam.

Sam would say his number one issue is commitment. In every area of his life, he is plagued with doubt and ambivalence about matters large and small. He is 34 and has started many businesses and been in a number of relationships, only to bail when he starts to feel trapped and confined.

He’s read all the books, sought counseling, been to programs that promise relief from the suffering of a sense of lack of direction and joy in his life.

He knows that the source of his issues originate from his childhood, but he’s exhausted from going back and re-examining his early years, only to see the patterns re-emerge after a couple of months of inner work.

Upon the recommendation of a friend, Sam tries out a process that brings to the surface of his awareness the beliefs that he holds around commitment. Through doing the “squares” work, he discovered that there was a part of him that actually desired confinement, as it gave him the freedom of not having to make a decision.

To his dismay, he also discovered that there was a part of him that was afraid of freedom! Because without rootedness, without connections – who would ever depend on him? Would his life matter if he just floated with the wind?

These were just a few of the hidden beliefs he discovered, and then surrendered. Every layer of beliefs revealed another layer, and by bringing them to the surface, Sam was able to disengage from the push-pull of his polarized beliefs, and make decisions from a place of awareness, unity, and balance.

Emily.

Emily has done a lot of inner work. She knows that she holds shadow beliefs around money. Why? Because she has experienced a lifelong struggle with finances. Raised in a Buddhist family, Emily came to believe that to have money is unspiritual and that poverty is akin to sainthood.

She also believes that having money will change her . . . she’ll become greedy and selfish.

But on some level, she knows that she’s telling a story, and that these beliefs embody a narrative left over from childhood. She keeps enduring the same financial hardships over and over – experiences of deprivation, impoverishment, hoarding, overspending, and debt imprisonment. She sees the problem, has tried numerous “shadow work” programs, but the results just don’t change.

In a last ditch effort, Emily tries the “squares” process. She commits to a month of watching her money conflicts, and then sitting down and mapping out the associated polarities . . . and then releasing them. Slowly, surely, her money issues begin to resolve, to become less charged and filled with drama. She begins to feel the lightness of more financial freedom.

In doing the “squares” work, the polarizing dualities embedded in strong belief structure are teased out and then surrendered. The rigid system of duality starts to weaken and the charge around the issue neutralized until, one day, the issue has dissipated – it’s just not in the field of awareness anymore.

My friends, try this with any business or personal blocks you may be experiencing now. See if it works for you!

How does this apply to growing my business?

What are the primary roadblocks you are experiencing in your business? Not enough website traffic? Weak lead generation? Funnels or email automations aren’t generating the output that you’re expecting? Or you just don’t know how to get started, you feel like you’re in a fog.

Can you frame these “roadblocks” as beliefs – and challenge them. Find out what’s underneath the patterns that could, unbeknownst to you, be generating the results you don’t want.

For example, “I send out emails with offers constantly, and all I hear are crickets. Is there anybody out there??”

It’s easy to start diagnosing the tactics and strategies right off the bat, and making adjustments. But before you do, take a moment and ask: “what do I believe to be true about my message? Do I believe in it? Do I feel like I’m offering 100% topnotch value? Am I in a disposition of ‘serving’ – or am I in transaction mode — trying to ‘get’ something from my market?”

Perhaps you need to rewrite your offer so that it’s more congruent with your values. Perhaps you need to adjust the price up or down, so that it’s more aligned with your principles of generosity and self-care.

Maybe there’s an alliance or collaboration you overlooked in the rush to kick off the campaign – making you realize you were operating from a place of competition rather than abundance and sharing.

If there is inner conflict around any strategies or offerings, the outcome will reflect this.

Who knows, but before making the assumptions that the process needs adjusting, make sure the operating system is clean, aligned, and in sync with your values.

A few final words . . .

Some marketing gurus say “always lead with selling the results.” Tell people how many clients they can expect from the campaign. Focus on the money. The fame. The number of likes. Bury any information that implies hard work, trial and error, and that one might want to consider making some internal changes.

“Never lead with mindset – people don’t want to have to change, they just want the results. Lead with the outcomes.”

One marketing influencer even says you have to “slip the spinach into the smoothie.” That only you know what your clients need (and implicitly, they don’t) – so slip the truth – the mindset stuff — in when they’re not looking, as you’re telling people how much money they’ll make from your program.

I’m sure that approach gets clients, sells programs, and probably “works.” However, it’s an approach that relies on the assumption that the answers lie outside the clients.

Well, that’s not us. We hold that people don’t need to be fixed but to be accompanied.

In our work with clients, we uncover together the next right step. We don’t offer a prescribed cookie-cutter approach, but we’re in the trenches with you.

We do this not just because it’s delivering value (one of our bedrock principles) but because it’s fun. Exciting. It brings joy, possibility, freedom.

So, let’s explore together what can be possible for you and your visionary business!

Read Part 1: “Be Real. Be Prosperous.”

Read Part 2: “Serve. Don’t Sell.”

Interested to know more about how we help people grow their businesses?

Strategy Session

In this free 30-minute session, you will receive:

A free review of your website and branding
Online marketing strategies that might be helpful for you
Recommendations for specific “next step” actions you can take to see results immediately

No obligations, no hard-sell, no pressure! Schedule your session below, we will get back with you to set up a call.

We look forward to meeting you!

~ Mark and Angela

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