In order to breakthrough to the next level you must be able to become comfortable being uncomfortable. There’s a wise quote that states, “Nothing changes if nothing changes”.
That’s why you have to constantly reassess yourself and make the necessary edits in order to get different results. If you want more than you have right now, then you must become more of who you are right now.
The highest performers are able to have honest conversations with themselves in order to overcome insecurities and breakthrough limiting beliefs.
I had the fortunate opportunity to speak with serial entrepreneur Jared Goetz, CEO of the 2nd fastest growing Shopify store behind Kylie Jenner after generating $2 million dollars in revenue in 60 days. As the founder of Leave Normal Behind I am always speaking with individuals who are becoming the best version of themselves, giving back, and creating things that matter.
We spoke at length about how to smash through limiting beliefs and outperform your subconscious mind. If you want to be a high-performer then you must continually breakthrough to the next level and reinvent yourself. This requires changing the way you think, the expectations you set, and the habits you do everyday.
Below, I have outlined the 5-step framework that Jared uses to outperform his subconscious mind and generate millions in E-commerce revenue while simultaneously having a balanced, fulfilling lifestyle.
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Step 1: Recognize Your Subconscious Beliefs and Life Standards.
Acknowledge the fact that you have limiting beliefs. It is simply impossible to outperform something if you are unaware of its existence. Your environment and family situations influence your beliefs. Your supporters, investors, and collaborators are your future.
In order to complete this preliminary step, you must first reflect on what you truly believe in your subconscious and realize, within this step, you will be identifying precisely where and how your unique weakness/blind spots exists.
Ask yourself: how much money are you currently making? As grandiose as your ideas may be, your bank account defines your socioeconomic class. Society has a tendency to demean people based on this ranking.
While recognizing your subconscious beliefs and standards, acknowledge that these limiting beliefs you hold (based on self-evaluation) are true; accept that it’s all part of trusting the process. You can’t think your way into it. You have to do it. Keep it real with yourself. With your health, wealth, and happiness in check, you can now move on Step 2.
Step 2: Solidify a vision on what you want.
No gray area is permitted here. It’s a no gray zone; black and white will exist in place of any uncertainty. In this step, Jared & I encourage you to write out your ideal life. In order to physically see it, write it. In order to intrinsically feel it, write it out.
Begin each sentence with “I will”, solidifying your certainty and determination toward your idea. Immerse yourself in this vision, fine-tuning and editing it as you see fit, everyday for at least 5 minutes a day.
Once you begin this practice, you begin to live through writing, because your clear-cut vision is what sets and defines the actions that you will accomplish each day toward breaking plateaus in your entrepreneurial endeavors.
Step 3: Create a plan to achieve.
Start this step by beginning with the end in mind; with your outcome charted, you can more precisely define what actions are necessary to achieve your goals. When devising this plan, I would recommend to keep a number of relevant questions in mind.
- How much do your dreams actually cost?
- How much money are you making right now?
- How can your business make that money for you?
- What needs to happen for you to achieve this financial goal?
- How many clients do you need?
With every aspect of life in mind, you need to plan accordingly. Allow yourself, at your own pace, to write your plan from macro to micro. Make sure to get down to micro actions that must start TODAY! Micro-tasks can be as simple as updating your Instagram story daily, reading a book, attending an event, and posting a Facebook ad campaign for $10 a day. Micro-actions do not make you successful overnight. Micro-actions compound over time with consistent execution. This creates momentum and confidence. Similarly, if you do not follow through with your plan, then you will lose self-confidence and momentum.
If you follow through on your plan, you will see gains in self-confidence because completing each action is a popular practice of positive reinforcement.
Most importantly, you must understand that not taking action, aka procrastination and (or) stagnation, is not just a pause in your forward momentum, but rather, an ENTIRE step or two backwards. You must realize that you are either moving forward or backwards and that “pausing” is an illusion. Push yourself toward solidifying macro then micro goals, and practice putting your plan into action. The internal satisfaction of checking something off of your daily planner each day is a sweet, irreplaceable feeling. Strive for that.
Step 4: The Power of Habit and Routine.
Developing a new routine is a challenging process that becomes easier overtime. You must have a structured daily routine in order to compound your success, momentum, and motivation; once this compound reaches a state of fruition, you will find yourself the beneficiary of your own manifested success. Jared Goetz recommends the book the 12 Week Year by Brian Moran. He likes his Sunday plan method.
Using this method, he effectively sets himself up for the following weekend. Adhering to one 3 hour time-block per week and shorter 45min – 90min work sessions. He writes out everything that needs to get done, puts together his calendar, updates checklists, and finally, he sets up his daily schedule utilizing time-blocks for tasks like checking/responding to pertinent emails, scheduling calls, content creation, meetings, and of course- free time. After establishing time-blocks, he then defines the variables according to what his week calls for.
Here are some friendly reminders for the unkempt entrepreneur.
- Undistracted.
- No phone.
- No notifications.
- Always reacting/responding to forks in the journey.
- Strive towards a proactive mentality to get ahead.
Step 5: Stay true to your Vision, Plan, and MOST IMPORTANTLY to Yourself
At this point, you can read Step 5 with a smile of confidence. The first 4 steps are important to giving you the momentum you need to breakthrough to the next level despite any negativity that might come your way. Most often, this negativity comes from those who are close to us, family and friends, who do not see the same way that you see. This can make this breakthrough period challenging. In order to breakthrough you have to stay true to the vision, plan, and most importantly yourself. You might lose some friends or family for a period of time, but at the end of the day, removing people from your life who no longer serve you is a constant factor when you commit to a life of growth and legacy. At the end of the day, some people just don’t have the same vision and goals as you and you have to accept that it’s okay to distance yourself from these people.
You should know by now that you cannot just think something into existence. Of course, thought is where it all begins, but if you do not follow up thought with action then you just have an idea that never gets done and that is worthless. This is a push-pull system, predicated on the fact that you have to put in the effort. Put in the physical & digital work you have self-assigned. While you are putting in the work, you will push your boundaries
A wise man once said, “You Learn Best By Doing”.
In the “doing” you will develop new strategies to maximizing your efforts as you run into obstacles and grow through them. Every step in the process is valuable and teaches you lessons that lead to the next step. Stay in the trenches and put in the work. This is the best way to increase any skill.
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Implement these 5 steps into your life until they become habits. As you grow you will continually have to expand past your comfort zone. This framework will work for you at any stage in your life because the secret behind these steps is for you to envision yourself greater than you already are and then hold yourself accountable to bring that vision into fruition.