The Art Of Self Sabotaging

Our greatest obstacle is getting in our own way.

This is even true in a biblical sense: the best place to find satan is within.

This entire week, I’ve been pondering the idea of humility and what that looks like.

I talked about this in my last post, you can check that out here…

I described a conversation with the father at my church where I asked him how you stay humble when you’re experiencing a lot of abundance…

He responded, “By addressing your sins and your flaws.”

And that lesson has stuck with me, I’ve been thinking a lot about how it applies to the different parts of my life.

Specifically, my business.

What I see, and I think all business owners see, is that there are these peaks and valleys that happen in terms of revenue.

It’s not just because of the level that I’m at with my own business.

I had dinner with my friend Stefan Georgi yesterday, who’s been in business for about 6-8 more years than me (maybe more) and whose net worth is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than mine.

I explained to him that I had been pondering what exactly causes these peaks and valleys in revenue…

And I had concluded that it was no different than the dialogue I had with the father at my church on humility with god.

You have a business that’s not bringing in sufficient revenue.

You have actions you take that bring in revenue.

Cold outreach, referrals, networking, posting content, and so on.

Those actions then start to build momentum, and all of a sudden revenue comes in usually after about 30-60 days of consistent action.

We now decide to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Expenses start going up, we aren't as strict with our routine, maybe we’re traveling more…

And then what happens?

30-60 days from then, you’re sitting there back to where you started, or only a little bit ahead.

Why?

We stopped doing the things that brought us success in the first place.

This is what self-sabotage looks like.

We get so caught up in the success…

That we think that all of the results are because of us, we must be the best in the world, and we’re the best, bla bla bla…

This is where it’s really toxic though…

When the success dries up, all of a sudden you haven’t changed the association with the results.

So your lack of results is because of you!

You must suck, you’re worthless, you’re a fraud, bla bla bla…

And if you think you’re immune from this, let me close a loop for you…

Stefan experiences this exactly and strays from it, just like I do too.

Two people, two different incomes, same problem.

So what’s the solution?

You disassociate from the results.

Success isn’t because of YOU, it’s because of your actions.

Failure isn’t because of YOU, it’s because of your actions.

I’ve said it so many times, it’s a principle for life: It’s not about you, it’s about the role you’re supposed to fill for others.

Treat your business like a human, and fill the role you need to fill for it.

I think the really smart person reading this will take my advice and just implement it.

They’ll change their beliefs and save themselves so much wasted time and momentum.

But if you’re like me, it’s going to take 2-5 mess ups for you to really understand this concept.

Or you’ll never understand it and keep suffering from a roller coaster of revenue.

The key is consistency.

Even when things are good, you keep taking the actions that made it good in the first place.

Sow them seeds, yo.