You are an ambitious professional, small business owner, or goal-oriented achiever, right?

And YET, what if:

You still feel like you’re not as far along in life as you know you should be by now? 

And, maybe it also seems like, 

Even though you’ve never shied away from hard work ever;

Always invested in yourself & dreams (i.e., paid your dues); and

Made the tough decisions (and made the even tougher sacrifices because running into the fire is simply how you’re wired.)

However, when it comes to making those big, meaningful dreams come true? Well, that’s an entirely different story, is it not?

It’s like you got hit with the unworthy stick?

Because you can’t seem to outrun those deep-seated insecurities, no matter what you try or do?

You might also think you’re alone in this.

Like it’s just you, but after 35 years (and my work with clients in over 15,000+ individual sessions), I can tell you with absolute certainty…

You’d be stunned to discover that the majority of success-driven people (especially the ones you think have it all figured out), struggle daily with those same feelings of anxiety, self-doubt, and imposter syndrome because they feel unworthy deep inside, too.

Most of us have dreamt of living the good life one day, haven’t we?

I’m sure you want more than to  only  dream about having a successful career that makes the meaningful impact you know you’re supposed to (and are called to) have, right?

And the promise of being able to leverage automated systems to deliver the results you want, with predictable certainty, would be a dream come true,  yes?

You want the time freedom to enjoy the fruits of all your sacrifice, devotion, and work without worry.

And, yet, there are so many obstacles, aren’t there? 

Why is nobody talking about the dark side of success or teaching Coaches & Consultants (people-leaders) to regain control of our freedom and independence?

Why does being an entrepreneur have to equal working 24/7, continually having the pressure to figure things out on your own, and wrestling with self-doubt, procrastination, time pressure, money pressure, and confusion about what to do next?

It’s gut-wrenching when gifted people who have an intense desire to make the world a better place feel like  they aren’t progressing towards their goals regardless of how hard they work  or contribute.

There’s also a myth that you always have to present a “positive attitude” and never show weakness, even to your family.

Said differently:  Fake it till you make it!

Otherwise, it will cripple your business (or so “they” say).

“Clients will lose faith in you unless you always appear to have it all together.”

This creates tremendous stress and anxiety that must be shoved down, so it doesn’t prevent you from pushing forward.

What do ambitious, success-minded people do in that situation? 

What we always do: 

We seek out a magical marketing plan, an automated sales tool (since most practitioners don’t like selling), a new funnel-building software, or a coach/partner who will come in and save the day!

Or, we drive ourselves into the ground working 15-hour days, 7 days a week, never taking breaks, always on someone else’s schedule (emails, clients, business deadlines)…

We even feel guilty watching a 90-minute movie or celebrating a holiday with family because we should be getting more stuff done for strangers we don’t even know.

We are so devoted and dedicated that our health, happiness, family time, and mental health are sacrificed so we can get one more item checked off the never-ending  To-Do  list. 

Why? 

Also because we’ve been taught that this is what it takes to succeed. 

“Never give up… 

“Never surrender, never quit…no matter the cost!”

After years of chasing dreams and seeking out the newest sales, marketing, or social media strategy to make all my dreams come true, I realized this was keeping me from getting what I wanted. 

I just couldn’t see it at the time. 

A few entrepreneurs were living a fulfilling life without killing themselves or sacrificing their families for fame and fortune.

Seth Godin, for example, personally told me he doesn’t even use social media and has made a great living doing what he loves.

There is a different way to play this game where you can have the money, time freedom, quality experiences with your family, and the space to care for yourself.

As you may already know, I’ve been a business owner for 28 years.

Through hard work and lots of coaching, I have built and run one of the country’s top Hypnosis coaching practices. 

During that time, my entrepreneurial brain kicked in. Through trial and error, I figured out how to develop multiple streams of income, like:

• Operating a Hypnotism school;
• Becoming an award-winning motivational speaker;
• Being a top corporate leadership trainer;
• Writing bestselling books as an author;
• Interviewing industry icons as a podcast host;
• Developing into a TV personality;
• A publisher of online training programs;
• Launching popular virtual Summits;
• Winning multiple industry awards for my contributions and;
• A whole bunch of other exciting collaborations, too.

You’re probably more than familiar with the routine, right? Do whatever it takes and see what sticks.

I once asked Dr. Joe Vitale what he did to become so successful. He said, “I did EVERYTHING!”

Anyway, it’s certainly been a privilege to help thousands of people attain goals, make impossible dreams come true, and experience a more profound sense of self-love, acceptance, and confidence.

Many of my best clients are also entrepreneurs who serve the world as life coaches, hypnotists, healers, business strategists, marketing experts, speakers, authors, wellness experts, small business owners, and more.

Although they came in for different reasons, the problems (and solutions) were always the same. 

They were struggling in their business because of holding back, procrastination, self-doubt, feeling like a fraud, lack of focus or clarity, overwhelm, and high anxiety.

Other clients had attained a high level of material success. 

Still, they struggled with trusting others, achieving work/life balance, chasing approval, communicating with honesty, turning to pot/alcohol/sugar to cope, breaking lifelong bad habits, and trying to avoid a divorce.

You can see where material success, happiness, or inner peace always breaks apart, right?

It all comes down to our mind’s OS (Operating System).

And more importantly, beginning to see the mental malware that’s unknowingly been downright attacking most (if not all) of the upgrades we’ve made to our mindset over the years.

Because it’s only after you  begin to see the malware  that you’ll be able to start the removal process.

However, all mental malware infects us at the  unconscious level.

The problem here is obvious, then, right? 

If it’s UNCONSCIOUS, how will you ever know the root issue and resolve it?

That’s when you hear people say, “I’ve been doing the work for fifteen years but still feel like I haven’t gotten deep enough to the real issues.”

Well, here’s the thing: In the beginning, it’s damn near impossible to see it in yourself, BUT it’s rather easy to see it in others.

In fact, once I show you how to spot it, you’ll probably start recognizing it in yourself and seeing it in others almost automatically.

And that’s why starting tomorrow, I’m going to share a few case studies from my client files so you can get a feel for how to begin to evaluate if there’s any mental malware mutating away in your unconscious.

Now, although I won’t use their real names (to maintain confidentiality), the stories and struggles you’ll get to see are very real.

Chances are good that you will be able to relate to the issues my clients were going through (heck, I could personally relate to almost everything they faced).

So if you feel like one or more of these stories fits and  describes you to a tee , don’t be surprised. 

This is the dark side of being an entrepreneur. 

We’ll kick things off tomorrow, where you’ll meet, John.

John is a successful business coach whose mental malware infected him at the age of 10. And little did he know, it was severely holding him back from taking his business to the heights he wanted.

And, strangely enough, you’ll discover how the same malware also almost destroyed his 30-year marriage.

See, it almost always controls every area of your life.

Yet, that’s the best news! Why? Because by cleansing the malware from one area of John’s mind, he was able to regain his freedom across the board.

Plus, you will find the speed at which he did so was staggering. 

More on that tomorrow.

PS. Let all this soak in overnight (and for goodness’ sake, please get yourself to th e Practice Accelerator Master Class, even if you’ve already attended one, because you’ll pick up something new each time!)

This is your homework for today.

Please be a  DOER !

Let’s go…

The post The Dark Side Of Success (and A Silver Lining!) first appeared on Indy Hypnosis Center.