Breakthrough your imaginary boundaries #30DTC

You and I, we both have boundaries that are holding us back. These boundaries insure us that we stay safely in our comfort zone. How do you breakthrough these barriers to build a bridge to your next playing level?

Do these boundaries sound familiar

You have 190 subscribers in your newsletter and you will add some new subscribers every week, but when you send a newsletter you will also lose some. It feels like you can’t get past that 200 subscribers boundary.

You once had 900 visitors in one day in your blog. Normally it is around 200 visitors per day. The number of visitors is growing slowly but it seems like you will never get past the 900 visitors in one day mark again.

You earn EUR 48,000 in a year. The last few years you made a plan to make EUR 65,000. Then various things happen during the year that turns your plan upside down and again you do not make more than EUR 50,000.

The funny thing is that these are all imaginary boundaries.
Boundaries that are only true in your head.

Let me share an intimate boundary with you.

My money boundary

In my youth my father worked a lot. He worked at a furniture factory and they build beautiful oak interiors. Many days, weeks, months he worked over time. It felt like he was always late coming from his work.

Then the factory had to downsize to survive, the location in my hometown was closed and my father was laid off. He was in his forties, and this is not a good age to start looking for a new job. Like most people he already worked for more than 20 years in this job.

For 2 years we lived on unemployment pay. He did all kind of voluntary work, just to have something to do during the day. Then he got a new job and things got better.

In these 2 years I developed a drive to make sure I got a good diploma. One that would make it possible to switch jobs more easily and even when I was laid off I would be able to get a new job quickly. I was going to the higher technical school.

When I started the higher technical school (Hogeschool Enschede), there was a high demand for engineers. Students were asked to work for a company when they were still in school.

In this period I developed a feeling that the highest I would make was about NLG 50,000 (about EUR 22,500). Which was a good pay at that time.

By the time I finished this school there was a recession and no demand for engineers. Slowly but surely I worked myself in jobs that I liked. Jobs that made more money.

When I started my own business there again I constantly run into this money boundary that I can’t seem to pass.

Why imaginary?

When people subscribe for your newsletter they have no idea about your imaginary boundary. Your ideal client subscribes because they like what they read and want to get more of you.

There is no agreement with all your subscribers or readers when you are getting close to your number that they will unsubscribe to keep you safely below your boundary.

It is all in your head. Or even worse you may even perform some self-destructive actions because of your own boundaries.

The same is true for the number of visitors. And for my earnings boundary. It is all in your and my head.

The world did not come to an agreement that I could never earn more than EUR 50,000.

Of course you can sabotage yourself or more importantly you can sabotage potential clients that are desperately waiting for your solution. Every time you come close to that boundary you can do things that will hold you back.

What is the solution?

Honestly, I don’t know yet.

What I do know is that talking to other people about it helps.

Today we had our quarterly mastermind meeting. They helped me to face my fears. To look at what is really going on. What is this boundary.

Looking at the results of today I understand NOW that I am selling myself short. I am practically giving away my program and therefore attracting not my ideal clients.

I know how my model helped me and my clients to attract clients. I am afraid to quantify what the result for the client is, even though I truly belief in my program and know what the results can be.

Therefor I will have to get used to a new playing level in order to grow.
Growing to a new barrier, because there are always new issues coming up when a next playing level comes insight.

When I am alone thinking about how to get to that new playing level, it feels like I am the only one with these struggles.
When I am going to my mastermind it feels like I am the only one with these problems.
When the mastermind is over I know I am not alone, I see that we all have our own difficulties and my mastermind friends help me to find the bridge to my next playing level.

How do you breakthrough your barriers

Do you talk to other entrepreneurs? Do you meet with people who make you stretch?
Do you write about it?
Do you do it on your own?

How do you breakthrough your barriers?

Share it below.

Credit photo Jonathan Wheeler Mountain Road