Ep #112: How to Shift Your Beliefs to Reach the Next Level

You are listening to The Life Coach Business Podcast with Amanda Karlstad episode number 112.

Welcome to The Life Coach Business Podcast, a show for coaches who are ready to up-level their business and take their impact, leadership, and results to a whole new level. If you’re ready to start taking powerful action and become the leader your business needs in order to grow and thrive, this show is for you. I’m your host, Amanda Karlstad, certified life and business coach, and entrepreneurial leadership expert. Now, let’s get down to business.

Hello and welcome everyone. So glad to have you with me today. I hope that you’re doing amazing and that your week is off to a great start. My week has been amazing. I am super excited. I just got done sitting down and planning out my next series of bonus masterclasses and workshops that I’m going to be delivering to my Mastermind clients.

So these are my clients who are working to build and grow their businesses, and do it in the most accelerated way. I’m super excited because part of the process that I teach is, and I’ve really developed this program to be everything that I believe that a coach needs in order to build, grow, and scale. So whether that’s to that first $100K or even to beyond, I truly believe that this is the process that every coach needs to go through in order to do that.

So the work that we do in this program, in this process, I’m just really proud of it. I’m really proud of the work that my clients do and what they are able to really create. So I’m super excited because I just sat down and really created this next series of bonus masterclasses that I know is going to help them just take things to the next level.

So I really want to invite you if you are a coach who is looking to go to the next level in 2022. So if you’re at a place where you’ve tried all of the things, where you feel like you’ve been doing everything, and you’ve just reached a point where you understand that you need to do something different. That you really need to take things to the next level, and you know that you need expert coaching, expert support, expert mentorship, and you’re ready to accelerate your results, then I want to invite you.

I do have an upcoming cohort that is starting after the new year. Now is the time to get in. I do cap this cohort because there is such a high level of support in this program. There’s both one-on-one coaching, there’s group coaching. I really do guarantee that this process, this program will change your business. It will change the trajectory of your business.

So if this is something that you’ve been thinking about, I highly encourage you to go to amandakarlstadcoaching.com/themastermind. We’re going to link that up in the show notes as well. I am enrolling right now for this cohort, and there are a few spots left. We’re welcoming some amazing clients in this cohort. I’m just so excited for what is ahead for these clients and for what they’re about to create in the new year.

So if you are serious about making 2022 a breakthrough year for you and you’re ready to go to that next level, now is the time my friends. All right. So go to amanadakarlstadcoaching.com/themastermind, and I will see you there.

All right. I have what I think is a really important episode for you today. One of the things that I have been thinking about for all of you and for my clients who are working to take things to the next level in the next year. Whether that is taking your business to a million dollars, we have clients that are scaling to their first million. I do have clients that are going beyond that. I’ve got clients that are going to multifigure, or clients that are going to the first six figures. So whenever you’re at in that process, I want you to know that what we’re going to talk about today is applicable to you.

So there’s some really distinct shifts that I’ve been thinking about recently as I observe my clients and as I’ve been thinking about the shifts that I coach them through in terms of building their belief and taking things to the next level. So what I want to talk to you all today about are the shifts that I believe that you must make in order to really step into your next level.

So what we’re about to talk about is going to be relevant to you no matter if you’re building to that first $100K or if you’re building to that first million. What I have learned and what I have found as I coach my clients through this process is that there’s some really distinct belief shifts that have to occur. I believe that they’re necessary in order to create the types of results that I know you all want to create.

So the first thing that I want to say about this is that I want to bring it back to the fact that everything is a belief. How I would define a belief and how I would offer to you to think about a belief is a belief is really a thought that we think over and over again. That’s what I believe constitutes a belief.

So one of the things that I will say is 100% true in all of the cases, in all of my most successful clients that I work with and really when I look around in the industry. So it doesn’t matter if we’re even talking about the coaching industry or if we’re talking about any other type of business. There’s some real core shifts and belief systems that I believe you have to make if you really want to go to that next level.

So the first shift is that when you think about a belief and when you think about the thought patterns that create those beliefs, right, because we think those thoughts over and over, which then creates that belief. So those habitual thought patterns that create those belief systems, I know this is kind of meta here, but what I want to offer to you is that a belief is purely just a belief. A belief isn’t actually the truth.

But here’s the problem that I see. What I see happen so often, especially when you’re growing a business and especially when you are in a place where maybe you’re starting out in the process. You don’t have a lot of evidence. Maybe you’re thinking you should be farther along, or you think things should be working a different way, or maybe a launch didn’t go as planned. There are so many different scenarios where this comes into play.

What I see happen is that there are certain thought patterns, there are certain belief systems in my clients and just in general that I observe where there’s a tendency to very quickly default back to the habitual thought patterns. Back to the habitual belief systems because they’re so practiced, because they’re so engrained. And because on a very real level, there’s usually a very strong emotion tied around them.

Because of this, I see this happen so often that so many of you operate as if they’re a fact. So what happens is because when you operate from place, when you operate from a belief as if it’s a fact. They feel very truthful, and it’s very hard to see a lot of times. It’s very hard to distinguish between the circumstance, the truth, and the belief. What happens is a lot of times I see coaches that operate from this lens of a belief of this thought pattern that they actually to a very high degree they believe is truth. They believe is a fact.

So the first thing that I want to say here is that the first really important shift that I think you all need to make and something that I coach all of my clients on is that we actually have to make sure that we’re truly separating what’s actually a belief versus what’s an actual truth. I know that this might seem very simplistic, but the reality is that we’re dealing with the human brain. For most coaches that I work with and most clients that I work with, this is a very difficult thing. I know that many of you experience this as well.

So one of the reasons why I think being in a container where you are being coached at a high level, where you have a coach that can see these types of patterns, that can help identify and help you build your awareness around this is really, really important. One of the most important shifts that’s going to help you really turn the corner and really start building momentum is this shift in really being able to separate a belief from actual fact. So that’s the first shift that I want to offer to you today.

The second shift is, again, another really important shift. If you’re looking to grow and scale a highly successful practice is that we have to really start shifting and assessing how those belief systems and how your beliefs about what is possible and what is really possible for you.

Now, I have to tell you. This is one of the things that I am most passionate about and that I love talking about. It’s one of my core philosophies. It’s something that I coach a lot of my clients on. It’s one of the cornerstones of my coaching philosophy is that I truly believe that if you’re wanting to grow and scale a successful business, that it’s absolutely available to you. It’s absolutely possible for you no matter what your current circumstances, no matter where you are, no matter where you’re at in the process.

So for all of you listening, I know that you tune into the show because you have a desire, because you have a desire to build a highly successful coaching practice. To do the fulfilling work that you’re here to and make the impact that you’re here to make and really build the life and the business that you really want.

So the first thing that I want to offer to you around this is that just by you having the desire and the knowing that you’ve been called, that you are being called to this higher purpose. That you are being called to take things to a bigger level in your business and to make a much bigger impact just by nature of you having this desire. Of you even just listening to this show today. This is already proof that you’re in the process of creating that, even if you don’t quite have the evidence yet. Even if you don’t have the results that you want.

So one of the things that I love coaching my clients on and talking with my clients on is really getting to the core of what they want. I’ve done some recent podcast episodes on this topic where I’ve talked a little bit about this. So I recommend you go back and listen to some recent episodes if you haven’t. I’ve also been observing this in some clients recently.

What I will say is that, again, this seems like a simple question, right. What do you really want? It seems like it would be easy enough to answer. The truth is that what I find is that for most of us, I don’t think we really answer this question to the degree that we could. We don’t really answer this question and give ourselves permission to be honest about what it is we truly want. Or in some cases, we’re not taking the time. We’re not creating the space to really answer this question honestly.

When this happens, what tends to happen from there is there’s this default to what’s realistic. There’s a default back to, “Well, I don’t really know if that’s possible. Or I don’t really know if I’m capable of that. Or I just don’t know what I want.” So because of this, what ends up happening is that our answer to this question, it really starts to become filtered through a lens of what we think is realistic versus a lens of truly what’s possible.

So I want to encourage you to really tune into what it is that you truly want. What does that future business truly look like for you? What do you most desire? I don’t want you to be filtered about this. I want you to answer based on not what’s “realistic” or what you think you might be capable of, but I want you to really go big. I want you to consider what that is for you.

This is one of the reasons, again, why I think my clients have experienced such extraordinary growth, such exceptional growth in such a short amount of time is because—And I did a recent podcast on this. It’s called expanded vision. Being able to help them see and help them create that expanded vision, helping them to step into that expanded vision, helping them really construct the business around that expanded vision is huge.

So because of this, we’re able to see so much more of what’s possible and really allow them to step into that possibility versus operating from a place of what’s realistic. So challenge your beliefs about what is possible for you. This is huge.

I will tell you. My beliefs about what is possible, I believe that the business that you all want, the dream life, the dream business, the dream schedule, the dream money, the dream clients. All of it is possible for you 100% of the time. So this is really where I operate from in my business. It’s also one of the reasons why I think, again, my clients experience such massive growth in their business is because we really expand what is possible for them.

So because we have the thought, because we have the desire, I want you to know that you’re simultaneously starting and allowing for the creation of that possibility, for that to actually manifest into the physical world because of the fact that you think something is possible, because you allow yourself to see that bigger vision.

Again, even though you might not yet have the results, what I want to offer is that you have the ability to expand your belief. You have the ability to expand your vision and then build the belief to match that about what is possible for you. What happens when you do this is you’ll actually end up collapsing time. It will actually help you speed up the process of achieving the result that you want.

So the next shift that I think is so important for your beliefs in order to take things to the next level is what it’s going to take to actually create the results that you want. So once you start to believe that you can truly create the business that you want.

Once you truly are able to see what’s possible for you and you start to believe that you can do it, what tends to happen is then we move into this place. I see this happen so often with clients, especially with clients that have experienced a certain level of success. They start to have thoughts about what it’s going to take to actually go to the next level.

So some of the default thoughts that tend to come up and some of the belief patterns that tend to surface are things like, “Oh, this is going to be too much time. Or it’s going to be too stressful. This is going to take me too far away from my family. It’s going to be too much of a sacrifice. Too much money.” Right? So what I want to challenge all of you with here is that if you’re in this place, I want you to look at the stories that you have about what it’s going to take for you to go to the next level, okay?

I will also say that I’ve found that the opposite can be true. I think there are cases where what I would call more magical thinking as it relates to building and growing a business where I see almost the opposite case. Where there isn’t a lot of consideration as to what it actually does take to grow and scale a business.

When you’re in that place where you maybe haven’t given a lot of consideration to it. I’m not saying this in a way where we have to beat ourselves up and think that business is hard, but if we haven’t really experienced a lot in the business building journey and if we don’t have a lot of experience to draw from, I think the opposite can be true.

You can get into this process, and you quickly find that there are a lot of different considerations that you have to make. There’s a lot of decisions that you have to make. There’s a lot of things that need to be in place in order to create a successful business, right?

So what happens here is that when we aren’t really balanced here, when we are allowing a belief system, when we are allowing these thought patterns to really dictate what we think the business building journey is going to be like.

What actually happens is it ends up stalling growth. I’ve seen this both with clients and again in general where you maybe have had an experience and maybe it was a launch that didn’t go as well as you had hoped or maybe a program that you tried launching. You’ve been trying to launch things for a while and you’re trying to get things off the ground. Maybe because it hasn’t built the momentum that you would like, because there hasn’t been the type of growth that you would like in the timeframe that you have wanted it.

What tends to happen very quickly is that we start to form belief systems about what is possible in the future. So going back to the possibility of the future, we start to form these belief systems based on the experiences that we’ve had that we project into the future.

So I think what’s really important here is that it’s important for you to be investigating and to be able to see what these thought patterns are here for yourself as it relates to what it’s going to take. Because I do see this come up a lot, especially again when a coach has built a level of success.

When they’ve had some initial momentum, when they have grinded things out, when they have hustled, when they have built maybe to that first $100K and they’re looking to go to the next level. There tends to be this almost projection that happens that we carry that experience, and we project that onto the future.

So if you’re finding yourself in this place and you are seeing if this is resonating from you. If you’re saying, “Okay, I can see this in myself right now.” I want you to really challenge your belief around this. I want you to take a look at the belief and really see the thought pattern that’s here. Really see the belief that’s holding you back.

The next shift that I think is really important to make is your beliefs about the future and what is going to happen next. Now, here’s the thing. Our brains love the familiar. Because our brain is constantly trying to predict, it’s always looking for confirmation of what we believe to be true. This is a tricky one. I see this come up, again, with a lot of coaches who are in the grind phase in their business. When they’re in a place where they’re trying to build that initial momentum. What happens is their beliefs about what’s going to happen become very, very apparent.

So one of the things that I see come up a lot with my clients and with coaches that especially are new coming into my program is that they have maybe tried some different things in the past. Because of their experience, they are carrying forward these beliefs, these thought patterns surrounding the future and how things are going to play out.

Because of this, there’s almost this residual belief that they carry with them that they start to then project, again, on the future. They start to project that based on their experience and what they believe will happen next.

What I will say here is this happens so often because in this process when you are initially launching things, when you’re initially launching a program or a new group program, for instance. Maybe that initial launch didn’t go exactly as you had planned. Maybe it wasn’t as successful as you thought t should be. What tends to happen, again, is that there starts to be a belief around, “Oh that strategy doesn’t work or that approach doesn’t work, or this program isn’t going to work.” Right?

What I have found to be true is that in so many cases, the opposite is actually true. The truth is that the majority of the time, we won’t get things right out of the gate. So I think it’s important to be onto yourself when you find yourself thinking about the future. When you think about the next steps that you’re taking in your business or the next steps that you need to implement in your business that you’re very careful not to project your past experience onto the future.

This is a really, really important one. I think this one is also very sneaky because, again, our brain is always looking to confirm that which we believe. So if we believe that something is going to take a lot of time, if we believe that something’s going to be hard, we start to project all of that into our present. By default, we also start to project that into the future.

So the result of this is it actually, again, starts to really slow down the growth of your business. It really starts to halt your growth, and I see this happen over and over again. So that’s the next shift that has to be made.

The last shift that I think is really critical in order to step into your next level is challenging what I call your identity beliefs. So your identity beliefs are those beliefs that you believe about yourself. It’s how you see yourself. It’s your self-concept.

One of the ways that I see this come up so often when I hear clients talk about themselves is—A really great indication of this is whatever comes after “I am.” So, for example, if you’re finding yourself, “I don’t know if I can do this. Or I don’t know if I’m worthy. I don’t know if I’m capable. I don’t know if I’m cut out for this. I’m not techy. I’m not a numbers person. I’m not good at this. I’m not good at selling.” All of these statements that we make about ourselves, these are truly windows into the beliefs that we have about ourselves. Into these identity beliefs.

I think this is one of the most powerful things and one of the most powerful shifts that I believe you can make. It’s how you finish that “I am” statement, how you finish that “I am” sentence is truly what you end up creating yourself to be.

So, again, this is something I want you all to challenge yourselves with and look at for yourself. So often these are beliefs that we’ve carried for a long time. In some cases, decades. So the I’m not techy, I’m not good with numbers. All of those statements in so many cases are beliefs that we’ve been carrying for years and years.

It all shows up in different forms. It all sounds a little bit different, but it’s really powerful for you to have an awareness to this. For you to really become aware of how you’re finishing those statements and even in your language, how you’re showing up. And whether you’re working in your business or you’re working on your business, how you finish those statements is what you’re creating.

I want to tell you that you are so powerful. You are a powerful creator. So if you want your business and your life to match what it is that you want then you first have to change your beliefs. You have to decide with intention what those beliefs will be.

The great news with all of this is that you can change any belief in an instant, and it’s truly just a decision away. It’s so powerful to be able to do this work, to be able to create this for yourself, to be able to decide and create yourself and your business in the way that you most want to.

All right my friends. Have an amazing week. I’ll talk to you all again very soon. Take care. Bye, bye.

Thank you for listening to this episode of The Life Coach Business Podcast. If you want to learn more about how to build, grow, and scale your business and accelerate your results visit amandakarlstadcoaching.com.