written by Fabiano
5 min read

How to Break Limiting Beliefs and Grow as an Entrepreneur

Structure

Quick intro 

What’s the problem?

Do you think you’re pushing yourself enough to do the things necessary to reach your entrepreneurial goals? Or do you limit yourself by thinking small, or too narrow, or not creative enough? We’re surrounded by crazy business stories from founders who did things nobody could think of before. For example, I recently listened to an interview with Nick Mowbray, a 40-year-old billionaire from New Zealand. Together with his brother he moved to China at 18 years old to build their own toy manufacturing factory with a loan of 20,000 dollars. After years of sleeping on the floor, having McDonalds for Christmas and constantly reaching out to retailers worldwide, they secured a partnership and gained traction. 

Your story doesn’t have to be as extreme as Nick’s, but it can definitely be beneficial for your business to think outside the box and push yourself beyond your limiting beliefs.


Own background

What’s my context/experience?

I started my first entrepreneurial project during college. Since then, I've wanted to grow my own company and become a successful entrepreneur. However, after graduation I faced the reality of having to make money for a living. The project I was focusing on wasn’t profitable and I decided to search for a job.
As I wanted to learn how to be an outstanding marketer (to apply those skills to my project) I applied to several marketing agencies. I got rejected by all of them. Eventually, I saw on LinkedIn that a peer from university started at Google, in a technical sales program. First I was impressed and humbled and admired her achievement of getting hired by Google. But in the following days I was starting to think why not write to her, get some tips and give the application a go. It wasn’t Marketing, but I could learn a lot about sales - and it was Google. So I spoke to her, she referred me and I applied. It was a cool thought to think of the possibility of getting invited to an interview, but the next day I got back to focus on writing new applications.
Having already forgotten about the opportunity, I received an email from Google inviting me to an intro call with HR. I was blown away by the invitation to a first call. Why me? I wasn’t an overachiever in university and had no internships at well-known companies. But from the moment I received Google's first response, I put in hours of preparation: watched all the ‘how to ace your Google interview’ tutorials on YouTube, became an expert in the relevant technical topics and intensively prepared for the coding interview. In the end, I got the job. And I realized that my year-long experience with my own entrepreneurial projects were the crucial convincing factor in the application process.


My approach

How do I tackle it?

I would never have imagined applying for Google if I would not have seen a peer getting a job there. It was out of my ‘belief zone’ of potential opportunities. Ultimately, I was considered a great fit and hired. 

Around your startup there are thousands of opportunities you’re aware of and probably even more you have never thought of. Sometimes it can be game changing to identify just a few of those hidden opportunities that can push you and your business to the next level. Often you might not think of them, because they seem out of reach or just not doable. But you can be pretty sure that there is a limiting belief stopping you from just going for it. 
Have you always dreamed of giving a TED Talk, but you’re sure you need more experience and reputation to do that? Reaching out to this big potential customer won’t lead to anything? You need millions of funding before taking the next step with your app? Reaching out to your role model and getting a response is impossible? Launching your first product version next week is an unrealistic deadline? Aiming for being the best in your market is not realistic? Do you think building a sustainable, successful business doesn’t work while having a great work-life balance?

If you have such limiting beliefs, here are steps to overcome them:


Identifying your limiting beliefs

Peer Review: 
Talk openly about the challenges you’re facing in your company. Use your friends and colleagues to get insights about how they perceive you. Others can often spot your limiting beliefs more easily than you can. Here are a few questions you can use to ask your peers:

  • From your observations of me and my business, have you ever noticed any patterns in my thinking or behavior that might be holding me back?
  • Have you ever sensed any hesitation or self-doubt from me when I talk about certain aspects or opportunities?
  • Are there any areas of my business where you see untapped potential that you think I might be overlooking due to my own beliefs about what's possible?

Self Reflection:
For self-reflection, you can also prompt yourself with trigger questions, for example:

  • What is preventing me from achieving my goals as quickly or easily as I'd like?
  • If I could magically wave a hand and eliminate one obstacle in my business, what would it be? What does that tell me about what I perceive as a major limitation?
  • What would I do differently in my business if I knew I couldn't fail?
  • What am I telling myself I shouldn't do in my business? Where does this ‘should’ come from?
  • What kind of entrepreneur do I aspire to be?


Challenging your limiting beliefs and growing as an entrepreneur

Pushing prompts to yourself:
Ask yourself on a regular basis:

  • What would be the absolute champion move I could do for my business?
  • What would be the extra mile I could go for my customer?
  • What would be a crazy overachievement of customer expectations?

Get inspired by the high performers:
Reach out to people who achieved the things you want to achieve. Or listen to inspiring stories from successful entrepreneurs in podcasts. It’s not about comparing yourself with famous founders, but getting inspiration and motivation to try out similar things along your journey. 

Take action fast & get accountable: 
Sometimes it’s just an email or text message that gets you started in an area you weren’t thinking about before. Reaching out to other people is one of the most effective ways to immediate action on your limiting beliefs. For example, by pitching an idea, asking for a collaboration or requesting a speaking slot, you quickly push yourself into accountability. Another option is to announce a step you decided to take to friends or in public, to get yourself going. 

Focus on your strengths:
When executing to prove your limiting beliefs wrong, focus on the skills you’re good at. If you are a very good speaker, go for the TED talk. If you are a good copywriter, send out those 100 cold outreaches. If you are an outstanding designer, pitch your work to your dream client. Executing on your strengths will give you the necessary confidence to aim for the champions league. 


Inspiration I used for this article

Books, Podcasts, Articles, Quotes


Community Space

Your comments, ideas, feedback

  • What limiting beliefs have you successfully overcome in your entrepreneurial journey, and what strategies did you use?
  • What role has mentorship or coaching played in helping you identify and challenge your limiting beliefs?
  • How do you maintain a growth mindset and continue to challenge your beliefs even after achieving a certain level of success?
  • ...

Join the discussion below. Or write me an email to fabiano@40hourentrepreneur.com