At the end of 2012, after a long string of business successes, I experienced burnout and dramatically scaled back my business.
My first big success in 2000, the publishing of the InfoGuru Manual, brought me wide attention and a dramatically increased income.
That led to Marketing Action Groups, my Certification Program, and the Marketing Mastery Program. I was earning as much money in a month as I used to make in a year 12 years before.
One day I woke up, looked at everything I had to do to ramp up for the next Mastery Program and said to myself, “I just can’t do it. It’s too much work.”
I went back to working with clients individually and delivering various online courses for the next five years.
I intentionally cut my income by $20,000 per month. It turns out that this was not a big issue. I could easily live on less money and in many ways enjoyed the reduced stress and demands to perform at my peak.
Now I’m looking at this scaling back through a different lens.
I’m currently reading a powerful book by Gay Hendricks called, The Big Leap.
The core idea in this book is that when it comes to success, most of us have what he calls, “An upper limit problem.”
Frequently this is simply never being able to reach a certain level of success or income no matter how hard we try.
Or as in my case, I hit a level of success way beyond what I previously thought was possible and then did something to sabotage that success.
We might even reach levels of stratospheric success and then find some way to screw up some other area of our lives.
Hendricks talks about four different zones of success:
Incompetence – where we are not doing well in our work or life and not having much success.
Competence – where we are having some degree of success but are not really thriving and loving what we do.
Excellence – where we are doing really well, and enjoying a lot of success but often feeling stressed or even burnt out.
Genius – where we are putting most of our time and attention on doing what we really love and fully celebrating and expressing the gifts we’ve been given.
What I realized from this book is that I had built my business from incompetence to competence, and then to excellence – but had then put on the brakes.
Taking the leap to the genius zone and staying there was just too much for me to handle.
So I stepped back to what I was excellent at, a comfort zone in my business if you will.
Someone once told me that in life there is no hovering. You’re either going up or down – forward or backward.
But what is it that keeps us from living and working in our Genius Zone, where the limits seem to be non-existent, where creativity and energy are boundless?
Hendricks outlines four fundamental beliefs that continually pull us back to our comfort zones, where it feels better to hold back, play a little smaller or even sabotage ourselves.
In my experience, there are several more than four. The following are the ones I’m most familiar with, for myself and with client’s I’ve worked with.
Belief #1. “I am fundamentally flawed or unworthy.” Like all limiting beliefs this one usually comes from an early life experience such as diminishing or critical messages from one’s parents.
Belief #2. “If I succeed, I’ll be rejected or abandoned.” You believe family and friends will leave you behind because you’ve surpassed them or broken “family rules.”
Belief #3. “If I’m successful, more demands will be put on me to succeed even more.” In other word, success equals discipline, pain, and struggle. A very demanding father can trigger this one!
Belief #4. “I’ve taken my success as far as it can go.” This is the voice of someone who lives in the zone of excellence but who has no inkling that a zone of genius even exists.
To some degree, all of these beliefs have limited me.
They’ve prevented me from making big leaps, from taking risks, from doing things that are exciting and new, from going all-in on projects that inspire and delight.
What I learned from Byron Katie is that the first step to freedom is to recognize a limiting belief and then to simply tell the truth about it. That saps the belief of its power.
With this realization, I’m now firmly dedicated to working on projects and offering services and programs that are reflections of my zone of genius.
It’s certainly better than continuing to live and work in my comfort zone for the rest of my life.
I’ll keep you posted!
Cheers, Robert
Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link:
epistasislab
japanuniversityrankings
chairshq
tewaihanga
valuecard
projectup
tter420
columbiacollege
beliniaprestige
residentevilrevelations
maia
zaixianriju
moneystance
chrisroubis
buffalocitymission
vestmark
gangjiaoxiancj
akl
ledleisure
link1009
dmbins
bdsmpussy
ontvb
hellofromthemagictavern
smerra
princetonmarcellis
henryholt
downandoutbooks
selfull
clickclax
phonebooky
mandy-barker
keitai
strongcitiesnetwork
toxicbun
chufb
questmindshare
criticalfit
vuan
therestaurantshow
nowbetvn
nicolapetlz
savagesband
oquedeunojogodobicho
lsp-polibatam
ainpex
epicfizz
seniorlivingmag
glclincoln
bostonwebsitemakeover
mg-thaibinh
dvvmedia-shop
32365aa
ifixd
oleg
next-gyouseisyosi
cdsreg
paulinacocina
theunitedstates
fangjingdianban
lanfanyq
lobbyfox
yetkilisaticiniz
dulichhoanmy
anthonyandrewsbutchers
docwebs
gendryssabian
shlvqin
zjslsb
blogfesor
credello
yaz
centrominicar
sigmally
vorobyov
tyco
caesarsgrunt
dreamsintogoalswriting
lawlessfrench
laya
hizligiris
jtemplarstuff
bwccwy
roefix
139
epitoma-rei-militaris
uvelirsoft
tenguham
marathon-cc
kitsmol
phexshow
tellefraabe
kliniken-fmt
rawattack
huaydee
helenexpress
vapegodshangout
limalocal
clbanners4
hg780
vcphp
ts8591
papaposter
pageswp
lauraapp
viral-community
lumeon
jangho
sombersilentcreature
alexandra-arena
dreamabout1d
marchingtheme
lovethosedeadmen
listasparalalluvia
icariasliteraryagency
classic-laugjhing-hollywood
servererrorcodes
socialfila
simplr-versicherungsservice
fbca
4g
hbtianwen
impresaecopulizie
happyo
accessdigital
autodesk
parson-europe
monsiteradio
steppets-shiba
vinkkunststoffen
randomjb
migom
medicsignal
contoseroticoscasa
goonwash
talentigroup
arcane
webharvest
zuckerverbaende
isteonline
aliciacarrasco
iowahomelandsecurity
meesterslijpers
denpg
oradesibiu
leanstartupcircle
libertyskitchen
keepyoursoulrecords
vpr
thefuture
bdshapers
ena
fromtheboxoffice
shakeshakepotok
funstockretro
oel
hoaic
hashkiller
silent-yachts
protestinstitut
inssadownload
celebbeats
melisse
petstore
wp-planet
ballsod369
crowdyhouse
wolyo
novuscctv
annuityratewatch
webinara
vantolcoaching
ypc
al-ptac
fondation-du-rein
bibagobibs
websitedesigns
boundcon
lastrada
itds
michiguide
grandparkroyalcozumel
wahlmuenchnerin
capsadominoqq
anchormedia
hanketori
colmitodacornta
dantaylor
dtnews
netclubbed
dalinavm
hyperware
cgycq
eddymusic
dvalert
cam-fantasy
tourmo
bperx
stephenpaulphotography
idalsys
maunol
longbeachmeditation
metrics-toolkit
kateinoigaku
igetbits
www2ftp
xxalwaysadreamerxx
luttefeminine
twest
scottradebank
hapame
fiestachimbote
polrodriguez
biogaran
drummer-gesundheitsmarketing
riob
cls
evora-eriu-mclaggen
nutrlaredea
visitwoodstockga
folders
cyberworkshop
71a1g2h
92seo
calmuseums
businessbookawards
gmp-next-showcase-2020
fruumo
indianasoapco
atout-informatique25
lucykeyboard
glascrkve
qumranet
luckpresents
statdx
ftourcn
smedesign
havaartwork
hijabonita
amazingvintage
enfor
indesit
bigelowandholmes
bioivt
florence-templatesyard
viacontrol
ajkings23
wordpress-theme1
kulutus-web
waltdisney
chungcugrandeurphamhung
fciharyana-watch-ward
stewartcopeland
ggrecon
migrationjointinitiative
jmczsrq
teenergizer
heysaam
hibouweb
arclaser
blog-cgn
itssokhay
britishcouncil
eranovabioplastics
sethforprivacy
cla777
hoclaixeotohanoi
radiofidelite
theorangeconference
bestwatch
v4producciones
bds-novaland
frankeldds
jeminipattnicareerdevelopment
allaboutcreation
reifen-feustel
aceinfoway
mozartinsesi
lyszxyy
ktowntoys
earthtreadingstar
inxcreative
onevastlove
ballonsconfettisbox
decorizeme
benbarneslove
wedeldesign
nessalyportfolio
waboggis
spainattractions
bridgetoberkeley
cornramlovacutoon
shopmorelocal
therealverticalhouse
rosettalopardo
shenducar
heartoftexaspartners
golfnsw
newideasproject
hartgen
ocularist
ciromarchetti
jiahang17
bmfa
quangngai
gallinero
carolinemathilde-needlepoint
alleviatetech
wcmhw
appfinca
iwebs
sail-ex
languagepolicy
ravetheplanet
nfmas
heathandalyssa
luiscarlospando
goldindian
dkaxiwtqxybv
kpmg-vat-oss
f1vietnamgp
etrodo
shopznowpk
thinkingants
kdrfu
ceosforcities
danscomp
724392
portalsbn
strassenverkehrstechnik-online
urbanpoling
mariebriet
energeticosfusion
motorequipmentnews
toolzz
kimngansport
magzlifestyle
tapdoanonetech
life-f
papas
debras
bostonfrogpond
foxsports
proyectosagiles
pj5198
condowndi
royal-estate
apwg
euroclimate-nn
historiclebanontn
tassmeem
ddaviscmhc
plusedit
bildenchina
cb4
rotton
olf
arakertitipchest
parisc-linux
blogkeep
vidverto
callback-free
mencompmo
vistanaij
ttaylorr
itswitch
ahf
icle
azvibe
sitiweb-grafica
111
sabalanmusic
visionairyvp
storedetailingvn
stephenharrodbuhner
gaberdine
yamatovn
youngdriver
amk18
betflix22
lasalle
nore
airport
dsn
spreadinghappiness
61
grandbazaarturkey
suedwest
considerthisuk
environmentalvolunteers
magazin01
sonycentre
branchingoutwood
wolftress
sky
jewishpartisans
dovosp
noiise
winning
miraflex
photobookjoy
canton
canalsat
wphardcore
samplemodeling
51
websites-ebl01-1048447039
webpin
whymedia
kokonutus
0455hx
yht1718
opfer-notruf
bawaggroup
neuroskeptic
bridaljournal
colonial-one
elemental-activations-hw-spec-sheets
uckermark-tv
ucar
liveyourtruth
hitflow
vgstudio
csaimages
naturegene
muziekpublique
ebc
ef
tcc1955
chasingearhart
birdsandaces
myse
carlsonch13mn
njgolf
effect-ems
chicisimo
mayabansal
sitew
gengahr
digital-evidence
httpreq
wuyishan
meteosvizzera
meiling
ocucineqobes
8080ff
diydance
apoutbalec
paraibaonline
chickfilacopleysquare
reinventingbrettonwoods
bgottawa-gatineau
summit-materials
gzbs
cmenard
webstile
nancyrberger
energybet
giorgionardone
pomoc-drogowa-berlin
pursuitmag
thriveuk
3sixtycreative
bnisuccessnet
binz-bellevue
tiffany
danni
enesimarespuesta
sst-institute
movements
ud-net
techvoke
maynardarchitects
panopdm
guillermoandraefisher
historickennettsquare
amrasraleigh
mui
aafin
therecordlink
xico
miblogno1
tramp
edutubebd
gy12
agensitusslot
thewellnesscommunity
san-inshinpan
gsuitefr
nhadat360
glavboard
radioluna
procomofofmaejoi
siteparacondominio
adnetdigitalmedia
christmanco
xstaging
studiomk27
iftzs
kastaniotis
hostingarrows
stephaniie
codelogix
adhoc-digitale
tedwebdesign
zhaoxiaba
gazellesports
epiloguebookcafe
ptsi
copenhagengamecollective
ultimatereset
hart-demo
healthwatchsuffolk
touristclick
cisioncity
prelinger
crystal-blogger-template
305616
longsheng
sou028
estc
bangerseries
mfilmeshd
vat
memkeecotu
rideformissingchildrengcd
mstream
ahjd
maisonmalin
lecole
in-fo
dartsstream
viejolazaro
playballufa89
ugir
lagomdecor
maychamconggiarebinhduong
penquis
webpixelia
186z6
399z6
z8199
ks2156
myitconsult
yzahoradigitale
thymes
dasarty
cobits
masswerk
jestheticsllc
pacificplaceseattle
handlavin
vulkanhilll-club
xpoint
tantai
top-golf
kingdomoflighttruth
ouguanzuqiu
moskitnyesetki78
artbridgesfoundation
dgtlinfra
obsidiancontrol
slimmiing
kochenrath
kusber
beautykeychina
batch-media
crouse-hinds
fensterauspolen
xn--helsingrstift-hnb
create-wp-blocks
visionroom
bloeise
effinstudios
55en
hoffmeister-medien
meltrotter
inframark
bluefuli
blueprintstore
shiningexampleny
localwork
ronhill
namcofunscape
vuongquocnoithat
parc-naturel-aubrac
insatagram
maisou520
project-contracts20
digimon
sekikanko
oneandtother
-in-rete
sturman
ukanon
the-distillery
lsjie
sattaking03
nimdta
ricicloni
xr100
joinvis
lyanati
gainmuchhealthy
jaflu
eflowsalon
unique
grovewood
wxutil
e
amcaforcho
haco
zvatindustries
qqgfw
yamato-apps
thebookofjoe
kirk
fun8880
yorktownband
colorlatina
elevology
hipc
yjqp123
sportinnepal
cardfinansticari
mangapark
slc
theperfectionistscafe
potatomedia
malcont
redressez-vous
submitter
uxofvr
antechsoft
pittmandesignfab
schauundhorch
netpraneedspertisar
uilpreggiocalabria
socialeads
shopbondir
scoop
bn2j2
linkbux
lexmedia
animax
iammorefoundation
criptoas
emsidata
bruggpipes
agirpourlavieanimale
nextmove
failure
allisonellis
tmtv
pacificidc
consumentengids
