The largest obstacles you face in growing a business live in your head. You accept thought patterns and limiting beliefs as Absolute Truths and Very Good Questions.

And chances are, you aren’t even doing this on purpose. More than likely, you’ve inherited these beliefs from people around you who think success is “for those other people” and a society that says “not you.”

Let’s rewire some of those circuits and get your head in the game.

Think of this as a curated playlist from me to you. A mixtape for your mindset.

Your responses to my questions in previous newsletters have been the muse for this mindset mix.

Jay Acunzo – Maker Monsters

I got this email from one of yall: “I’d like to ditch [my current job], but I’m daunted by the notion of having to run my own business.” Sound familiar? While there’s a LOT packed into that statement, I detect a good dose of “I’m not sure I’m good enough to pull this off.”

My friend, Maker Monsters are the mean, nagging questions in your head that really don’t have an answer so they never show themselves out. Their ongoing presence actually clouds up your ability to just think and work and be creative, unburdened.

Jay has three different episodes on Maker Monsters (eps 161, 167, & 170) where he interviews a wide range of relatable creatives about the gremlins in their heads and how we make friends with them in order to get back to the good work.

Listen here.

Rachel Rodgers – Boo, You Need Boundaries

I hear this statement a lot, especially from women: “I’ve been running my business for 4 years and I’m ready to scale but I don’t know how because I’m already overworked and stressed out.”

There’s no one better than Rachel Rodgers at shifting your mindset from Broke Boo habits to Rich Boo habits. While her whole podcast is full of hits, this episode is actually her reading chapter 4 of her book.

Listen here.

And, ultimately, be good to yourself and read her whole book. If you think that money makes you evil and empires are for colonizers, this book is one loving therapy session. She addresses money mindset issues that get baked into our gray matter and how to reframe “rich.”

Jereshia Said – How To Overcome Your Fear of Success

A student once said to me, “I think I might be fighting growing.” <mind blown> What a huge insight! If you find yourself procrastinating on the things that will actually grow your business, you might have an unacknowledged fear of success.

For those of us who grew up eating SPAM for dinner like I did (not because you liked it, but because it was cheap), success can be awkward.

And we can do some real weird self-sabotage. Like, for years. Without realizing that we’re getting in our own way.

Because (1) we’ve got some deep rooted belief systems to re-wire and (2) we’ve generally lacked role models of how to be successful and sane.

Jereshia Hawk peers right into your soul in this episode and talks you through to the other side.

Listen here.

Hidden Brain – The Psychology of Self Doubt

I’ve heard you say, “I have so many things I want to do but I’m a Jill of all trades – not sure I’m actually good enough at any of these to make a living at it.” Sweetheart, recognizing your value is hard work made even harder with self dout.

Shankar Vedantam’s podcast is a classic but this episode with psychologist Kevin Cokley is an absolute must listen. Dr. Cokley studies the make up of self doubt aka imposter syndrome. And how everyone has it – even Michelle Obama.

But more than just feeling like you aren’t alone, Dr. Cokley shows you how to make self doubt an ally. This is the podcast to replay when you’re having a bad mental health moment.

Listen here.

Jay Shetty – Eliminating Self Doubt

“Stephanie, I’m not sure how to reach new customers. I feel stuck.”

“Ok, let me send you a strategy for getting new referrals.”

<sends strategy>

“Stephanie, I’m not comfortable with any of these ideas.”

Your brain is designed to keep you alive. Which often means taking as few risks as possible and conserving all atoms of energy. And that’s going to prevent you from trying new things and living a life you’ve dreamed about. This episode is about how to get your brain on board.

In this episode, Jay interviews Mel Robbins, a popular motivational speaker. They talk about how to become kinder to yourself. How the only person who can convince you to be happy is the one who stares at you in the mirror every morning. The real work has to happen internally.

Listen here.

It takes a lot of love to uproot those mental blocks. So don’t be hard on yourself for holding onto bad thoughts. Be compassionate. This journey isn’t easy but you aren’t alone. Listen to the words in this mixtape and rewrite your internal script.

Hear one more thing from me: The risk of sending you a playlist is that you’ll stop everything you’re doing and listen. Pause growth – I must learn first.

But that’s not how it actually works. You learn as you do. Which means you should listen to these episodes (likely, more than once) while you continue to grow your business. You can work on your mindset at the same time that you reach out to a new client or update your website.

There’s no such thing as getting ready, then making business dreams happen. Being an entrepreneur is an ongoing process of getting ready.