[00:00:00] imagine that we're at a kitchen table, coffee in hand. Shoes kicked off just talking honestly about business and about life. Today, I wanted to share something that's different from the other episodes that I do where I have a guest, or I'm sharing a book, or I'm sharing a strategy or a framework.

Today I'm gonna talk to you about mindset challenges as a founder

, Where you're working really hard, you're doing all the things, but the money isn't matching the effort. This isn't a polished episode. It's more of me walking through the mindset coaching that I received around this. And if you're in this situation, I want you to know that you're not alone. I've been through this. Many founders go through this, so take a breath, settle in, and let's have a real conversation about what it feels like when hard work isn't paying off yet, and what we can do with that together.

[00:01:00]

Hey friends, welcome to today's , founder Mindset. Minute. This is for the founder who feels very tired. You've been working really hard, and you don't really have much to show for the amount of work that you've been putting into your business.

I want you to know that you're not alone. There is a space in the process of building a business where you expend a lot of energy and you don't see very much for it. And this space can be really heavy and really tricky just because we've been trained that if you clock in, if you have a job, if you clock in.

You get paid whether you're working very hard or not very hard, but you get something for your presence. And [00:02:00] when you step into entrepreneurship, you're showing up, you're doing the work, , doesn't equate to you being paid

unless you design your work in a way that the more effort you put, the more you're getting paid. And even to get to that point, it takes a lot of learning. You know, learning about how business works, learning about how to reach your customer, learning about what your customer wants. So many things and so many hats that you wear as a founder.

So today I want you to know that you are not failing. We're gonna name this space together and let's pull back the curtain on how to walk through this. I have had seasons where I have pushed really hard in my business. I showed up,, I worked late, and then I had to face something.

Confronting my effort had been high through the roof effort, but my results were not through the roof results. [00:03:00] You know? And I have to say that moment of confronting. It took a long time to come for me, because I'm a very passionate person. I think people who are very creative by nature might fall into the same category as me, but that moment was crucial.

Because what I realized is that. I was creating a certain kind of exhaustion, a certain kind of burnout. Not like physical tiredness, but you know, one way your inner voice is starting to say, Hey, I'm so tired of working this hard and not seeing the fruit that comes with this, and. My knee-jerk reaction to this confronting, which many entrepreneurs I'm sure you'll identify with, was, you know what?

I just need to work more. Let me push more. Let me add a late night work block. Let me stretch my capacity, let me prove that I can do it and I can do more. But what actually happened is that the more I worked without clarity. [00:04:00] Okay. I didn't take the confronting as an opportunity to create clarity.

I just took it as an opportunity to put more gas on the pedal. And if you're with me and you're resonating with this, keep listening. I didn't take that moment to gain clarity. And what I was doing unintentionally was I was training my brain. I was training my consciousness that. The more I work, nothing really changes.

And that created a layer of exhaustion of really feeling burnt out. And so over time, I started my day and I just felt tired. I just didn't feel like doing it anymore. Of course, what I was feeling was that resistance because I, I've taught my brain that this thing that I'm doing, the more I'm doing it.

The less I'm getting from it. Okay. I've trained my brain that, and so my nervous system is trying to protect me from repeating this experience. Often I don't want to work, , [00:05:00] it's noon and I haven't done anything, and maybe you felt that too. I wanted to share with you the shift that changed everything for me.

Most founders. We don't have a discipline problem. We don't have a problem with working hard, but what we have, because this is a new arena, this is not, you know, a nine to five

it's really a design problem. So when we're asking the question, you know, how do I work harder? How do I push more, what we should be asking is how do I design my work so that the right actions actually lead to revenue? , the metric that measures success.

Sales come from sales conversations. And to be honest, one, I was avoiding having real sales conversations and I had to be honest with myself about that. I'm creating offers, but am I consistently inviting people into them? And I'll give you an example of this. I would post, , on [00:06:00] LinkedIn.

, The marketing is there, but, my energy is like, uh, I don't really know if I should invite people into this. I don't really know if, I'm being too salesy. There was a lot of hesitation and one thing that I've learned is that most founders have everything that they need to be successful.

Everything. For me, that looked like, Hey, I've gotta switch into CEO mode, and what does that mean? That means I can't be, nervous about inviting people into what I'm doing . I can't be like, oh, I don't want so and so to see me on LinkedIn talking about this else.

I'm not in CEO mode. And I'm not thinking about the success of the business. Another point, really profound point here, is that for Christian founders, if God has called you to build this business, it isn't just about you. There are people who are relying on you to do what you need to do, people you don't know, people you've never met, but people who are relying on you to do what you need to do.

And so [00:07:00] taking these confronting moments as they come to really get more clarity figure out what is it that I need to do to get the result that I'm looking to get. Doing the few things that can actually bring you money.

Hard work is not created equal. You've got to know that you're working hard in the right things, focusing on the things that actually bring you money, and then really structuring. Your day around just a few non-negotiables. Instead of having an endless list of to-dos, we don't wanna be doing everything. We wanna be doing the things that directly lead to results

not only are other people depending on you, but reminding yourself that God doesn't want us to live in this constant loop of effort with minimal harvest. There are seasons for plowing. Yes. But there's also wisdom in, Hey, .

We need to change the method. We need to change the rhythm. Let's have a real [00:08:00] confronting conversation about why it's not working. Gain clarity on that, and then take a step in the direction of what we think will get us directly to the result that we're after.

So I wanna offer you three simple anchors that you can hold onto today. If you're feeling tired, if you're now resenting the work, if you're thinking, I don't need this anymore, I'd say take a step back. Maybe what you need is

rest and reflection. So that you know the best way to proceed. You don't need to work any harder than what you're doing. You probably need to work less if you're working very hard, but you need to work with clear priorities. On your calendar, blocking out that this is a revenue block for each and every day.

If you don't have a revenue block, you know how they say your calendar will tell you your priorities. If your calendar isn't speaking to the priorities of. Making revenue in your business. Houston, we've got a problem and I have that problem. So there's no [00:09:00] judgment here. For a lot of us who are not coming from sales backgrounds,

the last thing we want to do is to be in that revenue mode. But if you're gonna be the CEO of your business, the first person who should grab the reins of that revenue block is you. Rather than having three unfocused hours of frantic work, having one hour of a revenue block each day will lead to the outcome that you're looking for.

And you're allowed to redesign how you work. This is why you became entrepreneur and a founder. You're allowed to say that, Hey, this strategy, this schedule, this way of working isn't sustainable. And then change it. Change it, and find a rhythm that works with your energy, with your calling, with what you're trying to accomplish.

This is the freedom of. , Owning your business, it shouldn't be that you've created a bigger prison than working a nine to five. And a lot of us, and I've been there myself, we fall into that. So your mental minutes reflection [00:10:00] for today is if you stopped trying to work more and instead focused on the right work, what action would you keep as a non-negotiable in your day?

Because this one thing actually moves you closer to revenue and impact just one action. Let it be simple. Concrete. Put it on your calendar. The actions that you will take and make it become something that you do every day automatically. You know, it's like. If you want to work out, you have to create the conditions that get you to the gym with the least resistance every single day.

You shouldn't have to think about it. Set your life up in a way that going to the gym becomes a no brainer. And it's the same as founders. We need to set ourselves up in a way that creating revenue and creating impact in our business becomes a no brainer. Yes, it's gonna feel uncomfortable 'cause it's something we've never done before, but that's the amazing thing [00:11:00] about entrepreneurship and becoming a founder.

That vision requires a new identity. Stepping into a new identity is scary, that new identity is exactly what is needed for you to create success in your business. So my challenge for today is

Know that you are not behind. You are learning to build a business that honors your calling and your capacity. Every day you're stepping into a new version of yourself, a person , who can do the things that you need to do to create the future that you envision. Every founder goes through this.

And I'm cheering you on, and I'm hoping that this mental minute helps you the way it helped me, and I'll talk to you in the next mental minute. If you've enjoyed this episode, leave me a message. Let me know if you'd like more of these kind of conversations. Short and sweet, [00:12:00] and talking about real founder issues,

building a business and the mindset work we need to do to step into that new identity every day that allows us to do things that are beyond our wildest dreams. 'cause I believe that God has a plan for each and every one of us. You know, that's in Jeremiah 29 11, God has a plan for us and he alone knows the plan, but we have to be faithful.

And taking that leap. You know, even if you're shaky, take that leap every day and ask God to give you the strength and the courage to do the things you need to do, because he's with you. He's with us every single day. Thank you for listening. And if you have a found a friend who's going through the same kind of thing, share it with them and have deep founder conversations around these things, because when you know you're not alone.

And you can stand in agreement and pray for each other and lift each other up and ask each other [00:13:00] these deep questions about how we're building businesses, the better off we'll all be. Thank you very much for listening to the Founders Mental Minutes.