Don’t Believe the Hype!

A couple of years ago I gave a speech at Joe Polish’s Cash Creation Conference. Based on feedback, it has had the greatest impact of all speeches I have ever given.

People still come to me saying “Don’t believe the hype!” – the message had stayed with them and has had an impact on their choices and successes.

When I gave this speech, the recession was in full steam. A lot of businesses were dealing with declining revenue and profit, people were plain scared.

Doom and gloom were shown and discussed at every news channel: lay-offs, high unemployment, bankruptcies, and government bailouts.

There was a general atmosphere of panic, especially for business owners.

The point of my speech was that despite of the bad news, there were a lot of good news and opportunities at the same time.

Whenever one door closes, another door opens – ALWAYS. The challenge is, if we are so focused on the closing door, all upset about the loss, we might be missing the new door opening.

But even if you believed that the recession was opening up new opportunity, the problem was that you kept being bombarded with negative messages – doom and gloom on every channel.

Which led to “Don’t believe the hype”!

Fast forward to today – most of us have experienced change and growth in our businesses. The recession was not the end of everything we hold near and dear.

I am not trying to minimize what it takes (and what it has taken) to adjust to the changing market conditions.

But I am focusing on the benefit – without change or challenge there is no growth.

There is no such thing as status quo in business. Business is either growing or dying.

And the bombarding with negative messages about business and the future continues.

So how do you escape the hype and tap into the opportunity instead?

The key word in “Don’t believe the hype” is BELIEVE.

Whatever you believe, you create.

What we believe, or what we think (our perspective), determines how we interpret what is happening. It’s our view of the world and events.

Our views and opinions determine the actions we take (or don’t take).

The actions we take determine the result we produce.

The results we produce reinforce our belief.


This is where the term “Self-fulfilling prophecy” comes from. What we believe is what we bring about. We always make ourselves right.

Now here is where the power is – you can choose what you believe!

What? I don’t believe that! It’s not about what I believe – it’s about what is true!!!

According to John Assaraf (teacher in The Secret, author of The Answer), a belief is just a thought you think over and over again.

Let’s check it out: You are feeling stressed in your business. The newspapers and TV news are repeating that businesses are struggling, consumers are not spending.

If you believe that they are right, we are in a recession and people are not spending money, what would your view of your business be?

Your view might be that it didn’t matter what you were doing, what action you were taking. You were not going to be able to change people’s spending decisions.

If that was your view, what actions would you take? Cutting back on your advertising and marketing? Decreasing your sales calls? Why bother, right?

If those were the actions you took what results would you produce? Predictably –  your sales would get lower – which in turn would reinforce a recession and people not spending money.

“But”, you might argue, “that’s true! We are in a recession and people are not spending money!”

Be very careful of what “truth” is. Usually, it is just a belief masquerading as reality.

The reality is that while some businesses are not doing well right now, there are many others that are posting record growth and profits.

And people may have changed their spending habits, but they are still out there, spending money.

You may have to change the way you communicate what you have to offer and why should customers choose you.

You may need to change how you package your products or services.

But if you create value with what you sell, there will always be people in your market who buy what you offer.

Challenge yourself: When you hear yourself say (or think) “we can’t do this, the market is against us, people aren’t buying” – are you just trapped in a limiting belief?

“I am fearful when others are greedy and am greedy only when others are fearful. ”

Warren Buffett

You can choose your beliefs by choosing what you think. Why not choose beliefs that support your vision and goals!

What beliefs are supporting you? What beliefs are limiting you?

Share your thoughts and beliefs on today’s topic.

Post your comments below

Are you ready to increase customer loyalty, team engagement and profitability?
Request a Free 15 Minute Consultation
 

Name(Required)
Pharmacy Owner(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.