The hardest part of business is mental

_{[Read time: 2 minutes]}

The mental game of business is unrelenting.

The negative self-talk.

The fear of looking stupid.

The persistent feeling of overwhelm.

Don’t worry. You are not alone.

(You might feel like you are, but I promise you are not)

The marketing founder who’s been grinding for 7 years feels this.

The business consultant who started last year feels this, too.

They all have bumps, bruises, and scars from playing this game.

They might hide them, but they are there.

It’s ironic, really.

Because, on paper, business is straightforward.

All you have to do is sell something for more money than it costs (and do it enough times to keep going).

”All you have to do”…ha…if only it were that easy.

Watch how the mental side destroys this seemingly simple statement:

Unclear on your positioning? All you have to do is hire a coach, ask past clients, and post something on LinkedIn to help you get clear (iteratively, of course).

But you stay fuzzy because you worry about people thinking you don’t have it all figured out.

Mental.

Struggling to get leads? All you have to do is talk to people, send more cold emails, or DM your LinkedIn connections. It’s a numbers game.

But you choose to go with the dry pipeline because you’re afraid to look foolish.

Mental.

Net income not where it needs to be?

All you have to do is cut costs, rework your service to increase value (and, therefore, price), and reallocate your time.

But you stay stuck because you don’t know where to start.

Mental.

Geez, I didn’t expect to go philosophical on you today, but I did.

When you’re stuck, fix the mental.

It makes executing a whole lot easier.

That’s it for this week.

Thank you for reading.

See you next week.

— Peter

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