This is part of the big, bad, ugly limiting belief family.

Except that it doesn’t look like a limiting belief, which makes it hard to recognize.

I mean, you’d think that “not settling”  and being cautious was a good thing, right?

Right.

Except that sometimes your cowering ego (and by You, I really mean ME) will trick you into thinking that by proceeding you’re settling.

This makes more sense as a true life example.

January has been a tiny bit rocky for me. Nothing catastrophic, or even traumatic, but I seem to be finding excuses to Not Do what I’m “supposed” to be doing.

I listened to my Authentic Self.

She said take a Facebook Break (Oh, and ditch the format of a program that wasn’t working!). Done and done.

But there was still something bugging me, then WAM! Like running into a boulder, I felt it. You know that feeling from when you were a kid and you fell off your bike and had the wind knocked out of you (or maybe that was just me, as a clumsy kid who rode too fast).

It came on fast, but it was gripping!

I was going along, slowly and cautiously. Which is actually quite unlike me. I deal with limiting beliefs A LOT, both in myself and my clients. My process involves acknowledging them, and either letting them be or doing the exact thing I’m afraid of.

Well, then I had a mini-troll. Leaving out details, she told me that I was harming the coaching profession by not educating myself as a coach.

Excuse me?

No where have I claimed to be a “certified” coach. I don’t need to be with my background. It’s in the cards, but I have other things to do.

I don’t think I’ve harmed anyone. Not intentionally. My mission is to spread love, compassion, strength and growth. I also think (and have been told by MANY!) that having a B.A in Psychology and a background in educational psychology, that I know a thing or two about how our brains work, as well as cognitive theory, and all that other stuff.

My ego flared up, and she hurt me, but in a matter of hours I was fine again.

Or so I thought.

What happened is that she brought up my most ugliest limiting belief: You’re not good enough.

I’ve suffered from that one since grade school. (Getting a little revealing here, but that’s part of being authentic. Can’t just talk the talk…gotta walk it too!)

I recognized it, and sought the support needed to deal with it. (HELLO! Best Friend, and Biz Coach….done and dealt with. Or so I thought.)

It wasn’t quite dealt with yet. It was that exact belief that caused: Grass Is Always Greener Syndrome.

When you don’t feel like you’re enough…you’re constantly seeking outwards to find it. Programs, books, coaches…those are all good as long as you recognize the fact that YOU are perfect the way you are right now. But it’s a double edged sword, because you might be confronted with exactly what you need and be too afraid to jump on the opportunity. It happens ALL THE TIME!

Just like that! I realized that ms. mini troll was deflecting her own failure as a coach on me, and that in fact I am good enough…and I have loads of clients and testimonials to prove it.

I’ll finally get to the point. This insignificant person in my life (I have never heard of her before, and I will never again), had the ability to flare up that limiting belief and then turn it into something that nearly caused me to make a huge mistake: Doubt myself.

I began to doubt the decision I made to enter a high end mastermind group (we’re talkin’ 5 figure quality).

To the normal person, this does sound crazy (who pays that much to get coached? The answer: successful people who want action and results FAST!).

BUT because I had this limiting belief, I had a fear that by entering into this one program (and taking on the monthly payments of it) I was cutting off my ability to do other programs. See…grass is always greener.

When talking to the coach about it, I even used the term “Afraid to put all of my financial eggs in one basket.”

Image courtesy of Owais Khan http://www.itvlive.blogspot.com

Did you notice the limited (and lack) language I used. And I was aware of it! (but so confused I could think straight any more)

So I set the intention last night to ask my authentic self to give me the answer, in a clear, loving way so that there was no doubt in my mind around what I should do (enter the mastermind or not).

I got my answer loud and clear this morning, and put the down payment through.

And the truth is, besides clearing out another layer of that nasty limiting belief and exposing more light on it, I’ve also showed the Universe how much faith I have in myself, and the fact that Yes, I do practice what I preach, thank you very much!

1. The Universe is abundant. There is no such think as lack.
2. I am an awesome human being who deserves to be happy, just because. (Same goes for YOU!)
3. Money is just energy.
4. Energy is always flowing
5. Therefore, money is always flowing (assuming I don’t cut it off with fear and lack mentality).

Another truth…I went through a similar fear when hiring my business coach for the first time (as well as buying my house, paying down my student loan and buying my car). And yet, I have never ever lacked money. Not since I started working. Everything has always been paid for.  Just goes to show you that when you stretch…the Universe fills in the gaps.

So there you go. My version of the Grass is Always Greener Syndrome, how the fear of settling nearly cost me a year in business growth, and how I over came it. I have no idea what the point of this post is supposed to be, other than to share with you my authentic self.

Maybe it’s supposed to help you grow, maybe you’ll start to feel that you’re not alone! I hope it does at least one of those.

So last night I was reading a book (big surprise, I know) and all of a sudden it hit me!!!

Start a book club!

So many people constantly ask me what I’m reading, and where I get my inspiration, and sometimes I feel like I single handedly keep amazon.ca in business (I’m sure the ladies at the post office think I’m nuts for all of the packages that come in for me!) AND I have been asked to participate in so many books launches that I am turning them down…because I can’t read the books fast enough to okay them before I recommend them.

So my solution? To turn what I love to do into a group for other people who love to do it too! Now, because I just got the idea last night the details aren’t completely ironed out yet, BUT I have some ideas.

1. I pick the books and lead the formal discussion. Simply because it’s my group. I’m all for suggestions on titles, and anyone who wants to lead a discussion, no problem! Just let me know.
2. Books are known 1 month in advance. I know not everyone can buy a book each month. I’m okay with that, and I fully support libraries. So you’ll know April’s book at the beginning of March, so you can put your request in.
3. Bookclub discussion at the end of every month. (To allow you the month to read it…I know people are busy).
4. We’ll test formats. Right now I’m thinking a teleseminar/live call AND discussions in the Ning Forum I’ve created.
5. Some books might be e-books. I have read a lot of great books in the last year. Some of them are online books, that you can only purchase through the writers website. These books will have to be purchased. I will only choose these kinds of books if they thrill me to the point where I can’t keep them to myself (there are a couple that are just that good! and you’ll want copies of those ones).
6. The club is free to join. All I ask is that you actually participate. Please don’t join if you don’t plan on showing up for the discussions.
7. The club is free, BUT I might be using affiliate links. What does this mean? That if you do choose to purchase the book, and you do so through MY LINK…I get a small percentage of the sale.
8. http://authenticselfbooks.ning.com/ is the link to the group forum if you want to sign up. I have not picked a book for January yet (but I have some in mind). I first wanted to see how much interest there is. If there are more than 4 people interested, it’s a go and we’ll grow slowly! (Small is actually better for book clubs, anyway). The group forum was just created (about 10 minutes ago), so please be patient! It’s new technology for me, and like I said earlier, I still don’t have all of the details out there. But I do love to act when inspired to do so!

Who will love this group? People interested in the Law of Attraction, personal development, living in the moment, discovering your authentic self, being happy, dealing with resistance, living in positive energy….all stuff like that. I’m not a “fluffy” or “woowoo” person, but if I find something out there that I love and it’s a bit weird…I’ll recommend it! You MUST be open minded, willing to set aside your story and preconceived notions, and jump right in!

That’s it. Join if you’re interested. Comment on recommended resources, or ideas for how to run the group. I’m flexible!

(Think and Grow Rich is not necessarily the next title, but it is a great example of the kind of book I recommend…and I know how to get free ebook copies!)