3 Ego Traps in Entrepreneurship

Today, what I'm going to do is talk to you about the three ego traps in entrepreneurship. There's three things that trap people from growing their business. Sometimes it's even getting started, but most of times it's taking you from an existing business to, to the next level because business is hard. That first 0 to 10k per month is really difficult. Like that first 6 figures is hard. Okay. Getting from 6 figures to 7 isn't as hard, but it takes a different, a different business model. There's different things that need to happen. And in order to grow and get past this like 3 to 5k mark, sometimes you got to get out of your own way. So what I want to do is talk about today, today, the three ego traps. And there's maybe a fourth one, but it's more of a mindset. There's three, but there's three ego traps. I'm going to talk about them and as we go through this video, be sure that you comment and let me know what was most helpful for you or what your insights are. Because when you share your insights, other people will pick up the insights for themselves and help someone else. My name is Dr. Aaron Labourer. I'm a physical therapist. I am a cash practice owner. I am an online coaching business. I've generated six, seven figures, I mean over the last 20 years, I mean six figures a year in a massage business, PT business, multiple six figures, PT business, seven figure online coaching business. I've made a lot of money, which is great, but money is not everything. I'm just telling you that to know that like I've been doing this for a long time, since 1999, been doing direct response marketing, business building. The very first book I picked up was J. Conrad Levinson's book Guerrilla Marketing. I've been teaching this for a long time, probably longer than you've known about it, which is okay. But I just want you to know that I'm teaching you and sharing these things from my experience. And not just what Aaron has gone through, but what I've experienced other people go through. I've seen other people, I've seen other businesses, business owners, struggle. I've helped launch thousands of physical therapy businesses in person, mobile, online business coaching businesses, even outside of pt, occupational therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, health coaches, psychotherapists, et cetera. And there are three traps, it's like I call them these three ego traps that trap entrepreneurs. And these are especially dangerous as you're just getting started. But even when you're at seven Figures or more. You can get trapped in these two because remember, especially the most people that I work with have graduate degrees. Like, you're smart. You've gone through life, you've gone through your education, striving to get an A, striving to be perfect and graduating and being the smartest person in the room. And there's two things I need you to know. 1, 80% is good enough. Like, you do not need an A anymore. And two, don't be the smartest person in the room. Be the beginner. Remember, the master is the student. I can't remember if it was Bruce Lee or not, but let me talk about these three things. It's the gif, the SSS, and the SOS So my uncle Gene, who's a retired pulmonary specialist physician here in Greensboro, always uses acronyms and uses them mostly for his dog. And, you know, like, there's the A mode. Ain't much of a dog. You know, some other things like that. So I've got these great acronyms, and they came to me recently when I was. I've been at a couple events with people and just seeing what they're doing or seeing them. Seeing people bounce from place to place, but not making forward progress in their business because it's like these ego traps are taking them off their target. So just like a racehorse, you need to be able to put blinders on. You need a really good plan. And when you have a plan, you need to put the blinders on and just go forward and not let these ego traps get you. So I'm going to talk about them first. Let me draw them out, too. So there's three ego traps. Make my line a little smaller. Okay, let's talk about them. There's the G I I F. This is called the Good Idea Fairy. So the Good Idea Fairy landed on my shoulder yesterday afternoon. The Good Idea Fairy shows up, like, for me, too. I'm like, okay, what am I going to do about that? But you know, what I'm going to do is I looked at it, I saw the Good Idea Fairy, and I. I'm going to pass it off to my team member because I have a team. But if you don't have team members or other people that can help you implement strategies, this is gonna take you off like, your target. The Good Idea Fairy comes in and says, hey, this is a great idea. Like, you may know, okay, my role, my. My project right now is to run webinars to create content. You know, create 30 days worth of content. I have a lot of our Platinum Mastermind members going to the 30 day Facebook Live challenge. I just put someone on it yesterday, or you know, for me right now is a month of webinars and improving our members vault and access for our Platinum Mastermind members. It's like, that's what I'm doing. But the good idea Fairy came yesterday and said, aaron, use this new software to, you know, do more things in like, you know, on Facebook and Instagram. But I know what my target is. And so I have to tell the Good idea Fairy, no, thank you. It's kind of like when I went on a cruise with the kids to the Bahamas a few years ago, pre pandemic, right before it was 2019 in the spring, I went on a cruise with my kids and it was a Carnival cruise. And we get down to the Bahamas and they're like, okay, when you get off the boat, there's gonna be this whole zone of people like hawking you for, you know, to buy merchandise and everything. And they called it the no thank you zone. They're like, you just have to go through there to get to the rest of town. And it's just a no thank you zone. So just say no thank you. I mean, you can spend the money there if you. But it's gonna be cheaper a little further on. It's just like, no thank you. So when the good idea ferry lands, you need to say no thank you. For instance, you want to start a cash practice and you're working on that. And the Good idea Fairy says, start an online business. Create an online course. And you go and you spend 20, 30, 50, even 100 hours building out an online course. And you try to sell it. No one wants to buy it. Well, that was a good idea ferry. And it gets you way down a path where you now your in person business is suffering because you've spent more time doing something that seems like a good idea, but really to start an online business, you can sell a course, but in order to sustain it, I mean, we've done this in our income impact Academy. Take people and help you make 2000, 3000, $6000 in the first week of a course. Relaunch a course for 40k in a week. Great. But you have to have customers and prospects and a whole email list for that to be sustainable month after month. So I can help you do that. But we have to spend time creating content to build out a system to make it repeatable. And if you don't have, if you haven't given out social goodwill doing videos you know, like this. Then you're not gonna have, like, traction. It's just gonna take you off your target until you can automate your clinic, vice versa. Let's say, you know, your, your. It's your time to run workshops or webinars and someone says, hey, there's this new strategy. I need you to implement this thing. Or, you know, like the good idea fairy comes to you to solve problems that don't really exist. These are small 10% problems that the Good idea fairy usually comes to help you with. And that may look like a new course or a new program that promises to solve your problem, but when in actuality, it's not the thing that's going to solve your problem, it's you doing the work and taking the right action steps are going to solve the current problem that you're experiencing. Because a lot of people come into business and they get here and like, I want to sell you my course and programs, but I really only want to sell it to the right people because it feels like it's a good idea. It feels like cash practice is a good idea to a lot of people. And they get into it and they realize that it's really hard work because business is hard work and it's tough and there's lots of up or downs. You got to have a strong stomach when it gets hard. The good idea fairy is going to land and be like, how about this other thing? Makes sense. It's kind of like, what is it? The, like the devil and the angel on your shoulder in the old cartoons. That's. It's kind of like she comes and lands and it's like, hey, let's do this other thing. Let's take you off target because it feels easier. It seems like that it's going to solve your problem. There is no idea that's going to solve your problems. It's your action steps are going to solve your problems. But what it is is your ego getting in there and saying, this sounds good, it sounds easy. I'm going to do that. When actuality to solve your problems, to grow your business, you, you have to do some hard work. But you need to know that you've got the right work in front of you. And that's why working with a coach and a mentor and having a game plan is important, because you know the exact right next steps to get you to your goal. You set your goal and you know the exact steps. And the Good Idea Fairy comes along, you say, hey, thank you very much. That's a great idea. I'll write that down and either I'll have a team member do it or I'll do that later. Because right now my goal is this. That's a good idea Ferry. Okay, the next one is the SOS which is the Shiny Object syndrome, which is very similar to the good idea Fairy. But what's different is the shiny Object syndrome is when you're chasing other things and you're bouncing from thing to thing. It's like the next thing is the. Is the next best thing. It's similar. The good idea theory is like, try this new strategy. The shiny object syndrome is there's that thing. If I buy that thing or I get that thing, it's going to solve the problems. And that's kind of like even in physical therapy, it's like, hey, here's the new tri needling technique or the new BFR Cuffs are better than the last one. Really? Maybe this is the. The software, not the strategy, right? Maybe there's. Maybe as I'm talking about this, those are the two differences. Is one is like the good idea for areas like try this new strategy. This is a great idea. Or try this new business model and the SOS the shiny object syndrome is what's that thing? I need to buy that software. I need to get. That's just going to solve all my problems in the right ones. Will solve the problems. But are you solving 10x problems or 10% problems? And shiny Object syndrome is just like collecting a bunch of things to say, I bought them. I've got all these different softwares, I've got all these different tools, I've got all these different courses and ideas and not actually implementing them. You're just hoarding them in your house. It's like if you're a. I've never done home health, but I can imagine the home health therapist here. I've walked into homes and there's just a little pathway to get to the person. If you've ever experienced that, let me know below. Right? There's a lot of shiny objects out there. There's a lot of things that look great. They have big promises, but the promise is only as good as the action you take. And again, it's a distraction to doing the hard work. It's the hard work that you have to do that's going to move you forward. It's not like the brand new camera. Like I'm using a. I'm using a really nice mic. It's a rode procaster and I've got a blue boom arm. The. The boom. Arm cost me 150 bucks. The mic was like $400. I've got a stream deck, which was a couple hundred bucks. I've got $600 worth of lights in front of me. But you know what? I got those because I ran a two day online event and I had a sponsor and sponsorship and I used them to upgrade, upgrade my sound studio. And I've got a Canon 70D looking at me. It's a. With a $150 lens. It's a $800 camera. You don't need that to start a podcast. You don't need that to do Facebook lives. You just need one of these. And it can be an. It can be an old iPhone. You can use an iPhone 10 that you get off ebay for a couple hundred bucks. You can use art. What you got? So Shiny Object syndrome is going. I can't start a podcast until I have all the right things. I can't create a course unless I go pay for perfect recordings and videos. I've got to have it perfect. It's got to be bright and shiny and I've got to get all the things you don't need. All the things. That's your ego telling you that it has to be perfect, that you've got to have exactly what the top people use before you make a move. It's buying something just for the promise of it. Solving a problem and not actually taking action on it. So don't let the Shiny Object syndrome and the good idea fairy keep you off track. The third one is sss. This is called Special Snowflake Syndrome. There's kind of this thing, you know, right? Like no two snowflakes are alike, right? And no two people are the same. You've got different experiences than I do. I'm tall with red hair. You may be different, you may look different. Even if we're both tall with red hair and ride bikes, you probably grew up in a different part of the country. So there's a lot of things that are different about the two of us. There's a lot of things that are different about all of us. And I can tell you this. When working on a business and working with a mentor and coach, the thought that my situation is different, it's really like, I don't call it a lie, but it's really like a lie to yourself. Your situation is not different. The combination of things you may be going through is absolutely unique. And the way you feel is unique to you. People come to me all the time like, but Aaron, people In my town won't pay cash for pt. But Aaron, you know, I'm from a small mountain town. But Aaron, I've got a baby on the way, right? I mean, there's all the things, like, I will sit there in a room with people in concurrent, whether it's in my coaching group or in another coaching group that I belong to, will ask the same question three different ways, but it's the same question. You know, how do I get more leads? How do we get more sales? They will hear someone else say it, and they'll think, that person's not like me. They don't have red hair. So that answer, that question doesn't apply to me. And then go and ask the exact same question because it's unique to them. The problem is not unique to you. It's. Your story is unique to you. For sure, when you're working with me or another coach, the backstory of why this is an issue isn't as important to me as solving your problem. It's not always the problem that needs to be solved. It's flipping the switch in your brain and the mindset that you need to adopt to be resourceful and start solving these problems. So it's like sitting next to someone who looks like you, who's. Who's more successful than you can flip a switch and be like, I can be just like them, or it can be, they're not like me. My situation is unique, and woe is me. I can't possibly be successful. The shiny object syndrome comes in to give you an excuse not to fail. It allows you to feel safe failing by not even trying. So you're not. So it won't let you try because your situation is so unique that it won't let you go and fail. And yet I failed all the time. I feel I failed. This week I made an offer. Some of my coaching clients, I totally flubbed it. But you know what? That's okay because I wouldn't grow and change and learn if I didn't try. If I didn't try and just shoot from the hip rather than propping up and aiming with a. With a mountain, a sandbag, and trying to get it perfect. You know, I'd lose time and lose speed. Special snowflake syndrome will do that to you. Just recognize that your situation isn't unique. We're not talking about, like, you know, leader of the free world. We're talking about, like, Getting you from 0 to 6 figures or 6 figures to 500k a year or 500k a year to a million. Like, there are different problems along the way that you'll experience. There are different things that you need to do now to get to six figures, then you'll need to do to get from six to seven. There's different team members and different strategies and different priorities. And we getting you all in a room. No matter what language you speak, what country you're in, whether you take insurance or not, most of the problems are sales, marketing and systems taking, asking questions, taking action, and sharing wins and lessons. These are the big, big things that people don't get. When you're asking a question, when you're asking for help, that's the best thing you can do. Ask someone for help, whether it's in business or life. Ask someone you trust for help. Then listen and process and take action. Take action on it. Whether it's to read a book, to journal, make a phone call, make a list, go out and meet someone in person, you have to take action on it. Otherwise you can wallow in. But my situation is unique. It can't possibly work for me. Which is really your ego brain protecting you from the possibility of failure. But if you can't even try, and you don't try, you'll never know that you can succeed beyond your wildest dreams. You may not even know these things have a hold on you. Let me just show you them again, right? You may not know that the good idea fairies telling you something, or the shiny object syndromes got you, or the special snowflake syndrome. It's like, boom. Like, you don't know unless you know about them. And as you see them in the future, you recognize them. Just recognize it like, hey, I'm buying this thing because I know all I have to do is, you know, an hour's worth of work and it's. It's gonna pay off. All I have to do is, you know, these two strategies is gonna pay off. I don't have to do everything. Or you can say, hey, look, I get it. That looks fancy, and it looks great. I can solve my problems, but I actually have all the resources and help I already need that exist. Like I mentioned, these are these three ego traps. There's also two kinds of entrepreneurs. There's people that are information seekers, people who want to consume information to get them ahead. Like, there's a point at which in your business, you need more information to get you ahead. You also have to implement the strategies. You know, where I'm at, I need information, but the information I'm seeking is more about helping Me make decisions rather than learning how to implement strategies and what strategies to implement. There are some things I need to figure out. There's some things I still need to learn. Like, I need to, I know I need to learn more about bringing on team members and more leadership. And there's some things that I need to do to take my business from 100k months to 200k months or 250k months. Like, holy shit, there are some other things that I have to learn, but it's not, you know, marketing strategies and sales strategies, it's scaling. So I have to go learn those. So there's some information I need. But what I really need and what you're going to need is solutions. So they're information seekers and solution seekers. Solution seekers are people who know their time is valuable. They just need the solution to move forward quickly. They just need that one idea, that exact specific thing that they know. Okay, this is your one thing that you need to do that's going to 10x your business, your time, your revenue, your income, your impact, and just focus on that. And they don't need to sit around and listen to everyone else ask questions. They just need that one thing. So as you advance through business and entrepreneurship, you're going to desire more solutions because you know that when wasted time is lost revenue and you just need the problem solved, and it starts to become more of a who problem, not a how problem. Like, who do I hire to do this rather than how do I do this? Even for instance, hanging curtain rods. Like, I know how, but my walls, my building's old. My home is old. It's 98 years old. It's got plaster walls. I don't really know how to anchor them in there that well. So I hire a handy lady to come over. She hangs curtain rods. She hung a T TV on a wall. She. She did like five other things and she was there for a few hours and she's like, oh, it's 70 bucks plus the part she bought. I'm like, it would have taken me two or three trips to Lowe's and probably all day to do half of those things. And tons of frustration. So figuring out how, like, that isn't the thing. It's like, who. Who do I need handy lady? And it's. I'm like, wow, that was inexpensive. So as you advance, you need, you desire more solutions because you know, wasted time is lost revenue. Wasted time is lost time with your kids. You need the problem solved. Okay, it becomes more of a who, not a how problem. Especially as you're, you know, approaching 35, 50, even 100k months or more. Right. If you're past 100k months and we're not into the who, then like you must be working really hard. And one of the fears people have is the bigger I grow, the harder and longer I'm going to have to work. It's about working smarter and being smarter with your time, not working longer hours. And yes, there's time when you have to grind and time when you work and it's fun and it's when people it's at night or on the weekends when other people wouldn't be doing it. Just be mindful as you grow your business, you don't get bogged down in these ego traps. Just be aware if you're looking to grow your business in the fastest time possible and scale past 20k months or even just add another 100k before the end of this year without making the same mistakes and the most business owners make, you may be a great fit for our Platinum Mastermind group or one of our private coaching programs. So what I'd love to do is hop on a free Breakthrough Strategy call with you. On these calls. What we do is we dive deep into your business and we look at what's working and frankly, what's not. We help you create an even bigger yet realistic goals for your business and make a plan for you to crush them. And then if on the call we both feel like a good fit and comfortable about working together to implement this plan with you, then we can chat about what that would look like. So if you're interested in setting up a free breakthrough Strategy call, just comment all in below this video. If you have to, shoot me a message or a DM and I'll reach out with more details. Because what I want to do is help you grow your business in the fastest time possible and help as many people possible. Because in that way I help even more people than just one person an hour for 25 hours a week in my clinic. And that's. That's what I want. And I think you want the same thing too. I think you want to help other people avoid expensive imaging and unnecessary surgery and you and even just spend more time with your kids while generating enough money to pay off your loans and your debt and create jobs for other therapists. Create amazing jobs for other therapists that don't exist anymore because insurance reimbursement is going down so fast and keep people from burning out. That's what I want. So if that sounds like you just comment all in below or shoot me a DM and we'll go from there. See you next time.