Charlie Ray Interview: Change Your Mind, Change Your Business

What is the actual root of the problem that's holding you back? So hey, I'm starting this new business. I'm afraid that it won't be successful. Maybe I'm afraid I won't make enough money. How is that going to work? So if we really look at this fear of success or this fear of failure, let's go back to childhood.

On today's show we'll dive into the art of problem solving by tackling root causes, redefining failure and mastering the mindset needed to confidently raise your prices. This is the launch your business podcast because we know starting a business is challenging, but it doesn't have to be confusing. Each week we'll give you the tactical advice and the necessary tools to scale your business without feeling burnt out. I'm Terry Rice, business development consultant and staff writer here at Entrepreneur magazine. Lets dive in. Charlie Ray has created a fast and impactful healing process for overcoming emotional trauma and limiting beliefs. After the loss of his 14 year old son, Charlie also lost his brother in law, his dad and his mom in the span of two years. He got divorced shortly after that. Charlie was headed down a dark path and felt hopeless and did not want to live. After spending a night in a mental health facility, he had a long journey to rebuild and empower his life. As a single father raising three kids, Charlie committed his life to finding one of the most prolific ways to heal from past traumas and limiting beliefs. He has gone to work with over 6,000 individuals and has been on stages nationwide. Charlie's empowering technique called neuro associative disruption has impacted the lives of people who suffer from depression, anxiety as well as trafficking victims and victims of domestic violence. He has worked with million dollar entrepreneurs to top sales executives. Charlie's legacy is to help you take control of your life and live for today. Today we'll discuss getting to the root of common issues instead of just addressing the symptoms. The difference between failing and adjusting your game plan and how to overcome the mental block to raising your prices and quick content warning here we will be discussing mental health as well as suicide. So with that let's get into it. Charlie, how's it going today?

It's going well. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

Yeah, yeah. I'm looking forward to this conversation because when I first started my business there were a lot of unknowns just in regards to how to make money, how to, how to be sustainable, so on and so forth and I wish I had someone like you to talk to because some of my challenges weren't Just around a lack of knowledge. It was just self limiting beliefs or to be honest, anxiety holding me back. So that's why I'm glad to chat with you today to help our listeners push through some of those challenges that they might be having as well. But before we launch into that, do you mind introducing yourself?

Yeah. My name is Charlie Ray. I started my own company called Limitless Believing. I help individuals get over these emotional traumas. Most of these emotional traumas I call happen at childhood and they kind of build that foundation of what you were just talking about, that limiting beliefs or these fears or these things that happen all typically happen at childhood. And I lost my 14 year old son by a misdiagnosis of depression and they stuck him on Zoloft and he ended up committing suicide. And so that whole avenue is figuring out how can I go into somebody's subconscious mind, reprogram it not just for like severe depression, anxiety, things like that, but any limiting belief within as little time as possible. And I've mastered that with my own neuro associative disruption process. Within 15 minutes we can reprogram the subconscious mind and those belief systems around what's holding you back in life.

Amazing. So we got about 20 minutes. We can get to a lot right now. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to play the role of one of our listeners who is just going through some challenges in regards to launching or scaling their business. And if you could, I would like for you to just give some advice on how to push those challenges. Does that, does that sound fair?

Yeah, let's do it.

Okay, so we'll start with the first one. The show's called launch your business. So I'll assume everyone listening is either launching their business or contemplating it. And some people might be afraid just to even go ahead and get started. So what would you say to someone who's like, hey, I have this idea, I think I'll be really good at it, but I don't know, I just don't feel comfortable moving forward. What would you say to them or what challenges do you think will need to be addressed?

Yeah, so we're talking about a fear and we're probably talking about a limiting belief of success, right? So hey, will I be successful? So the thing that I always tell people when I meet with my clients I look at is identifying what is the problem, what is the actual root of the problem that's holding you back. So hey, I'm starting this new business. I'm a, I'm Afraid that it won't be successful? Maybe I'm afraid I won't make enough money. How is that going to work? So if we really look at this fear of success or this fear of failure, let's go back to childhood. Let's go back to the earliest memory you have, where that fear started. Because typically it's around the people. Our first seven years of life is mom and dad, right? So, for example, hey, you know, money doesn't grow on trees. I've been told that over and over and over again. You're being programmed at a young age to think a certain way. So your programs that are really, really good, like, my dad was into sales. I was always outgoing and good with sales. But you know what? My dad wasn't an athlete, but I grew up with eight brothers and sisters. So I had a brother that was constantly working with me in sports. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been a good athlete. So all these belief systems that you have, trace them back to where they started. What is this fear? Where did it start? Because that's the first thing you need to identify is what is the root? What is the real problem?

Okay, so we've identified it. Now what?

So we identify the problem. So one of the things you can do to get over that is once you go back to that problem, we look at it. And so there's a technique that you can do by just like, anchoring a. A new belief system. So you could literally just close your eyes and start breathing in and breathing out and getting yourself into a state where you're just calm and relaxed. And so I want you to take that old belief, that old fear that you had and remember, where's the earliest memory? What's the actual event? And I want you to take that event and I want you to flip the script. I want you to find, how do you want to feel instead? Hey, I want to feel empowered. I want to feel good. I want to feel that I can do this. So what you're going to do is you're going to place a moment of time in your life where you felt like you were empowered. A moment in time in your life where you were super, super successful at something. And so that's the new belief system that we're going to place. So as you go into a situation where you're just breathing, you lock in that new feeling, and you lock it into that subconscious mind. You just think about it and focus on it. And so the more you do that, the more you go back and repeat that little tiny step that empowering or that new feeling will replace that old belief system. And so you'll reprogram it.

So what we're going to do first is go back to our childhood and say, okay, when did I first have this experience? Just to. Just to name it and recognize it, but then to just change your belief system. Think to yourself, well, wait, there are times when I've done other difficult things. They were challenging. Yeah, but I accomplished it. So therefore I'm equipped for this. I took on that challenge and I could take on more going forward.

Yeah, because you've gone back to a situation where like, oh my God, I'm afraid to launch this business. Or, or maybe there's a belief system in your where you feel like you're not good enough. That happens so many times. That is the majority of business individuals that I speak to is, I'm not good enough to do X, Y and Z. I'm not good enough to sell a product. I don't know how to do this. But the thing is though, is that you were programmed thinking that you weren't. But we all have the capability to do anything we want to. It's just reprogramming the things that are not working for us. So we're empowered by it rather than disempowered by it.

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Yep.

What would you say to that individual? Is it the same issue that we had earlier that we solved, or is this something different? What does that look like in regards to resolving this challenge?

So the technique that I actually do, the neuro disruption, that technique will get rid of that feeling of feeling that you're not good enough. So it's just going back to that kind of going back to that moment. This technique that I've developed goes really, really deeper and just to release that problem. So it's really hard to go back to that moment and think like, oh, I'm good enough to charge $10,000 for this price or to be able to do X, Y. It's hard, but it can be done without what I do. But it's done through repetition. So maybe when you get up in the morning and you go to the bathroom, because it's the first place we start the morning and the last place we end the day, have something in the bathroom mirror, that empowering statement that you keep with you that reminds you that you can overcome that fear to pitch. Because here's the thing, if you let that fear continue to go inside you a, the business will fail because you don't feel like you have the ability to ask somebody for money. But here's the thing. I want you to take that moment and what is the disservice that you're doing to that individual by not offering them your service to work with you. That's how I want you to look at that pitch, is that, hey, if I don't get in front of as many people as possible and make them feel like this is the exact thing that you guys need and if you don't buy it, I'm doing you a disservice. If you can just train your mind through repetition to think that you will pitch to everybody you meet because you believe in your product and you're passionate about it.

I'm going to play devil's advocate to an extent, and hopefully it doesn't take a negative turn. But there's a reason why a lot of companies fail. They just maybe that aren't. Aren't good ideas. It's the wrong execution, whatever it may be. So how do we know if our hesitation is valid? Like, hey, maybe this ain't a good idea or if it's internal, where it's like, you have to change your belief system and maybe your identity, because I imagine you've talked to people before where you're like, dude, the reason why it ain't working is this is a bad idea. Like, how do you address that? How do you arrive at that point? What does that look like?

Yeah, so if you're looking at an idea and there's it's specifically not working, like, you're not getting clients to buy into it or whatever it is, you adjust, we switch it up. Like where I started over 10 years ago to where I am now, I was constantly adjusting to where I was going. I was constantly pres. Presenting something different on how I spoke on a stage versus where I am now. So it's going to develop over time. But here's the thing. If it's a bad idea and it's just. That's what it is, hey, this isn't a good idea. You've got to test it. And the first thing you got to do as a business owner is test your market to see if they need what you're offering. So by surveying people, that would be your ideal clients, going after them, trying to gather information on what's going to go after that pain point in their life. Because if you can take your product and serve their pain point, to take that away from them, they will say yes. Because what you're offering them to elapse that time gap down, to make it quicker for them or to save them money or to be able to increase their income when you offer that to them, if you can address that pain point, it's a good product, but it's going after that pain point.

Yeah, let's. Let's stick with something you said in regards to adjusting, because in the moment, adjusting and failing can feel rather similar, especially if you don't have a good support network. So what would you say again to that person who's like, okay, yeah, you know, I started with this idea, I adjusted, but it seems like I'm always adjusting. Like, am I the problem? Am I the variable here that needs to be adjusted or what's going on? So how do you encourage someone, or how would you encourage someone to keep moving forward when it seems like I'm just doing all these adjustments, like, what's the deal?

Yeah, so if you feel you're adjusting a lot and you're still not getting traction with your. Your product, and if you're the main voice of it, maybe you don't need to be the main Voice of it. Maybe that's not your expertise to go out and pitch. Maybe you find somebody that can pitch for you or close for you or handle that area for you. So I know it's. It's hard to do, but it depends on your personality and it depends on who you are. Because we have so many different people out there. We have visual learners, we have auditory, we have kinesthetic. We have all different ways of processing information. Some of us are introverts, some of us are ex. You know, some of us are more outgoing. So by looking at that, maybe, maybe I'm the problem, but I can solve that problem because I have a really, really good product with somebody else pitching it or somebody else handling that area.

So let's go a bit deeper here. And this person, this fictitious person we're talking about, they launched their business. They're not afraid to pitch anymore. They're getting some business coming in. But I always say that you should consider raising your price at least once a quarter because it's the perfect time, right? You can say, hey, look, next quarter we're gonna adjust our prices. If you wanna lock in that right now, you can pay in advance. Otherwise it goes up to you X amount, you know, in Q4 or whatever. So that's, that's one approach I take. But I feel strongly that many people have challenges raising their price prices even after. Even after they have a demonstrated history of success. So again, where this, talking to this entrepreneur, they're doing well enough for like, man, I should be paying, charging way much, way more. What would you say to them to get them over that, that fear of, of asking for more from an existing.

Client, even so, most of the people that I've worked with, again, this goes back to childhood. Mom and dad, their mindset around money. Money doesn't. My both my parents grew up during the Great Depression. So it was always save, save, save, rather than taking money and reinvesting it. Everything was just as cheap as possible. And so my mindset developed that way, so it was hard for me to ask for money. So one of the things as I was growing up, what I did, and I still do to this day, is I have a bunch of fake $100 bills that sit on my desk. And so it's almost like a manifestation technique, like, oh, my God, this money is coming in for me. All I got to do is ask for it and just assume that they're going to pay for it. So it's one way of doing that. It's going back and just saying hey, you know what, why am, why am I not getting a raise but everyone else is? Why am I going and turning that client and getting them, you know, profits? But I can ask for more of that profit. And what you could do also, Terry, is you could say, hey, look, I'll do it for this lower price, but I want a percentage the profit that you make with my knowledge. So if I can increase your profit, you give me a percentage of it. So it's another way of doing it where that's lower risk to them. Like, well, I'll pay the lower price and give you a percentage. And then if you can produce the results for them, you get a percentage of that profit.

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Yeah. Another thing is it depends who you're talking to, right? Are you talking to somebody that likes to see the numbers? Because if you could sit there and pull up a sheet and say, hey, look, this is what I've been offering you, These are your results, my price has gone up. But guess what? This is what you did over the last six months because of working with me. So if you could sit there and pull it up and show them physically how they've increased their return or their money coming in, but you've kept your price down here. It only makes sense since I'm giving you more value. I need to raise my price to add more value.

One of my former colleagues, by design, his prices were lower for the first three months just to show proof of concept, and then he would raise them afterwards. So he was doing that proactively, I would say. But let's continue here, right? So one challenge that comes with being an entrepreneur is you don't eat unless you work right. You have to earn everything you get. Unlike when you have a 9 to 5, it's like, hey, you just get your paycheck, right? So that can cause a bit of anxiety. And it can also make you feel like if you're not doing something to make money, then it's a waste of your time, such as professional development. Right. Or writing or things like that, which obviously is detrimental to your business. But what would you say to someone who's just going through a lot of anxiety in regards to cash flow and just always feeling like if I'm not doing something, I'm nothing. And maybe even getting jealous of some of their peers, like, you know, friends they went to school with who have these nine to five jobs and seem like there's not a, you know, a worry in the world. And if you haven't noticed already, I'm talking about myself to an extent. What would you say to me or anyone else who. Who feels that way, where it's like, gosh, you know, if I'm not producing something, I'm not generating revenue, and that can cause a bit of stre.

Well, just to say that persistency will pay off. It took me about 10 years to get to the point where now things are just really blowing up for me. And I mean blowing up. So it's really interesting because I never gave up. And there are times where it got low and it got hard. But that persistency, it's going to drive you even more. And so making you feel a little uncomfortable to get you to realize, oh, my God, the money's getting low. Like, what do I need to do? Scramble, like, figure it out. Like, get on the phone, make it work. You'll find a way. But that persistency, by doing it, it's going to make you stronger in like 3, 5, 10, 7 years down the road, whatever. It is. You're going to start to see that persistency pay off, but you're also going to see everyone else at that 9 to 5. They're capped with their income. You're not. Your income potential is limited based on how much you're going to put back into the business and how much you want to grow. So in the long run, it is a. You know, they may have more money now, but in the long run, you'll have way more by what you're going to do and how you're going to do it. Being an entrepreneur, because your income is based off of how hard you're going to work and how many clients want your product.

Yeah, that's a great point. I mean, even just like the time and lifestyle freedom as well is great. So once you get the financial part locked in, that's when you were actually living in the dream that made you want to start a business in the first place. So I can, I can appreciate that. But let's end this with one of my favorite questions to ask people, and it's this. What is one lesson about entrepreneurship that you wish you learned sooner?

That is a great question. One thing that I wish I would have learned sooner. Networking. I would say networking with the intention of collaboration. Don't think that you can do everything on your own. There's other people that you have a service that you can provide that you can leverage where you're both getting paid. You don't have to go into partnership with each other. It's a collaboration where you both make some money because it might help when things are down for you to have some other people that you work with temporarily to collaborate with while you grow. And so those collaborations are. As soon as I started doing that, my business took off way faster. And then those people started referring people to me because I was adding so much value to their business as well. So collaborations, big time.

And Charlie. Yeah, let me, let me just kind of piggyback on that, because when I first started my company, I used to be a digital marketing consultant, and I reached out to other digital marketing companies saying, hey, do you ever subcontract your work to other people? And that alone made me money, right. Because they would just give me clients they couldn't necessarily service at the time. And then beyond that, entering a conversation with someone thinking, what can I create with them? As opposed to what can I take from them? Will almost always lead to better outcomes. So your advice is perfect there?

Yeah, 100%.

Awesome. So, Charlie, this has been amazing, but I know A lot of our listeners are going to want to learn more about you. So what's the best way for them to keep in touch and follow along?

Well, this is what I'm gonna do is if you guys go to my website, it's www limitless-believing.com and go in and I have a free call if you want to jump on a free call with me. It's a free 20 minute call that you can book with me and I'd love to talk with you all and figure out kind of like, hey, where am I right now? Where do I want to get to? And maybe I can give you some strategies to help you get there quicker with what I've done.

There we go. That's an extremely generous offer. So I appreciate that. And please do take him up on it one more time. What's the website?

It's www.lesslessless-believing.com.

Awesome. Thanks, Charlie. Appreciate your time. It's been amazing.

Yeah, thanks Terry. I appreciate you.

And that's our show for today. You can learn more about Charlie by visiting his website, limitless-believing.com. apply what you've learned on today's show. You'll find the show notes and more resources at TerryRice co. Podcast. Again, that's TerryRice co podcast. And the best way to support this podcast is by subscribing, telling a friend and leaving a review. Also, you can get more tips by following me on Instagram @TerryRice or follow me on LinkedIn. This episode was produced by Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio and edited by Dan Lardy. Special thanks to my wife, Dominique for keeping our kids relatively quiet as I recorded. Thanks again for listening. I'll see you next time.