10. You equate your value and your worth with money.

Now money is important but it’s our perspective of it that can make or break us. Yes you may not have a lot of money at the moment but guess what? That doesn’t mean you’re not smart. That doesn’t mean that things won’t change. It doesn’t mean that you’re not a good person. It doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve to get what you want. It is a tool. And whether you have a small amount of tools or a large amount, you ALWAYS have something to work with.

9. You don’t take yourself seriously.

You use words like ‘aspiring’ or ‘trying’ or ‘thinking’ instead of defining who you are, doing the work that fulfills that role and creating a plan that will help you execute. If you don’t position yourself as someone to be taken seriously, why should anyone else? We set the intention of who we are before anyone else.

8. You consume someone else’s information in place of taking the time to learn yourself.

The amazing thing about the Internet is that you can find information on ANYTHING you want to do. But the problem arises when we begin to step over what we know and replace that with an someone’s insight. This can dampen our intuition. You have your own unique set of experiences that have taught you valuable pieces of insight about yourself and the world around you. Go back and think about your toughest times – what did they reveal to you? Acquiring knowledge is great but acquiring knowledge about who you are – your strengths and your weaknesses and how you operate can help you make the best decisions for YOU and your journey.

7. You don’t believe in yourself.

And because you don’t believe that you can live the life you want to live, you release the power you have over your life. Talent and skillset will only get you so far. It’s what you think about yourself that determines if you can sustain it. Those thoughts create accountability for the life you want to shape for yourself. Without any accountability, you lose out on owning your worth. And like Erica once told us on Twitter, “Success equals responsibility.”

6. You spend so much time cheering on and investing in others, that you neglect to do the same for yourself.

As a result of that, you’re drained, you’re not making time to restore yourself and you’re neglecting your needs. It’s great to be supportive of others – in fact that’s what we’re about – but if you do at at the expense of losing yourself, you are already defeated. Your dreams need ALL of your energy, all of your mind, body and spirit to manifest.

5. You think that where you are in your life right now is based on lack instead of timing.

“I don’t have this amount of money because I didn’t pick the right major in college.” “I can’t grow my business because I don’t have any money.” “I never have enough time to do what I really want to do.” Sound familiar? If you’re constantly thinking of what you do NOT have how are you going to make the best out of what you do have? For his recent feature on Complex Hustle, Julian Mitchell shared that “what you produce will always outweigh what’s on your resume.” That means you don’t have to waste thinking about “what’s missing” because all that matters is the work that you create. Work with your head down, knowing that everything happens when it’s supposed to.

4. You don’t ask for help nor do you express yourself. 

How are we supposed to know that you want to write a book if you’re never writing anything? How are we supposed to know that you’re looking for a new job if you never tell anyone? You’d be surprised at how simple, yet effective it is to speak about what you desire out loud. Talking about your work and sharing it on your personal platform makes you an expert at your ideas and opens up the doors for opportunities and collaborations. But that can only happen if you’re vocal about them. Whether it’s about love, opportunities, or money, this ‘playing small’ mindset doesn’t serve you. If you don’t do this, ask yourself right now, why am I afraid to say something? 

3. You seek validation externally. 

There’s no amount of praise that will fulfill you, if you don’t find that fulfillment within yourself. The challenge with letting other people, employers, lovers, and friends, validate you and what you stand for is that when they have to leave or the experience has to come to an end, what will you do? Success is often an internal effort. No one can achieve it for you, you have to define that level and reach it by your own actions. Your support system needs something to support. Don’t confuse that principle by thinking that you need approval from any one or anything to be who you are called to be.

2. You underestimate the time it takes to become successful and quit on yourself too early. 

Change doesn’t happen all of a sudden. It’s your DAILY commitment to growth that makes a difference. You can’t rush the process because every part of the process serves a purpose (whether we like it or not). So you think that one month, or several months or even several years means that you will automatically be successful but it takes time: Time to know yourself, time to test our ideas and projects, time to build connections and time spent actually working (not thinking, or planning) that will take you to the next level. That 10,000 hours theory is not a joke. In case you haven’t read it yet, this book by Malcolm Gladwell breaks down it down for you. Entitlement won’t win the war but execution will.

1. You spend more time talking yourself out of something instead of doing the actual work.

When you begin to think all of the reasons why you shouldn’t do something or why you can’t do something, combat those thoughts with what you’re capable of. What’s in you is greater than anything you can face, just take the first step.